​A Bedouin's Hope Ignites
 
After the doctor tells Ahmad
his test results, Ahmad says
he needs a new place to live.
 
His tent’s in ruins, Ahmad says.
His body will soon shake a final time
and turn to dust in the sun.
 
In the trees vultures preen as
Ahmad rides his camel into the hills.
He will die in a new place to live.
 
 
Donal Mahoney

Gossamer: Book Three of The Chronicles of Eledon
By Joni Parker
Published by Village Green Press LLC

 
ABOUT THE BOOK


Lady Alexin, Eledon's Keeper of the Keys, must continue to prove her powers when her grandmother, Lady Lestin, and her friend, Lady Opaline of the Gossamer Elves, are kidnapped by rebels and held for ransom. Alex attempts a daring rescue, only to discover that there is far more to this plot that she immediately suspected and the betrayal extends to the highest levels of the High Council of Elders. Threatened by rebel factions, suspected by Council members and under attack by deadly spiders, the young warrior has only her wits, her fighting skills and the powers of the Keys to help her. But will they be enough to save them all?
 
Genre: Fantasy
301 pages
 
MY REVIEW - Amy
 
3 out of 5 stars
 
The concept of this book was unique and fun. It stands apart from other fantasy series because of the vivid and extensive world of Eledon, which houses dragons, islands with magic entry points, competing groups of elves, and a heroine who’s brave and compassionate. I’m all for strong female characters, and Alex, the Keeper of the Keys, does not disappoint. She fights for gender equality as she fulfills each mission, and that’s something I really liked about this book. At times, though, Alex’s magic keys felt a little too convenient—I wanted to see the keys assist her in her missions but not solve the problems for her, as they often did. She seemed strong enough to solve problems herself. Also, the pacing of the story occasionally felt a bit off to me, and some sections seemed like filler. Overall, though, I think the magic and adventure of “Gossamer” is enough to hold any reader captive for a few enjoyable hours of reading (Or maybe days—this book is long!)

MY REVIEW: - Maddy
3 stars. I picked this up having not read the first two books in the series, and I found that other than some character relations and some mentioning of previous adventures, there’s not much that would leave one utterly lost. The author does a good job explaining everything in the world, even explaining what was worth of note whenever a previous adventure got mentioned.  This book is fast paced, with everything that happens being the other link in the chain that pushed the plot along. I couldn’t figure out if this was a MG read or a YA one, as other than some nuances of mature themes and a spattering of curse words throughout, everything held the vagueness and childish characteristics that one would expect was made for a young reader. This is a book you can finish off in a couple of evenings on any count.
 This book’s plot is fast, with drama and conflict happening every few chapters or pages. It held the potential for being something great, honestly, but the way the plot was handled was the major let down I felt when reading. Alex is your typical all powerful heroine of a YA novel. She’s this half elf, half mortal, with a bit of an attitude that only really comes up in the beginning or end, but she’s also from a noble lineage on both sides, beautiful to boot, and the only one that can wield these magical keys, know dwarf magic, shoot blue light that can be painful or healing, heal through telepathy, overhear other’s “Elfspeak” and is a kickass swordswoman…and her only major concern is finding true love. Did you get as tired reading that as I did at writing it?  

Because of her prowess at…everything, and how everything sort of just so happens to work out for her, problems get worked out or figured out literally within the next few sentences. Anything the author brings up is something that gets touched on later, or only brought up so this protagonist can save the day or direct someone else to help out. She reads in on the enemies “Elfspeak” only at times to push the plot along. And it just happens on a whim, giving the impression that she isn’t activating it, but that it just falls into her lap and she can go ahead to direct someone to bring reinforcements. Even the time that she was truly in peril (though she was in peril more times than that, but since you got no sense of this…it almost doesn’t matter) she still managed to fight off a few assassins and save her grandmother and fight off a mystical giant spider…all the while recovering from a poisonous spider bite. That’s just one of many scenarios where the enemy pops up out of the blue, she fights a little bit and then some ally magically shows up in the nick of time to bring some reinforcements. Or the keys help her out.

The pacing of this story hurts the plot, with everything happening much too quickly. The passage of a month and the passage of a day are paced out the same, you get no sense of how long it takes them to get from point a to point b except when something along the lines of “we’ll leave in 48 hours” or “this will take a month” shows up. The author does like to track the passage of time through meals though, so there is that. Though, I lost track of how many times I read Alex’s breakfast of biscuits, butter, strawberry jam and tea, but it was enough that I ended up memorizing it. There was little filler in the whole story, though, another good point. Though there was one whole chapter just on Alex plowing a field, and that never really…came to amount to anything. It felt like a subplot that never got fully actualized.
The characters themselves are flat, static and cookie cutter. There are multiple characters and character relations to remember, but they come up so frequently, that I had little issues keeping track. The antagonists were all the same, as were the supporting characters, with the exception of Lady Lestin, who plays the “easily flustered noblewoman” to a t. Other than some things, they easily accept anything Alex says or does, even when before she should have gotten more than a slap on the hand for doing it.

The author does do a decent job on dialogue, and a decent job on foreshadowing. I can see this book being something for a younger crowd to really like, with Alex being some sort of Katniss for the younger generations. But other than that there were several parts of this work where it could have been overall better, and easily two or three times as long as it ended up being. The start of the story was good, the first few pages I was really curious of the story, but it felt like the author got overwhelmed by the plot and just wanted to slog it all out on the screen before going back to it. Alex became nothing more than a puppet until the very end and the very beginning, even with the author’s attempts to make her feel emotions. It was just too little too late, the plot overshadowed the characters and their lives.  All in all this was an okay read, and if you have the chance to read it, don’t worry if you haven’t read the previous books. This could stand by itself, though with a clear ending toward the fourth installment. 

 MY REVIEW - Ally
4 out of 5 stars
Joni Parker is a very strong writer. From the first chapter, she engages the reader with the power of her words. She provides just enough immersive description to hook a reader and balances it with a quick pace.

The first couple pages catch up the reader on any information lost by skipping the first two books. While it works as a stand alone novel, reading the other two would certainly strengthen this one in terms of depth of characters and character relations. However, even without the support of its predecessors, this book easily captures the characters and their relationships with one another. Parker also quickly establishes her world, demonstrating some exemplary worldbuilding.

MY REVIEW - Corinthia
4/5

I read this book without reading the first two in the series and it was easy to get the swing of things despite appearing in the middle of Alex’s troubles and adventure.

Despite the easy flow that Parker writes her stories the plot moves at a pace that is either too quick in the areas where it needs to be slowed down, or too slow in the areas where it need to be sped up. Time is another issue. Parts of the story jump weeks or even months in a single sentence and because of the writing style, and if the reader isn’t reading close enough, it’s easy to miss those time cues and think that just a day has past.

The characters are another let down. Flat and lacking any depth there’s little to no character growth. Characters maturity is another issue. Those who are supposed to be older than Alex by centuries can act like spoiled four year olds with little thought of surrounding situations despite their eons of an experience. While Alex, a half breed elf, has a seemingly unlimited power at her beck and call that doesn’t seem to drain her or have any negative consequences. She’s able to eavesdrop on other’s Elfspeak without being noticed, she’s a warrior, and she has one of the highest social standings amongst a race she’s only half of. All her problems are easily solved in either a sentence later or a few paragraphs down with little to no effect on her mental psyche.
​
But the biggest let down for me as a reader was anywhere in the story where it seemed like there was a red herring or a dramatic plot twist the answer would appear in the next few paragraphs in, sadly, a rather anticlimactic reveal.
What this book does have working for it is its dialogue and use of description. I can see this book, despite its length and slight mature content, being enjoyed by bookworms in middle school or early high school.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 
Joni Parker was eight when she and her family left Chicago and moved to Japan. After four years, her family returned and settled in Phoenix, Arizona where Joni attended Camelback High School. After graduation, she attended Arizona State University, only to drop out after one semester to join the Navy. She completed twenty-two years of service in the Navy both as an enlisted member and officer. In addition, she worked for the Department of Homeland Security for another seven years before retiring again to devote her time to writing. Her first series, "The Seaward Isle Saga" was published by Village Green Press LLC beginning in 2012. In July 2015, her book, "Spell Breaker" began her next fantasy series, "The Chronicles of Eledon" and was recently selected as a 2016 Book Excellence Award Finalist. "The Blue Witch" is her second book in the series and "Gossamer" has just been published. Her fourth book will complete the series and will be published in 2017.
 
DISCLAIMER
 
I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.

INTERVIEW WITH KENNETH KELLY:

Tell us about your book.
Virtue Inverted started off as a story I began in high school.  I was very proud of it, showing it off to all my friends and English teachers.  But it wasn’t anywhere close to the work it is now.  Benny Clout’s character was essentially the same, but almost everything else (setting, plot, characters, etc.) was unrecognizable to how it is now.  After I graduated and began college, I quickly realized it wasn’t the masterpiece I’d hoped it would be and sat on it for a few years until I contacted Piers Anthony in 2015 in regards to another book I’d written.  We began to discuss this old story of mine, collaborated and before I knew it we’d completed Virtue Inverted and the following installments.  I don’t want to discuss too much of the story, but I’ll describe it as a hard hitting vampire fantasy.  However, it’s not your typical vampire story.

Who are your favorite authors?
This is a hard question because there are so many writers I admire.  I’m obviously a big Piers Anthony fan, and I love the big names of sci-fi/fantasy like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Stephen King.  I love the more modern, popular writers like Robert Jordan, Isaac Asimov, David Farland, etc.  But there are a lot of lesser known writers I don’t feel received the recognition they deserved: John Bellairs,  H. Beam Piper, Niel Hancock, Brad Munson, and John Ruskin.  If I typed the names of every writer I consider a favorite this interview would go on forever.  An easier question would probably be “which writers aren’t your favorite?” 

What advice do you have for other writers?
Keep writing and never give up.  It’s hard to become well established as a published writer; I’m still working on that.  If one project doesn’t take off, set it aside and move on to the next.  You’re first big idea won’t always take off like a jet plane, so don’t become discouraged if your ‘magnum opus’ doesn’t get the reception you think it should.  Look at my example: it took over half a decade and the aid of a bestselling writer before Virtue Inverted was picked up by a publisher.  Also remember that I got lucky, and not everyone will get the chance to write with a man like Piers Anthony like I did. So I’ll go back a hundred times to the same advice: don’t give up and keep writing no matter what!  It’s easy to let everyday life and limited success steal your motivation.  Don’t let it happen.  The only way to be a writer is to write. 

What’s your favorite quote about writing/for writers?
A now deceased English teacher, poet and father figure of mine, Kurt Van Wilt, once told me “write what you know.”  I’ll remember this advice after everything else is forgotten.  You have to know what you’re writing about, even in a genre like fantasy.  I’ve never served in the military let alone gone to war, and I’ve never devoted much research to the idea, so for me to write a novel from the point of view of a soldier as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, or something similar, would be ludicrous and any readers who have experienced this would pick up on it.  It’s sort of like that.  Writing what you know is what makes your work believable and gives it credibility.    

Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
I’d have to say Dale Beranger.  He’s a tortured soul with a complicated past, who was a well seasoned adventurer who could handle any situation imaginable at any given time.  You never know what to expect with him.  Having him as a main antagonist and villain is what I feel makes Virtue Inverted the story it is.  I’ve always thought that the villain of a story is what made it compelling, and my own work is no exception. 

Why do you think readers are going to enjoy your book?
Virtue Inverted is a compelling, fast paced and action packed story. I know how much I hate a boring book, and I don’t want readers to find my work dull.  The narrative is complex, with many twists and turns that will keep the reader on the edge of their seats until the very end. 

Who Designed the Cover?
The cover for Virtue Inverted was done by Mitchell Bentley from Atomic Fly Studios.  I stumbled across his website a while back and loved his work.  So, Piers and I agreed to let him to the cover for our works.  I came up with the general idea for the cover, which Mr. Bentley used to design the finished art. 

Who inspires you?
A short, simple answer would be God, family and friends. So many people have aided and supported me throughout my writing and life.  My parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins, and friends, living and dead, have always pushed me to give nothing less than my 110% at any task I set before me.  I feel compelled to make them proud, and to help others in the way they’ve helped me. 
​
Who or what inspired you to become a writer?
It may seem like a childish inspiration, but an old VHS tape is what inspired me to become a writer.  When I was a toddler, a neighbor gave me some old video tapes full of old cartoons that I would watch on a daily basis.  As a child, I was mesmerized by the colors, characters, places and things I saw, and I would become lost in these amazing worlds I witnessed.  This inspired me as a child to create and tell stories to my parents, who would write my tales down before I knew how to write.  There were few things that stirred my soul more than a compelling story.  Each movie or book I watched or read became a real place, with real friends where I escape the boredom of everyday life.  They kept me motivated and gave me something to live for.  Every story I watch or read inspires me to this day, but it was those old VHS tapes, which I still have, that set me on the path to become a writer, so that I could help inspire and motivate others with my own work. 
 
 
 

INTERVIEW WITH PIERS ANTHONY:

Who are your favorite authors?
            If I lost my memory and had my choice of reading matter, I hope my favorite would be Piers Anthony. I try to write what I would like to read. As for other authors, I have admired many in the Science Fiction and Fantasy fields, from Robert A Heinlein on down. I am also an admirer of the plays of George Bernard Shaw, and not just because he was a vegetarian.

What advice do you have for other writers?
            Publishing is changing so much now that much of what I might say would become dated about ten minutes after I wrote it. So I’ll just say read and study the genre you are in, keep writing and improving, and may the world go well with thee.

What's the best thing about being a writer?
            For me the best thing is getting to exercise my imagination and being independent. I can’t be fired for someone else’s mistakes.

What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?
            It used to be dealing with publishers, who were like insensitive robots interested only in money, regardless what they claimed. But the old order is passing and the new publishers I am dealing with are generally more compatible. Some of them even like good fiction. So now the hardest thing is facing the prospect of my declining ability with advancing age. I’m not capable of simply letting it go and retiring. So when I no longer write well, I hope I am the first, not the last to know it.

Where can people find out more about you and your writing?
            My web site is www.hipiers.com where I have a monthly column, commenting on whatever is on my mind, and background information on my titles. I have also written two autobiographical books: Bio of an Ogre and How Precious Was That While.
                                                   
What are you doing to market the book? 
 
            Precious little. I’m a writer, not a marketer.
 
Who inspires you?
 
            The world inspires me.
 
Have you written other books? Where can readers purchase them?
 
            I have written about 175 other books. Readers can find many of them listed on Amazon. Many readers like my Xanth fantasy series, which now number 42 novels, not all in print yet.

 
Who or what inspired you to become a writer?
 
            I needed to decide on my college major. I pondered a day and a night, and it came to me: I wanted to be a writer. It was like a light turning on and it has guided me ever since.
 
Does your family support you in your writing career? How?
 
            My wife supported me. She went to work so I could stay home and try to be a writer. That was when I broke through with my first story sale – for $20.00. But it led to greater things, in time.
 
What are you currently reading?
 
            I am usually reading something, often a novel for review or blurbing. At the moment I’m between books.
 
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
 
            Writing is my passion and my life. All else feels like dross. But I do make the meals and wash the dishes, as my wife is infirm. I also like to play cards on the computer, mainly Free Cell, which I believe is the best card game ever.
 
What is your favorite line from a movie?
 
            Great lines in movies are myriad, but it’s the quiet personal ones that get to me the most that others may not even notice. There was one whose title I don’t remember, where a man, a widower, got a girlfriend he was considering marrying. His early teen daughter lived with him. When the woman made them a meal, the man told the teen to do the dishes. The girlfriend intervened. “No, she doesn’t have to do that. I’ll do it.” Why?  “She’s your daughter and I want her to like me.” That disarming candor surely ensured that the girl would like the woman.
 
What do you like to snack on while you write?
 
            I maintain my college weight, and I exercise seriously. I don’t eat between meals. I’m pretty fit for my age, pushing 82, and mean to stay that way.
 
When you walk into a book store, where is the first place you go?
 
            The last local book store closed down.
 
 
What is the funniest thing that you’ve been asked during an interview?
 
            At the moment I’m not thinking of anything funny in an interview. But I was amused by a sentence in my fan mail: “Ha! Caught you reading fan mail!”
            Sometimes I do learn things from my fan mail .
            I had a suicidally depressive girl in one of my novels (Virtual Mode, if you must know) who regularly cut her wrists so that they bled. So she wore red bands on her wrists to conceal the blood. A reader wrote that I had it wrong: blood dries black, so she needed black wristlets. I suspect she spoke from experience.
 

 
 

More Than The Madness: A Memoir by John Kaniecki
Published by Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed by Kara M
 
ABOUT THE BOOK
 
This book gives readers a glimpse into the life of someone living with bipolar disorder. It’s not a clinical book filled with facts and figures, but a book of humanity. 

Spanning childhood to early adult, through stories of abuse, being bullied, experimentation with drugs and alcohol, inpatient stays on psych wards, a night in jail, his college days in the fraternity, hitchhiking across America, and his time in a third world country, John gives the reader a personal and up-close look into his life as a manic depressive. The stories are sad, shocking, and at times funny as he shares his antics while at his most manic and delusional.
 
Throughout his journey, John also struggles with his faith in God. More than the Madness is a testament of one man’s journey to grow closer to God while gaining a better understanding of himself. 

John wrote his story to help educate others on mental illness and remove some of the stigma associated with it. It is his hope that readers will get to know the person behind the diagnosis; take away the labels and meet someone's son, friend, and husband. See that there is More Than the Madness.
 
MY REVIEW
 
4/5
 
More Than The Madness was an emotional insight on a mental illness that effects those who have it in different ways. Bipolar disorder is a mental illness I’m familiar with, as it has affected people I love. It’s often hard to understand the chemical imbalance without having it yourself, and I think Kaniecki did a beautiful job of just telling his story and how it affected him. The simple way Kaniecki tells readers about growing up reinforces the reality that is mental illness: it can affect anyone.
 
Sometimes the story jumped around a lot, but I wasn’t too concerned since life lessons can happen nonlinear. The memoir not only told the story of the author, but also the people in his life. I really loved all the connections Kaniecki brought into the story. The mixture of influences in his life really made readers understand how different everyone is, but how they can impact your lives in significant ways no matter what the chemicals in their brains are doing. The memoir also covers what it was like to be in a psychiatric hospital, and how they’re not all the same. I think this work says a lot about how people should view mental illness and how those with mental illness can be understood.  
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 
John Kaniecki is an author and poet. His works has been published in over eighty outlets. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Pompton Plains, New Jersey. He attended Steven's Institute of Technology for two years before dropping out. At that time John became a Christian and a member of the Church of Christ. Also John began to seriously suffer from bipolar disorder. This mental illness would adversely affect John. As such the topic is dealt with in his writing. In particular in his book of memoirs "More Than The Madness". Also the experience is poetically explored in the book "Murmurings Of A Mad Man". John's shining achievement is his poetry book "Poet To The Poor,Poems Of Hope For The Bottom One Percent." This book deals with historical figures and events along with people from John's own life. True to John's poetic philosophy the book is written with poems that deliver a clear message. Rhyming and rhythm are prominent. John's book "Sunset Shadows" is a book of classically written sonnets dealing with dying and death in a spiritual and wholesome way. "A Day's Weather" completes John's present poetry collection which is a depiction of his days as a neophyte poet. This early work is a wholesome and quaint collection. 
 
John has a science fiction anthology called Words of the Future. This book is interesting, unique and exciting. John presently has two horror books out, "Scarecrow, Scarecrow" and "Satan's Siren". These two books are part of a series following the main character Anne McFry. 
 
John presently lives in Montclair with his wife Sylvia. John is a volunteer minister at the Church of Christ at Chancellor Avenue which is located in the south ward of Newark New Jersey. John is also a full time caregiver for his wife. Expect more exciting stuff from John soon.
 
Amazon Product Page
 
DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.
 

The Storm
by Aaron Hwang

Asher just wanted to be dry. It had been who knew how many days, and he just wanted to sit on land that didn’t rock, wear clothes that weren’t damp, and talk to someone who wasn’t himself. Instead, he sighed and poured another cup of water back into the sea.

The ocean was too damn big. Really it just was. It was like a continent all its own, a forgotten shadow country, unobtrusively vaster than all the nations of the world combined.  On maps, it was just a void space, an emptiness – something to look down on from an airplane as you left it behind. But it was there. Blueness wider than the imagination, and at the center of it all was Asher’s orange dot.

This dot was Asher’s life raft. It was a dinky thing, nothing more than an orange tent mounted on an inner tube, a contraption which was, against all appearances, sea-worthy.

Well, things could always be worse, Asher thought to himself as he fiddled with dials and buttons on his unresponsive radio. In the distance, Asher saw dark clouds casting shadows of rain approaching like huge beasts on spindly lightning legs. A tremor ran through his body, and, at first, he thought it was fear, until he felt the grin spreading on his face. No- not fear, not just fear. The sea shuddered too, like a giant drum, a heartbeat of rise and fall.

The storm clouds lumbered on, great and ponderous, calling to each other with groans of thunder. Asher breathed deep as the wind whipped the orange canopy of his raft into a frenzy, and the clouds’ dark shadows passed over him. He emerged from his tent-like structure, and clung to the canvas as it flapped, wanting to feel that wind against his skin, needing to feel the lash of the rain.

It came down hard, like marbles, and Asher hung from the slick side of his canopy, holding his mouth open, until he could gargle rainwater with a triumphant flourish. He looked up at the distant black underbellies of rolling clouds, and he was a mouse at the feet of elephants, a minnow overtaken by a pod of whales.

The thunder boomed and Asher whooped back to the sky.  The rain came down, and drenched him, and he laughed. He knew he would probably be dead soon- but until then he was going to be alive.

Then he saw the boat. At first, he thought it was a trick of his eyes, an apparition of white in the rain. But then he recognized the sharp sides of a cruise liner, marble and ponderous, emerging silently from the curtains of rain.

Asher made a strangled noise and dropped to the canopy, rain slick hands fumbling for the zipper. He struggled to fight his way past the snarled plastic teeth. Signal flare. Signal flare.

There! He lunged for it, but the storm shook the raft like a bug, hurling objects around in a dizzy flurry. Asher splashed to the plastic floor, blindly grasping fingers around something that felt like a tube.

He slashed his way back, beating aside the canopy, and breaching into storm. The cruise liner was passing away now, grey rain curtains closing as quietly as they had opened. Asher looked down and cursed himself, he’d meant to grab the parachute flare, but this handheld one, this would have to do.

The rain bit at his eyes as the sea tossed him about, trying to knock him into its maw. He fumbled with the cap, and the wind tore it from his hand. Asher grit his teeth until they hurt and struck the flare against his belt loop instead. Nothing happened, and water had begun to coat the flare in a hateful film. He struck it again, and nothing happened. He screamed and struck it again, and the flare burst with red light, like a giant match. He hollered and whooped and raised it over his head.
​
But the cruise liner passed on, as insensate as an iceberg. The storm swallowed it, and then, it was gone.
Edited by Kara Mercer

The Hokey Pokey Pirates by Peyton King
Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed by Ariel B
 
ABOUT THE BOOK
Who would've thought that going outside to jump on the trampoline would lead to an exciting high seas adventure? That's exactly what happened to Charlie and Lexie when they went out to play while their mom was cooking supper. Hokey Pokey Pirates is a story written by a child for children, using her own bond with her brothers to teach the importance of family bonding time in an imaginative and fun way.


MY REVIEW

Rating: 5/5
I absolutely loved this book!  It is short, sweet, and to the point.  It captured and retained my attention immediately.  What I really enjoyed about the book was the simplicity of it.  Peyton King, the teenage author behind this book, captures the simplicity of being a child.  This book brought back my own memories of playing outside with my brother and jumping on a trampoline.  Don’t even get me started on the hokey pokey dance!  The most important part of this book stems from the main characters’ imaginations that seem to be so in sync with each other.  What King brings up is that family bond, especially between siblings.  I think she understands that concept perfectly, thus making this imaginative story feel so real.  This is a book that children and their parents will enjoy.  The book’s message is a simple, yet important one that families can appreciate.  It may even inspire children to play outside with their friends and family instead of using their cell phones.  I tip my hat to the young, talented author of this book.  Peyton King is going to become a successful children’s author before she is even 18!  I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peyton King was given a classroom assignment at the age of nine to write a story. She wrote about the games she liked to play with her brothers on the trampoline in their backyard. At the age of 15 she rediscovered that old story. Peyton hopes to be an inspiration to other youth who want to pursue their dreams in the creative arts.
https://www.amazon.com/Hokey-Pokey-Pirates-Peyton-King/dp/151424862X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498667352&sr=8-1&keywords=hokey+pokey+pirates

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.
 
 

Service Goat by Piers Anthony
Published by Dreaming Big Publications
 
Review by Kara M
 
ABOUT THE BOOK
 
Orphaned and blind seven-year-old Callie has a service animal – a goat with extraordinary powers.


Ben Hemoth is a down-on-his luck news reporter facing prison. Needing to save his job and his reputation, he teams up with Venus, a young seductress caught up with a teenage drug gang. 


When a mysterious letter arrives detailing a top-secret investigative operation, Ben and Venus think they’ve found their chance for redemption. The mission? Investigate a goat.


In exchange for an extravagant paycheck, Ben and Venus must piece together the wild rumors swirling around Callie, her supernatural goat, and a possible UFO visit. 

Piers Anthony’s Service Goat is an extraordinary tale rich with adventure, extraterrestrial visitors, secrecy, dangerous governmental operations, and the classic hints of mischief that readers have come to expect and love from the New York Times bestselling author of the Xanth series. 
 
MY REVIEW
 
3/5
 
This book was very interesting to say the least. The storyline was so creative, which made it a great page turner. Anthony writes in a very attention-getting, no nonsense way that was fun to keep reading. I was so intrigued by the wild plot. I’m not usually into a lot of science fiction-y books, but the lack of complicated jargon and scientific overload helped keep my interest since I wasn’t bombarded by words I didn’t know.
 
There were a few things keeping it from being a 5, however. While the book was a quick read, I felt it was kind of fast paced. There were a lot of moments that I would have loved to be further explained, or moments between characters further elaborated to build some relationships. Maybe some more of Callie’s thoughts.
 
The book does have some sexual content (nothing graphically described) that I wasn’t bothered by. However, I was bothered by one of the characters, Venus, being overly sexualized, especially by someone older than her. A principal of a grade school admits to fantasizing about her when she was in eighth grade and the comment (which I found pretty gross) was overlooked by everyone else who was present.
 
Despite the pacing and the one creepy comment, the rest of the novel was an interesting one that is hard to explain unless you read it for yourself. And you should read it for yourself.
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 
Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors, and a New York Times bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and he daily receives hundreds of letters from his devoted fans. In addition to the Xanth series, Anthony is the author of many other best-selling works. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.
 
Amazon Page
 
DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.
 

Angel Fish

by Aaron Hwang

Today, Parson’s goldfish died. I know I’ve never mentioned the goldfish much before, but… now she’s dead. Her name was Abigail.

I don’t really get how kids can fall so in love with goldfish. They’re not pets. Not really. They’re furniture. Decoration. Goldfish don’t play with you like dogs, or even ignore you like cats. They just float around and... and I don’t know.

I never told Parson that of course. Because he really does love that fish, or did, I guess I should say. Sometimes I’d walk by his room and hear him talking to her, telling her about his day, and asking her how hers was, you know. Whatever it is a fish would do with its day. I know you wouldn’t approve, but I listened outside his door once, and he talked, just a one-sided conversation, just monologuing, for fifteen minutes. I don’t know if he’s ever talked to me for fifteen minutes. I figure there’s no harm in it, in monologuing, I mean. He’s only five. It’s like an imaginary friend. He’s young enough to have an imaginary friend, right?

Only now she’ll be extra imaginary I guess, because, you know, she died today. I mean, she died in the night probably, I don’t know. See, I don’t know how long it was before he called me in to look at her. You know how Parson is. Maybe he could have just been sitting there talking to her for who knows how long, before he recognized something was… something was… you know.

So, he asked me what was wrong with her, and I put my hand in the water and she didn’t move, and I touched her and she didn’t move. She was also, you know, mostly upside down, which is usually not such a good sign. So, I told Parson she was dead, and he said, “I know.” But then he asked, “But why isn’t she swimming? Why is she upside down?”

I didn’t know what to say, except that that’s what dead is. He then asked, “But she’ll still be my pet, right?” Then, I- I just- I didn’t know what to say. I should have made something up, like, “She’s been stuck in a bowl all her life, but now we’ll put her in the toilet, or the ground, or something, and then she can be free. She’ll be everywhere at once, and you’ll be able to take her wherever you want, on the playground, or to school, and you’ll never even have to worry about carrying her bowl.” But I didn’t say that. I didn’t want to say something that I made up. What would it mean if I just made something like that up? What if he believed me?

So instead I just said, “We’ll get you a new fish.” Then he started to cry.

I just… I just wanted to let you know that I messed up today. You would have done this right, but I’m not you. This is hard for me. I don’t know how you made it look easy. It’s so hard. It’s not just sprinkling flakes in a bowl and dribbling iodine every now and then and  I couldn’t even do that.

And I can’t… I just wish…

I…

I should go now. Parson’s class is showing off their art projects today and I’ve already missed so many of his- I shouldn’t…

I’ll visit again soon, I promise.
​
I love you.

 
Edited by Ariel Barreras
 
 
 
 

Poet to the Poor by John Kaniecki
Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed by Ariel B
 
ABOUT THE BOOK
Poet to the Poor is a collection of poetry written for the bottom one percent. This work draws from historical figures and everyday people from John's life, creating a powerful poetic testimony. In revolutionary fashion John defies both the politics of the day and the modern style of poetry. The poems are written in a wide variety of styles, and rhyming is prominent. Passion and purpose abounds in these words. With over forty of the poems previously published, this work constitutes John's best, including the award winning poem "Tea with Joe Hill". If you want something to inspire you to change the world, this book is a must. Take a journey into the lives of the bottom one percent. The poor.

MY REVIEW
Rating: 4/5
Kaniecki looks to inspire others to look at the forgotten one percent of this country and see them as human beings.  Each poem in this collection tells the story of a person living in poverty.  Kaniecki successfully puts a human face on the bottom one percent.  He does so without judgement or getting to political.  He comes off as an observer that intends to inspire others to help these people. From a poetic aspect, the poems are great.  Normally, I am not too interested in poetry, but these poems are effective in reaching the goal to inspire.  Kaniecki writes his poems with excellent rhyme schemes and an overall concise form that do not drag the reader on for too long.  Overall, this is a great book for people who want to not look at statistics about the poor, but want to understand the poor.  Readers will benefit from learning just a few stories about some of the poor in this country.  This is an excellent companion piece for other books on poverty and makes an even better inspiration to others to act.  If the reader can learn anything from this collection of poems, it is that we are all in this fight together.     

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Kaniecki is a member of the Revolutionary Poet's Brigade and Secretary for Rhyming Poet's International. John volunteers as a missionary in the inner city of Newark, New Jersey, for the Church of Christ at Chancellor Avenue. John is active in the antiwar movement. In particular John is a strong advocate of the rights of indigenous people. He has two previously published books. A poetry book entitled Murmurings of a Mad Man by eLectio Publishing and a science fiction story collection entitled Words of the Future published by Witty Bard Publishing.
https://www.amazon.com/Poet-Poor-Poetry-Bottom-Percent/dp/1517658071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499090866&sr=8-1&keywords=poet+to+the+poor

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.
 

Depression
Anita Stafford
 
I’ve read a lot of books about depression. I have a degree in a mental health field, and I have worked to help depressed individuals. Knowledgeable about depression? Yes, but I didn’t gain insight into how a depressed person thinks and feels until it happened to me.
​
I denied my depression for a long time. I was too proud to admit anything was wrong, because, after all, I was the counselor. The way I felt caused me to be embarrassed. I was ashamed. I had the same feelings all depressed people do. I felt worthless.

I didn’t become depressed all at once. At first I felt tired, as if life was dragging me down. But it was a kind of tired that rest didn’t help. Rest was hard to come by, though. I had trouble sleeping. I’d lie awake unable to sleep, then what little sleep I got was interrupted by waking up much too early.

I talked to my doctor about my physical complaints, and she recognized the problem right away. She suggested I see a therapist. I told her no thanks, I’d be fine.

As time went on, my energy left me. I found it harder and harder to smile. I felt weak, and my feet turned to lead. I had to grab the rail and pull myself up the stairs at work. Listening was difficult because I couldn’t concentrate. I no longer took an interest in dressing well. My clothing became a repetitious black or gray. I started to withdraw from friends. I found excuses to skip church, but then I felt guilty because I didn’t go.

The day came when getting out of bed was almost impossible, but I didn’t want to stay in bed, either. What I wanted to do was to crawl under the bed and stay there. I wanted to be where it was very dark and quiet.

I cried.

I knew I could not continue this way. I remembered my doctor’s words. Feeling beaten and downcast, I went to see a therapist.

The therapist wanted to know why I had not come sooner. So I told her how I was not supposed to need help. I told her how embarrassing it was for me to be there now. I told her I felt ashamed I could not get better on my own. She listened. She was compassionate. She helped.

I was diagnosed with a bout of major depression. It took medication and a year of therapy to be well again. I’m grateful to have my life. I almost let it slip away, all because of embarrassment and shame. I was afraid someone would see the counselor sitting out front in the waiting room, now a patient. I was afraid of being judged as weak. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I was depressed. I know how serious depression is, and I know it needs treatment, yet at the time my judgement was clouded. Depression can happen to anyone.

Afterward, when I was back to my functioning self, I realized the grip depression has on a person. Thoughts are out of whack. The body is not working right. Even though I had adequate knowledge about depression, I had difficulty with the concept of asking for help when I needed it. The decision to ask for help prevented my life from going any deeper in a downward spiral. Both my smile and my strength have returned. Depression knocked me down, but not out.

Now when I encounter a depressed person, I feel that I have both knowledge and understanding of the condition. I understand much more about how hard it is for a depressed person to ask for and accept help. A depressed person needs a helping hand. If you are depressed, please get help. If someone you love is depressed, please encourage them to go for help.
 
Bio: Anita Stafford enjoys writing for both children and adults. She makes her home in the peaceful rolling hills of northern Arkansas, and she is a wife and the mother of a son and two daughters. Anita has worked both as a third grade teacher and a school counselor in public schools. She is also a Licensed Professional Counselor. Anita enjoys collecting cookbooks and baking.

Website: www.anitastafford.com
Twitter: @staffordanita
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