CHARACTERS: 10/10

The characters in the story are well fleshed out, given many human-relatable characteristics to where the audience can even feel the same emotions as a dragon. The two heroes of the story are Garrett Terago and Megan Crunk, two unique individuals thrust together after a near-tragic collision. A meeting filled with humor, romance and lust. The villains, as well are well crafted, with each being uniquely mapped out for the reader in an original and detailed fashion, but I’ll leave their descriptions out to leave you with some mystery.

PLOT: 10/10

Without ruining anything, this is a love story and a war novel. It is a great original piece of writing in a game-changing way as The Lord of the Rings was. Peaking my interest in reading and reigniting my joy for it after many years without being able to finish a book, this story is a grabber and it holds you until the end.

WRITING: 10/10

The mindset of the characters are well revealed to the reader and the writing is descriptive and informing. Beautifully written with great care and detail, Poindexter is a writer to look out for after this captivating and intriguing novel.

OVERALL: 10/10

The novel is filled with many elements for a mature audience to read. Those with a strong mind and grand humor will most enjoy this tale of war and love. The ultimate bests and worsts of our world. Be ready to eclipse your mind with many great dealings and emotions as you go on this grand adventure with Garrett and Megan as the story unfolds before your eyes and within your mind. The Shadow of Tiamat is the first in a grand scheme of novels and I can’t wait for the sequel.

Here are a few places to purchase the book.

Paperback from Amazon: http://amzn.to/tiamat-ppb
Paperback from B&N: http://bit.ly/voMy5Z
Kindle from Amazon: http://amzn.to/tiamat-kindle
Other ebook formats: http://bit.ly/utxfuB (this is where you can find a Nook compatible eBook edition)
Paperback from Books-A-Million: http://bit.ly/rMQ7fi
Paperback from Powell’s Books : http://bit.ly/uRJbpK
Paperback/ebook from Indiebound: http://bit.ly/vwKpcP

Review by Kale Slade

She is smart, funny, and not afraid to tell it like it is, as she shares her past experiences of an difficult childhood, failed relationships, money struggles, and bad career choices. She shows how she took these past experiences and changed them into positive experiences. How she developed and used the ten rules to pursue her goals with authenticity and drive.

Here are some of the rules:

FIND YOUR TRUTH-Dig deep inside and figure out what is authentic for you and not anybody else.
ACT ON IT-You don’t have to have a master plan. But unless you do something, you’ve done nothing.
EVERYTHING’S YOUR BUSINESS-Treat every job, person, and experience as if it could lead your next big opportunity.
OWN IT-If you do it, say it, think it, then own it. Stand up for yourself and fully acknowledge who you really are.

This book is a must to have.

By Joan Hartenstine-Lemon

Published by: Outskirts Press

111 pages

Anthologies books are a interesting type to read. The editor/writer picks a theme and either  fills out with their own original content or invites other writers to contribute a story. Some are great, some good and some are pretty much just filler.

Writing an intense short story with a beginning, middle and solid ending is a real challenge and not one that is always met. And in anthologies this is a steady constant as that’s what the reader is going to get. Which is why a solo writer has it harder to present several good stories that holds one’s attention.

Night Shade is the debut of Pennsylvania based writer,Joan Hartenstine-Lemon.

To do a collection of horror stories is very ambitious for a first novel and Hartenstine-Lemon does a fairly good job here. Some of the stories are pretty bumpy but the ones that work….are excellent and showcase the promise of her future writing.

  Night Shade contains 11 stories including a very unique story that has ties to a Stephen King short story that ended up being made into “The Shawshank Redemption”. Joan’s story,”A Buxton Tale” is the story about the convict that was killed  during Andy Dufresne’s (play by Tim Robbins) first night at prison.

The real gem of this collection is the interesting and heartfelt “A Letter from Bill” in which the founder of  Alcohol Anonymous, Bill Wilson sends a letter to a local ABC board urging them to take steps to save lives from the menace that is alcoholism. There is a nice twist to this tale and the real life horror of alcoholism makes this story even more powerful.

The nine other stories featured range from fair (Reigning Cats and Dogs) to first time jitters (“Oops”). Enough to get excited about Joan’s future writings and wanting to see what she can do in a full length novel. 

My only drawback about this novel is the publisher’s disservice to Hartenstine-Lemon by making this slim volume 21.99 and a hardcover. It would have been better served at a lower price and as a paperback…making her book much more affordable for a first time reader.

Recommended.

For more information: www.OutskirtsPress.com

  I picked this up on one of my Dollar Tree book runs. I was caught by the cover and the tagline:

“A deadly drunk driver,a grieving young mother,and their astonishing true story of tragedy and forgiveness”.

  So I bought this book,went home,fixed some coffee and was blown away on so many levels.
   On 25 March 2000,Audrey Kishline,who had achieved national fame as the founder of Moderation Management,a group which taught drinking is ok IF you do it with moderation and control,got behind the wheel of her truck and while driving the wrong way on a cold wintery I-90 in Washington,hit and murdered two people.
   The people killed were Sheryl Maloy’s 12 year old daughter,LaShell and her ex-husband,Danny.

  This book chronicles the impact both before,during and after this terrible act of violence and the aftermath.
  Both women take turns in writing chapters,sharing how they grew up and what led them to that fateful night.
   Audrey’s story is the most compelling..she up grew up a promising ballet dancer. But when she gave it up and moved to live with her father.

 Audrey writes that when she started working for her dad,thats when her drinking started in ernest. It continued after she met and married her husband Brian and increased as time went despite the public image she had as founder of MM.
   Sheryl’s story of growing to adulthood is also a difficult one.  Despite marrying a good military man,events and a hateful family conspired to keep Sheryl was complete happiness. Danny and Sheryl embraced a Christian lifestyle but mistrust and deceit by Sheryl’s family helped end her marriage.

Both women continued to go different directions,Audrey went deeper into the botttle while Sheryl worked hard towards giving Danny and her another chance. It was a little rocky but at the time of the murders,the future looked bright for Sheryl. Her faith and grace were going to be put to the ultimate test.

    Audrey writes about her life after the murders. Due to Washngton laws at the time,she only spent 4 and a half years in prison total for BOTH Danny and LaShell. She writes on what prison was like for her and her family.
   When Sheryl decided she needed to see Audrey to forgive her,it felt right. Despite being warned not to do it,her faith in God helps her reach a peace that is so rarely,ever seen. The bittersweet meeting in jail does wonders for both women on different levels.
   The end of the book recounts how Audrey and Sheryl have become good friends and how Sheryl’s forgiveness has helped her heal. Audrey is not so lucky as she even today struggles with her inability to stop drinking.

I guess as a reader and a victim of a crime like Sheryl was,its the both the forgiveness and the sad fact that that Kishline mocks Danny and LaShell’s deaths by still drinking to really strikes a chord. Why would anyone w/not only a 2nd chance but also forgiveness by her victim,continue to do the same things that led to those deaths.
There are no  easy answers..

Highly recommended.

  John Amaechi is an amazing man with tremendous courage and heart. Born in the US,raised by a single mother while living in the UK,overcoming a bad childhood to develop into a world class basketball player would be story enough in this compelling story. But the trials and trails that Amaechi went through was compounded by one other fact,he was a gay. And being gay in a US professional sports league and being found out is a career killer.

John Amaechi is a very special player and man. Reading his story is a fine example of overcoming all sorts of terrible odds,be it a life-threatening injury,dealing w/the world of NCAA basketball,fighting one’s own sexual questions in a world where there are no easy answers.
  Amaechi laid back writing style is also refreshing,its not a gossipmonger type of of “kiss and tell” that passes for sports journalism these days. He tells it like it was,but the GAME isn’t the most important part of John,his love for his kids,be it as a mentor at Penn State or later on in the NBA and his love for his hard working single mom really grips the reader.
   The pressure and loneliness of being a gay male in such hostile conditions (his own lockeroom) is also telling just how little pro sports has come in acknowledging some of its best players may be gay. Can you even imagine what the reaction would be if LeBron James or Gilbert Arenas came out during the peak of thier careers? 
  While John early career in the NBA was not so promising,in fact he played all over Europe while sharpening up his skills. He was cut from many NBA teams in training camp before catching on w/Orlando at age 29.  After a miracle year in Orlando,rather then take the free agent money and run,he stayed on after passing up a 17 million dollar deal w/the Lakers.
    But broken promises led to John landing in Utah,not exactly known for supporting a gay lifestyle. It was here that he was allowed himself to BE himself but suffered for it in playing time.

  John retired from the NBA and is now in the UK,helping his country develop the love and passion for basketball that the rest of the world seems to have.

I highly recommend this book…..and in fact,I will give away a copy of it to the 3rd person who leaves a comment on the comment section.
Just leave me a email addy so I can find out where to send your book.

Ray Garton is a new rising voice in horror and Ravenous is his take on what a good werewolves story should be. It has plenty of blood, death, sex and gore galore and taken in that context, this might be a great story on its own.

The story takes place in a small sleepy California town (think Big Sur) in which a woman is savagely attacked and raped by a creature. She fights back and looks to have killed her attacker but when it proves the creature may be much more then Sheriff Arlin Hurley’s department can handle, unexpected help arrives. But is the help just as bad as the killer?

But Garton makes two huge mistakes in my opinion. He created 2 great characters who could have served as a thrilling on going series in Sheriff Arlin Hurley and the werewolf fighter, Daniel Fargo. Garton writes about them wonderfully, creating a solid back story and creating both tension and an uneasy alliance w/Hurley having a hard time actually acknowledging such a thing as a werewolf despite the rising death count.

But Garton is also very sloppy with his plot-lines….so many weird deaths would draw a huge response but it takes almost the entire story before anyone other then Fargo comes to grips that people being torn apart and raped might not be human. And for well as Hurley and Fargo are written, the main werewolf, Irving Taggert is not. You don’t really know anything about him,why he is a werewolf, how he sustains incredible injuries while in wolf and human form and that it doesn’t affect him.

And the ending is one of the most lazy pieces of writing I have seen from a horror writer. Killing off your two best characters to drive a story, I can understand, do it just to have a ENDING is just garbage and really below Garton’s talent.

I will keep my eye out for his next novel in hopes that as he matures as a writer and that his storytelling also will improve. Ravenous could have been very special, instead it’s a total letdown.

(by Michael Sullivan)

I picked this novel up at a yard sale for .25 cents. While I am a certified fan boy and enjoy all the major Sci-Fi series (well, okay, maybe not ST: Enterprise, but hey, who did???).  I struggle finding myself enjoying the books based on these series… Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, etc.

While most books are written with love and devotion, unless a writer has created his own characters for the series, nothing very daring or intresting happens. Take Star Trek for example….every novel that features major players is pretty set in stone…finding a new weird race, bump noses, throw in a hint of romance for Kirk/Picard/Janeway, kill a few red shirts and blame the Romulans for everything.  On the surface, it seems exciting but honestly? Not so much.

When a writer gets the blessing from the House of Lucas or Roddenberry to create some new characters, fresh plots and some leeway to take said universe to a different level…then reading a series based novel can be fun.

Like this novel about the very early days of Starfleet set in the Star Trek universe. Friedman has created a totally fresh outlook without any of the series original characters (except for a cameo from T’pau) in telling how Starfleet became what it is today.

The plot concerns which way will Starfleet be run, as a solely military arm or as a peaceful exploration first command. The fleet has a new class of starship, the DAEDALUS heavy cruiser, the biggest ship yet built by Earth.  Six captains are chosen to compete for command, 3 military types, one alien, one loner and one science first captain all are vying for the captain’s chair. But in competing, they must somehow band together to defend a Earth colony under attack.

The characters in this first novel are a little thin as far as background stories go but hold promise in that Friedman will develop them further.

The story is decent and has the feel of a middle of the road Star Trek episode, nothing cutting edge and minimal violence.

If you enjoy the Star Trek series and want to know how Starfleet was created, then I would recommend picking this up.

I would suggest looking at eBay or a good used book store w/a large sci-fi/fantasy selection to find this novel.

(written by Michael Sullivan)