Review From Here

Archive for November, 2009

Join Michael Anthony, author of the Iraq war memoir, Mass Casualties : A Young Medic’s True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq , (Adams Media), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in December and January on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

About the Author

Michael Anthony (MA) seemed destined to serve from the day he was born. The youngest of seven children, Michael has four brothers and two sisters, all but one of whom joined the military. His father and two grandfathers were also in the Military.

After graduating high school, he joined the Army Reserves, went through basic training, and then went through job training to become an Operating Room Medic. One year later he returned home and enrolled in college to begin his first semester. Almost immediately upon finishing his first semester he was shipped off to Wisconsin to train for four months before he would leave and spend his next year in Iraq. Michael is now back in the States and working toward a Bachelor’s Degree in creative writing.

You can visit his website at www.masscasualties.com

About Mass Casualties

“Look around,” the drill sergeant said. “In a few years, or even a few months, several of you will be dead. Some of you will be severely wounded or so badly mutilated that your own mother can’t stand the sight of you. And for the real unlucky ones, you will come home so emotionally disfigured that you wish you had died over there.”

It was Week 7 of basic training . . . eighteen years old and I was preparing myself to die.

They say the Army makes a man out of you, but for eighteen-year-old SPC Michael Anthony, this fabled rite of passage is instead a dark and dangerous journey. After obtaining his parents’ approval to enlist at seventeen, Anthony begins this journey with an unshakeable faith in the military based on his family’s long tradition of service. But when he finds himself in a medical unit of misfits as lost as he is, Anthony not only witnesses firsthand the unspeakable horror of war, he experiences the undeniable misconduct of the military. Everything he’s ever believed in dissolves, forcing Anthony to rethink his ideals and ultimately risk his career—and his freedom—to challenge the military that once commanded his loyalty.

This searing memoir chronicles the experiences that change one young soldier forever. A seasoned veteran before the age of twenty-one, he faces the truth about the war—and himself—in this shocking and unprecedented eyewitness account.

Here’s what reviewers have to say!

“Michael Anthony’s memoir is not about the politics of Iraq. Instead it takes us deep inside the war, inside and outside the operating room, the barracks, the talk of the soldiers, the feeling of the situation. It joins the body of war literature in a unique and powerful way.”
—Howard Zinn, Civil Rights Leader, Historian
Author of: A People’s History of the United States

“Anthony’s painful account of his time at war is at times difficult to read. This coming of age war memoir details the very gut wrenching journey he takes into manhood in the backdrop of grueling combat. His voice is unique and deserves to be heard. We may not all agree with why we fight, but I am proud to be of a generation with Warriors like Anthony, who are compelled to share these important life altering experiences.”
—David Bellavia, Iraq Veteran
Author of: House to House: An Epic Memoir of War

Join Lynda Drews, author of the true crime book, Run at Destruction: A True Fatal Love Triangle (Title Town Publishing, Aug. ‘09) , as she virtually tours the blogosphere in November on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

About the Book

Deeply immersed in the close-knit culture of long-distance running, Pam and Bob Bulik were avid competitors. To all appearances, they were also a happily married couple, devoted to each other and their two young children. Then, Bob made a fateful decision. He began an extramarital affair that led to his wife’s tragic death and to one of the most sensationalized and heavily attended trials in Green Bay’s history.

Candidly written by Pam’s best friend, Run at Destruction exposes the irresistible human passions that make us so vulnerable, and the ultimate price we pay for choosing to act on them. You’ll relive every detail of the crime and the exhaustive police investigation, and watch the courtroom drama from a front-row seat as a major homicide case unfolds in a small town where everyone knows all the players. Then, when you’ve heard all the evidence, you can decide for yourself – was Pam Bulik’s death a terrible accident, intentional suicide, negligent homicide or premeditated murder?

The Review

First off, let me say that I was very anxious to read this book. I have lived 30 minutes away from Green Bay (now 20) my entire life so to read a story about a murder so close to my home town was something I didn’t get the chance to do very often. And, Ms. Drews certainly did not disappoint.

For those of you that don’t know, Green Bay isn’t a large town, and murder is not prevalent there. The thing they are most known for is the Green Bay Packers. The town and people are depicted flawlessly in this novel, and the author has done a wonderful job of blending facts with feelings as she was in the mix at the time the murder took place. Taking you on this journey could not have been an easy task, but I am thankful the author put forth the effort. This novel lays out the information so you get a glimpse of how Lynda sees things leading up to the day of the murder, and how she views things after. Some may think it is biased because this was her friend, and it may be. But, I never once felt that she was misleading in the information she presented.

This was certainly a story that needed to be told and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in something you won’t be able to put down – I finished it in one sitting and my husband is currently reading it. Highly recommended!

About the Author

Lynda Drews, a Wisconsin native and dedicated runner, recently gave the commencement speech at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, her college Alma mater. One lesson she shared with the graduates was: “to journal your life.” When Lynda, an IBM marketing executive, made the decision to retire after her thirty-year career, she returned to an earlier passion. Run at Destruction is the outcome.

Even though this is Lynda’s first book, she has inside knowledge about the victim and the accused. One of the book’s themes is the impact her best friend’s mysterious death has on Green Bay’s close-knit running community. Lynda and her husband, Jim, a retired teacher and guidance counselor, helped launch the local running movement. Green Bay now hosts the nation’s fifth largest 10K, attracting more than 15,000 participants.

Along with a golden retriever named Bailey, Lynda and her husband have two sons, Collin and Chris. After they reached sixth grade, the author let them pick a yearly one-on-one trip with just their mom. One son chose exotic places like Cancun, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, and skiing in Oregon, while the other went to the bathroom sized PEZ Museum in San Francisco, and to eight different locales where the Dave Mathews Band played. Lynda may be the oldest person in the world that’s been to fifteen DMB concerts!

www.lyndadrews.com www.lmdrews.wordpress.com

Well, I just started reading “Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon so when I ran across this challenge I thought it couldn’t be a better time for me to join it.  Here are the details – to join click here:

Have you always wanted to read the Outlander series but because of one thing or another you just haven’t yet? Or are you like me and just want to revisit one of your favorite series again? Well it’s time to take that leap through the stones my friend into the wonderful, thrilling, and passionate world of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series!

And yes the books are much longer than most but trust me once you start them you won’t be able to put them down and you will fly through them! But because they are so long this challenge is going to run for an entire year so there is plenty of time to do the challenge, and still read some other books in between as well!

The challenge begins on November the 17th and will end November 17th 2010.

About James Diehl

James Diehl is an award-winning journalist who has covered Sussex County, Delaware for various media outlets since 1998. Since 2007, he has owned and operated a freelance writing company based in Seaford, Delaware and is also a partner in a Lewes, Delaware-based public relations and marketing firm. He is the author of one other work of non-fiction – “Remembering Sussex County, from Zwaanendael to King Chicken,” published in 2009 by The History Press. James lives in Seaford, Delaware, with his wife and two daughters. You can visit his website at www.ww2-heroes.com.

About World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware

World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware is a book unlike any other ever written. In its pages are profiles of 50 ordinary Americans who did extraordinary things during a time unlike any other in American history.

These are men and women who today call southern Delaware home. In the 1940s, these brave Americans put their lives on hold to fight for freedom and democracy against the horrific threat imposed on the world by Emperor Hirohito of Japan and German Fuhrer Adolph Hitler.

When Imperial Japan attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, the world changed forever. These men and women were a big part of that change; they fought to protect our freedom and our way of life.

Among the amazing stories you’ll read in “World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware” are:

• A United States Marine who was a part of the 1945 attack on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. He was one of 17 members of his company who survived, a company that numbered more than 300 at the beginning of the attack.
• An Army soldier who was responsible for uncovering Adolph Hitler’s enormous, and illegally gained, fortune toward the end of World War II.
• An Army navigator who led a group of 500 B-29s over Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945, the day the Japanese surrendered to the United States.
• A United States Navy machinist’s mate who narrowly survived a Japanese kamikaze attack.
• A United States Marine who witnessed the horrific attack on Pearl Harbor from the deck of a nearby ship.
• Men who survived German prisoner of war camps.
• First–hand accounts from the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasion.
• Two black soldiers who served their country with pride during World War II.
• Men who liberated German concentration camps.
• A woman who served her country by becoming a part of the “Rosie the Riveter” movement.
• And much, much more.

Readers of World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware will also receive a bonus section on Fort Miles, the immense, heavily fortified military facility built to protect the mouth of the Delaware Bay and the city of Philadelphia from an attack by the German navy. Today, the fort is being renovated and will soon become one of the largest World War II museums in the country.

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware is a book profiling 50 brave Americans who fought for our country during World War II. These are men, as well as a couple of women, who today call southern Delaware home, but the book is certainly not about the nation’s first state. These are stories from Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, very personal and emotional stories from the grandest war the world has ever seen. They are all heroes, and I hope I have done their stories justice during this two-year project.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

When I was a young boy, I remember listening to my grandfather tell stories about the years he spent overseas during World War II. They were fun to listen to, but didn’t carry a whole lot of deep-rooted meaning for me until I was old enough to comprehend the sacrifices he and thousands of other men and women made during the 1940s. When a longtime family friend and newspaper man in my hometown approached me in the fall of 2007 and asked if I would be interested in documenting some of their accounts, it was a no-brainer. I jumped at the chance and began delving into these stories, one week at a time for nearly a year. I later decided to publish these stories in book form so they could be treasured forever and introduced to a much wider audience.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

My children, without question. I have two beautiful little girls at home who fill my life with so much happiness. One of the best things about working from a home office is the ability to take breaks every so often and spend a little time with the kids. I’m very lucky.

What are you currently working on?

Now that Heroes is finished, I’m working on promoting the book and making as many appearances, both online and off, as possible to talk about the project. I also have a freelance writing company and am a partner in a marketing firm, so I’m trying to get caught up on some of the things that got put on the back burner while I was working on the book.

I would also like to build on the success of World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware and write a couple more books profiling these brave men and women. The window is obviously closing pretty rapidly on doing such a project, so I need to move rather quickly. I’m hoping to dedicate a good deal of time to such a project over the next couple of years.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

I’ve won several awards for my writing, but the one I’m most proud of is the first place award I won from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association for the stories that eventually became World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware. That award actually inspired me to develop the book, which I am now quite proud of.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

There are hundreds of books on the market about World War II, but what makes this book so special is the fact that they are very personal, very emotional and so very real. These stories are about various aspects of the war, but first and foremost, they tell the personal accounts of 50 people who were actually there. These are not details you’ll find in a history book; you’ll only get this information in World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware.

What is your favorite past-time?

I love to travel with my family, though I don’t get to do that as much as I would like to these days. If I had my way, we’d take a trip somewhere every month of the year. Our favorite spot is the Caribbean, specifically the island of St. Maarten. It’s as close to paradise as you can get on earth.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

I would like to ask everyone a small favor, if I may. I’ve had my eyes opened so much during this two-year book project; it’s amazing how talking to so many people who went through so much can affect you. The next time life gets you down, think about what members of our armed forces went through, and still go through, so we may live as we do today in the greatest country in the world. Our problems are trivial compared to what these brave men and women endure. It’s made me appreciate life a lot more, I’ll tell you that. The next time you see a veteran of our armed forces, take the time to say thank you. It’s sure to be appreciated.

About the Author:

MARY BALOGH is the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Slightly series and Simply quartet of novels set at Miss Martin’s School for Girls, as well as many other beloved novels. She is also the author of First Comes Marriage, Then Comes Seduction, At Last Comes Love, and Seducing An Angel, all featuring the Huxtable family. A former teacher, she grew up in Wales and now lives in Canada. To learn more, visit the author’s website at www.MaryBalogh.com

The Interview:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

A PRECIOUS JEWEL is a Regency-era romance with a difference. The hero, Sir Gerald Stapleton, is a beta male whose self-esteem was taken from him during childhood by a cold, insensitive father and a stepmother who betrayed his love and trust. He is afraid of relationships and so satisfies his needs with frequent visits to a high-class brothel. The heroine, Priscilla Wentworth, well-born but forced by circumstances into prostitution, becomes his “regular” and later his mistress. It is not an auspicious beginning for a love story, but that is what their story becomes. I love to take on a challenge as a writer, and there was none greater that this.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

Gerald was a minor character in THE IDEAL WIFE, best friend of the hero. In that book he was struggling with the loss of his long-term mistress (Priscilla), who had left him to marry a former beau. My mind played with the usual what-ifs as I wrote THE IDEAL WIFE. What if Gerald really loved Priscilla? What if she really loved him? What if the former beau and impending marriage were fictitious, an excuse to get away from a liaison that had become intolerable to her? What if…

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

The inspiration was THE IDEAL WIFE and the minor character who intrigued me to such an extent that I had to tell his story. Actually, his story became an obsession with me. I knew I could not write it. Gerald was not the alpha male readers expect their heroes to be. Priscilla was a working prostitute. It was all quite impossible. A few fellow writers on whom I tried the idea agreed with me. I did not even ask my editor about it. But those two characters would not let me alone. Finally I wrote their story during a hectic two-week period and put the manuscript up on a shelf in my office for a long time before deciding to send it in just to see what the reaction would be. When I phoned about it some time later, I discovered that the book was in copyediting!

Who is your biggest critic?

I am. No one sees what I write until the book is completed to my satisfaction. My editor is the first to read it after me. From long experience I know what works for me and what is likely to work with my editor and with readers. Very rarely now am I asked to make any really extensive revisions. And as a British educated former teacher of English, I am always upset with myself if a copyeditor has to point out a grammatical error that I have made.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

It is always a good idea to write either what you know or what interests you as a reader. I write historical love stories set during the Regency era in England. Obviously it is not what I know but what I have researched and what I have always loved to read about. I loved Jane Austen as a girl, and I adored Georgette Heyer when I discovered her surprisingly late in life. It was her books, in fact, that impelled me to write my own. But influences have to be fought against once one begins to write one’s own books. One does not want to be a pale imitation of someone else. I worked hard to discover my own voice and my own particular approach to the Regency and my own vision of love.

What are you currently working on?

I have just completed writing a quintet of books about the Huxtable family—three sister, their brother, and their male second cousin. The first four books were out during the spring of 2009. The fifth, A SECRET AFFAIR, Constantine’s story, is set to be released in hardcover at the end of June, 2010.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

The only advice I would ever give a writer is to write. That might seem rather a silly thing to say on the face of it. I am always amazed, however, when in company with groups of writers, to discover how many will find any excuse imaginable to stop themselves from actually sitting down and writing—the need to get their lives organized, do some research, read some how-to books, attend more conferences, consult their critique group, etc. The only way to learn to write is to write. The only way to finish a book is to start it and keep going with it. The only way to get published is to write a book that may be publishable.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

Keeping on writing for more than twenty-five years and keeping my career building throughout that time. There is an amazing number of published authors I have known over the years who have disappeared from the scene for one reason or another. Surprisingly few authors make a long-term career out of their writing. I always have a chuckle when people describe me as a veteran, but I suppose that is what I am. And I am proud of the fact.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

A PRECIOUS JEWEL is very unusual in both its hero and its heroine. It is a love story set in Regency England, but it cannot be classified as a Regency romance. It is passionate and quite unconventional.

You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

Very difficult! Whatever I choose would turn out to be the wrong choice after I have been on that island for a year or decade or two. It might be Georgette Heyer’s FREDERICA. It was the first of her books I read, and it led me into an enchanted world that I rediscovered with every other book of hers I read. It also led to my own writing career. So, as well as the enjoyment I would get from the book itself, I would also get endless hours of dreaming and reminiscing out of having it with my on my desert island.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
More information about me and my books, including an excerpt from A PRECIOUS JEWEL, can be found at my web site – www.marybalogh.com.

About the Book:

She was unlike any woman he’d ever met in the ton or the demimonde. But Sir Gerald Stapleton frequented Mrs. Blyth’s euphemistically dubbed “finishing school” for pure, uncomplicated pleasure—and nothing else. So why was this confirmed bachelor so thoroughly captivated by one woman in particular? Why did he find himself wondering how such a rare jewel of grace, beauty, and refinement as Priss had ended up a courtesan? And when she needed protection, why did Gerald, who’d sworn he’d never get entangled in affairs of the heart, hasten to set her up as his own pampered mistress to ensure her safety—and have her all to himself?

For Priscilla Wentworth, the path leading to Sir Gerald’s bed had been as filled with misfortune as it suddenly seemed charmed. But Priss couldn’t allow herself to believe she’d ever be more to a man like Sir Gerald than a well-cared-for object of pleasure. Now, despite Gerald’s deep distrust of marriage, neither scandal nor society’s censure can keep them apart—only the fear of trusting their hearts.

About the Author:

Susan Berliner has been a nonfiction writer for nearly her entire career. She had originally planned to be an elementary school teacher, but left after a year to become a newspaper reporter for Fairchild Publications. She covered men’s retailing for Daily New Record, a men’s wear/textile trade newspaper, which was the “brother” paper of Women’s Wear Daily.

After Susan’s children were born, she switched to freelance writing–mainly in education–publishing several book series dealing with editing skills, language arts, and standardized testing. She has also created teachers’ guides, student activity sheets, and test passages. During this time, Susan was the project editor for a national science magazine for elementary school students and edited subject-related manuscripts for children in grades 7 and 8. In addition, she freelanced as a local reporter, covering board meetings for the North County News, a weekly newspaper in Yorktown Heights, New York.

When she returned to work full-time, Susan became the promotion manager of the Yorktown PennySaver, a job she held for 20 years. She created many original weekly contests–Phony Ad, Rhyme Time, and PennySaver Prophet.

Susan lives with her husband, Larry, in Yorktown Heights, where she is preparing her second book (Peachwood Lake) for publication and writing her third novel.

For more information on the book and author, please visit: www.susanberliner.com

The Review:

Karen McKay comes home after a long day and notices something isn’t quite right when she enters her house.  She sees a small dust tornado.  This may not seem that unusual, but this one is on the inside, with nothing to cause it.  Also, this dust is not dirty looking, but multi-colored.  As she watches, it spins over to a small figurine, picks it up, and drops it which causes it to shatter.  Karen really isn’t sure what to think, but before jumping to any conclusions she decides to see if she can find out some more information on dust funnels.  She doesn’t find anything substantial, but also doesn’t have another encounter so she writes it off as an unusual occurrence and decides to forget about it.

Unfortunately, the dust seems to be attacking the people that live in the condos where Karen resides.  She becomes terrified to stay at home by herself because she has no idea what to expect.  Will she fall down her steps?  Will it pick up objects again, but instead of dropping them throw them at her head?  Or will she reach the fate of some of the people, and end up in the hospital, or even dead?  Perhaps the most frightening of all is why?  And where do they come from?  With the help of her ex-husband, Karen is able to learn more about the dust but will it be enough to stop it?

I loved the way the author wrote this book, adding enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat, but not too much to turn away people who can’t stand a lot of graphic violence.  The characters are extremely well written and compliment a story that is new and refreshing.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good mystery but with a very new twist.  Very well done!

About the Book:

While unloading groceries in her Rock Haven condo, Karen McKay notices a strange swirl of red, green, and blue dust. The swirl follows her inside, lifts a porcelain ballerina from her wall unit, twirls it in the air, and throws it to the floor, shattering it into pieces.

The following evening, Karen hears her neighbor’s dog barking loudly. Upon investigation, she finds her neighbor, Marion, at the bottom of the stairs—dead. At the top of the stairs, a colorful whirlpool of dust circles ominously.

Now the feisty librarian must consider the unthinkable: Could the dust be responsible for her neighbor’s death and, if so, would it kill again? Karen turns to her ex-husband, Jerry, for help and together they bravely confront the mysterious dust. But will their daring actions cost them their lives?

So the dust can strike at any time,” Jerry continued. “You saw it at twilight and evening. We both saw it in the middle of the night, and yesterday it showed up in the afternoon.”

“The dust’s picked up and thrown a porcelain figurine, a watch, a baseball, and scariest of all, a person…Marion.” Karen’s eyes teared when she mentioned her neighbor’s name.

“So all we have to do is find a way to stop something that can appear and kill us at any time, with no warning,” Jerry said. “Sounds easy enough.”

Karen shook her head and sighed.

READ THE REVIEWS:

“Ms. Berliner reaches into the comfortable places of your consciousness and implants this super-force of malignancy that appears to be unstoppable. The usual authorities cannot be brought in to assist, as the evil dust can appear and disappear at will, and of course, who will believe the few people who have actually witnessed its destructive–yet highly unbelievable–force? She has woven a very comfortable setting, in a very comfortable community, with very comfortable people together with an apparently unbeatable foe–as ethereally light as the air around us, yet as deadly as the most feared supernatural event. Dust is a great read!”
-L. Commodore

“The book was great! What I liked most was that I couldn’t figure out the ending. Pure suspense! A lot of similarities to Stephen King. Can’t wait until the movie version!”
-I. Leonard

Join Chris DeBrie, author of the novel, Shakespeare Ashes (Infinity, June ‘09) , as he virtually tours the blogosphere in November on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

About the Book

Donna wonders how she can forgive and forget.

Charlene doesn’t quite know what she wants.

Robbie is usually thinking about which honey he plans to bag.

And Erven just does his best to obliterate the world…

Their lives and histories interconnecting, these characters navigate that uncertain time between classrooms and the wide-open world.

Guest Post

From the dream journal, 2003:

Cold outside. December. I sit up in my dark townhouse. I’ve awakened for work early. Great… time for breakfast. (coffee, black, a sugar, an ice cube so’s I can drink it in under a minute.) I get the java maker going. Raid the freezer.
An octopus is leaning out of my hall closet. Its head shiny and wet in yellow streetlights. The octopus moves nearer. It has one dinner-plate sized eye the color of butterscotch, its brow furrowed. Mad ock. Sloppy tentacles that somehow balance that balloony head. But I wanted that coffee….
I leap over the octopus and stomp upstairs in a panic. What is that thing? It follows, but it is slow. I am going to die with a Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard in my stomach. My pull up bar is wedged in the bedroom doorway. I–what else?–pull myself up on it, flat-footed on the ceiling.
Ock makes it upstairs. He looks around, and even looks up at me but can’t see me in the shadows. My heart is really running.
He slithers into the bathroom and the light flicks on. Somehow this is more disturbing than Ock himself–that he knows how to operate switches.
I drop to the floor and punt him, HARRRD
he hits the green shower curtain and thrashes around in it. All those arms. The noise is amazing. His big eye finds my face.
Ock falls in the toilet. His arms are wedged down the drain; the balloony head stuck in my porcelain ring.
That eye glaring at me. So disturbing.
I flush. He’s too big to go down. I decide that I’ve found my new pet.
My co-worker knocks on the door. He’s here to pick me up.
I’m going to have to feed Ock, if I want to keep him. And I’ve never really liked this co-worker.
I invite him in.
I tell him that I want to show him something….

About Chris DeBrie

Chris DeBrie was born in North Carolina, creating comics and stories as soon as he could hold a pencil. He wrote the millennial love story As Is as a ninth grader, publishing it a decade later. Selective Focus was the result of those homemade comic screenplays. With Shakespeare Ashes, he pulls the reader into the raw thoughts of four very different characters. DeBrie is a fan of photography, learning languages, and clean water. He lives in Virginia.

http://www.washyourhandsproductions.com/

Chris DeBrie has written a highly-entertaining, fast-paced book for readers. We follow the lives of four individuals through trials and tribulations of finding the right love; addressing gender issues and the all-encompassing racial issues.

The book is somewhat like letters and conversations exchanged between friends. With the elaborate descriptions of the characters readers will feel they know each one individually. The language is completely today’s language that you would hear anyone speak. In his writing he starts each sentence with small letters instead of the usual capital letters, which I found intriguing. I might even compare this to a journal one would write.

Readers will find themselves rooting for each of the characters and disliking other minor characters in the book. From the very first page readers will be captivated by the writing style and language. This book is everything we experience in our daily lives, right down to the elderly lady with an open umbrella and cane trying to maneuver getting on public transportation.

The author has written two other books, neither of which I have had the pleasure of reading. If they are anything like “Shakespeare Ashes”- they are a must read for all. – ReaderViews.com

I was thrilled to see this challenge out there again – this is my favorite genre and I am thrilled to participate.  See the details below for what it entails – to join visit Book Chick City:

Timeline: 01 Jan 2010 – 31 Dec 2010
Rules: To read TWELVE (12) thrillers in 2010

Details:

• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront then you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

• If you decide to participate in this challenge please use the links I have set up below with the buttons to post on your sidebar, this way others can find their way back to this post and join in the fun.

• If you decide to join this challenge be sure to create a post telling others, please make sure you add a link back to this post so others can join in.

• You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

• There will be a place for you to link your reviews, but this is optional.

About the Book:

There was a time when Melanie’s dysfunctional family was out of sight and mind, and her only worries were her monthly sales figures, what shade of beige to paint her low-maintenance condo, and whether she was ready to make charming journalist Jack Trenholm a permanent fixture in her life. Those days are over.

After receiving a deadly premonition, Melanie’s mother, who deserted her more than thirty years ago, suddenly returns to Charleston to protect her. But all Ginnette Prioleau Middleton does is remind Melanie of how little they have in common–except for their ability to communicate with ghosts…

And now Ginnette is moving into their ancestral home on Legare Street, and she needs Melanie’s advice on restoring it and her sixth sense to talk to the dead that inhabit it. But Ginnette’s return has awakened a dark spirit–whose strength has been growing for decades–and who is ready for revenge. With Jack’s help, Melanie and her mother must find a way to work together to fight its malevolent presence and save what’s left of their family…

What Exactly DO I Write?

Way back when I started writing my first book, I was so blissfully ignorant of the whole publishing world.  My ignorance actually made the writing part that much more fun–I didn’t worry if I was breaking any ‘rules’ or following any particular genre (not to mention worry about meeting a deadline).  After all, I’d been an avid reader all my life–didn’t that mean that I knew exactly what readers wanted in a book?

Yes and no.  Recently I was invited to a writer’s chat room to discuss the pros and cons of writing the books of your heart–which, apparently, is what I was doing all those years ago when I didn’t have a clue.

After thinking for a while I realized that the pros are pretty obvious:  writing a book you really, REALLY want to write is fun.  Joyful even.  The next best thing to reading a great book.  Unfortunately, the cons aren’t as obvious.  Getting published is tough–especially today.  Editors say they’re always looking for “new and fresh”, but spend a lot of time publishing the “tried and true”.  You can’t blame them–they know those books will sell.  Books about time-travel written in first person or about an uptight realtor who sees ghosts aren’t really the tried and true.  An editor has to put her name and reputation on the line to publish a “different” kind of book that may or may not be successful.  For every runaway bestseller story, there’s at dozen failure stories.

So how have I managed to write 12 novels (13 if you include the contemporary southern gothic novel residing under my bed) in 5 different genres and still remain published?  Well, I don’t really know. But this is what I _do_ know–I write the kind of books I like to read.  And, apparently, there are a lot of people out there who like the same kind of books!

Mostly, I stay true to my voice.  Whether I’m writing an historical, a contemporary romance, a Southern women’s fiction ‘grit lit’ novel, or a paranormal/mystery/grit-lit-lite book, readers recognize them all as a “Karen White book.”  It’s what carries my readers through all my books, regardless of genre.

I always get asked why I stopped writing romance and moved into women’s fiction.  To be honest, I wasn’t aware that I had.  I never really wrote romance any more than I currently write strictly women’s fiction.  My books are pretty much the same kind of books that I started with–books about a woman at a crossroads in her life, usually with emotional baggage, throw in some mystery, some romance, some humor and drama, and always a dash of Southern family dysfunction.  So what do you call that?  I have no idea.  I think that’s why my publisher has given up and just puts “fiction” on the spine.

My most recent book, The Girl on Legare Street, is the sequel to last year’s The House on Tradd Street.  These books sort of defy genre, and are what I call “Moonlighting meets The Sixth Sense meets National Treasure” books.  I’d like to think that instead of identifying them by genre name, readers will just call them “good reads.”

A few “good reads” that I’ve read lately:  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Help, The Glass Castle, The House at Riverton, The Thirteenth Tale.  All terrific books:  insightful, beautifully written, page-turning, and entertaining.  Isn’t that what we all look for when we shell out our money and devote precious time to a book?  But if you asked me in what genre they’d be classified, I’d draw a blank.  They’re just “good reads.”  I even have an entire wall of shelves devoted to these keepers–they’re my go-to books when I need inspiration for my own writing, or just to revisit old friends.

I belong to a book club where we read a really eclectic group of books because we’re an eclectic group of ladies with members in their thirties all the way up to an octogenarian.  Every January when we sit down to choose our books for the year, we deliberately try to pull books from all genres–mystery, non-fiction, memoir, fiction etc.  And then each month we read them and rate them.  At the end of the year we’ll talk about the hits and misses and the ones that get the highest marks (and are remembered by the end of the year) are the ones we simply call “good reads.”

I take that to heart each time I start writing a new book.  I want to emotionally engage a reader and entertain her; to make her laugh, to cry, to think, and–most of all–miss the characters when the last page is turned.

So, no, I don’t really care what people call my books or what category they want to file them in.  You can find them in the “W” row (usually towards the bottom) in the general fiction section of most bookstores.  And if I’m lucky enough and you pick it up and bring it home to read, it is my fervent wish that you’ll file it on your keeper shelf where you store all of your “good reads.”

About the Author:

After playing hooky from school one day in the seventh grade to read Gone With the Wind, I knew I wanted to be a writer—or become Scarlett O’Hara. In spite of these aspirations, I grew up to pursue a degree in business and graduated cum laude with a BS in Management from Tulane University.

I have always been a voracious reader and was encouraged by my teachers to write ever since elementary school.  Writing a book was always in the back of my mind, but definitely something I’d “do later when I have time.”

One day in 1996 when my children were just babies, I decided it was time and started writing my first book.  When I had a few chapters written, I sent it in to a writer’s contest and by some miracle it won.  The finalist judge was a New York literary agent and she offered to represent me.  That first book, In the Shadow of the Moon, was sold and then published in 2000.  It was a double finalist in Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award.

I have since published ten award-winning novels, and five more books are scheduled including the sequel to The House on Tradd Street (The Girl on Legare Street, November 2009) and two more books in the series beyond that. My next Southern women’s fiction (“grit lit”) novel set in the Lowcountry, and not part of the Tradd Street series, will be published in May 2010.

While growing up, I lived in London, England and am a graduate of the American School in London.  I currently live in sunny Georgia with my husband and two children.  When not writing, I spend my time reading, singing, scrapbooking, carpooling children and avoiding cooking.

I love hearing from readers. Please email me at AuthorKarenWhite@aol.com or write to Karen White, PO Box 623, Roswell, Georgia 30077.