O C TOBER 2018

Your guide to self-publishing

Creating Content Readers Will Want to Share •
Book Cover Redesign • First Lines from BookLife Authors •
Ask the Editor with Betty Sargent • 101 New Titles Listed

From
LESLYE PENELOPE
Indie to
Mainstream
An indie author lands a
book deal and
embraces traditional
publishing

BY MATIA BURNETT

L
eslye Penelope says she found refuge
in writing as a child: “Writing was
always my way to make sense of the
world. I was an extremely shy child, but
I had this creative outlet where I could
really run wild.” The Maryland-based
author’s earliest influences included the
classic work of Frances Hodgson Burnett
and Jane Austen. She credits authors such
as Octavia Butler, Virginia Hamilton, and
Gloria Naylor with teaching her “about
© valerie bey

magical realism and infusing a sense of

magic into a story.”
 ® INDIE SUCCESS
Penelope signing books at the Romance Writers of
America Conference in July.
As Penelope continued to develop as a writer,
she also gained professional experience in editing
and publishing. In 2010, she cofounded and coed-
ited an independent literary magazine; her close
involvement with a quarterly publication provided
her with hands-on experience in layout, creating
covers, and publishing in print and e-book formats.
“When it became clear that I was close to complet-
ing my first novel, Song of Blood & Stone, it felt
really natural to me to go the indie route,” she
says. She also questioned whether a mainstream
publisher would take an interest in her work—a
doubt that would be assuaged not long after.
Song of Blood & Stone takes place in the war-
ravaged world of Elsira, where the orphaned
Jasminda is an outcast with a powerful gift. After
her home is invaded by soldiers, she falls in love
with an injured spy, and the two embark on a mis-
sion to end the war and face down a force of pri-
mordial evil. Penelope has also written the Eternal
Flame series of paranormal romance novels and
numerous shorter works, which she also self-
published.
After Song of Blood & Stone had been out for a
year, Penelope submitted it to BookLife and received
a starred review. She also received the 2016 Self-
Publishing EBook Award from the Black Caucus of
the American Library Association. These accolades
42 B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
allowed her to grow
her fan base and
also caught the eye
of a mainstream
publisher.
“I received an email
from an editor at St.
Martin’s Press,
Monique Patterson,”
Penelope says. “She’d
found my book online,
and the cover and
description had
intrigued her enough
to give it a read.”
Initially, Patterson
was interested in
Penelope’s future work.
“I pitched her another series I had in mind, but she
came back and told me that she was really inter-
ested in bringing Song of Blood & Stone to a wider
audience,” Penelope says. “It was an opportunity
I couldn’t turn down, and I’ll be forever grateful
to her for seeing something in my work that she
thought more people might like.”
Song of Blood & Stone was released by St. Martin’s
in May. Two sequels, Breath of Dust & Dawn and
Whispers of Shadow & Flame, are forthcoming in
2019.
“I fell in love with the sheer scope of the world
that Leslye had created, the breadth of her imag-
ination, and the depth of emotion that she brought
to every single character,” Patterson says. “Honestly,
she was so good that I couldn’t walk away. I knew
that she was an author that I had to publish.”
Penelope’s books unfold in different fantasy
realms, but the author recognizes a common thread:
“I’m really drawn to writing stories about people
finding their place in the world. Most of what I
write has to do with that sort of search for identity.
There’s also a healthy dose of falling in love, because
that’s part of what makes stories magical for me
as well.”
Since the release of Song of Blood & Stone by
St. Martin’s, Penelope has been busy. “Right now,
I’m working on several things at once,” she says.
“I’m finishing up revisions of Whispers of Shadow
& Flame. I’m also working on a new series about
a city full of warring shifters along with some
short fairy stories.” ■

Q&A SPONSORED
BookLife Talks with
Regina Davis and
Carolyn Royer Spencer
Elementary teachers turned coauthors fight bullying
from fantastical heights.
Tell us about Lord Computesalot,
Ruler of Aurora Bullyalis, and His
Secret Quest to End Bullying.
Foxaloon Elementary School has a
problem with bullying. This is not your
usual bullying situation, though. At
Foxaloon, the adults bully one another!
We came up with this grown-up
twist to show how bullying can affect
people at all ages. We also wanted to
show its lasting, detrimental effects on
self-esteem and self-worth. Of course,
we also wanted to make this story fun.
Principal Foxanna Powerpaws and
her friend Wolverina Woollyclaws are
the bullies in question. Señor Smarty
Pantaloons secretly transmits all the
bullying information stored in his cos-
mic pantaloons to his secret comrade
Lord Cyborgeon Bonaparte. He, in turn,
was secretly sending all data to his
purple cape to be sent by his aurora light transmitter
to Lord Computesalot, ruler of Planet Aurora Bullyalis,
who has declared that all bullying must end!
Lord Computesalot, Ruler of Aurora Bullyalis, and
His Secret Quest to End Bullying was a 2017 Eric
Hoffer Award finalist.
What inspired you to take on bullying as a picture
book subject?
When we retired from teaching, we noticed that
bullying was everywhere, from schools to work-
places and even nursing homes. Hardly a day passes
that a bullying episode is not mentioned in the
media. We asked ourselves what we could do to help
children cope with bullying and learn how to over-
come it. That was how we began writing our antibul-
lying book series, of which Lord Computesalot, Ruler
of Aurora Bullyalis, and His Secret Quest to End
Bullying is a part.
®
How did your backgrounds as teachers help you in
creating the series?
As classroom teachers in several different schools
over many years, we both became aware of different
types of bullying inside the school and on the play-
ground. Carolyn Royer Spencer taught kindergarten,
including at a Title 1 school, and first and second
grades for almost 30 years in Norfolk and Virginia
Beach, where she served as a career
teacher. Regina Davis taught for 37
years in New York and Virginia. Carolyn
has seen how art can help children who
have been bullied express and resolve
their feelings.
Who is your ideal reader?
The target audience is mainly chil-
dren between the ages of five and
nine. Lord Computesalot, Ruler of
Aurora Bullyalis, and His Secret Quest
to End Bullying also has a second-
ary audience among preteens, teens,
and adults, especially those with cre-
ative natures or an interest in science
fiction.
What makes your book distinct from
other antibullying books on the
market?
Our science fiction twist definitely
sets this book apart. Plus, many chil-
dren are unaware of the fact that bullying is not
just a children’s problem. It affects everyone.
What else would you like readers to know about
you or Lord Computesalot, Ruler of Aurora
Bullyalis, and His Secret Quest to End Bullying?
We have also created Lord Computesalot’s Quintes-
sential Quest to Banish Bullies, our companion activ-
ity book. This book has reproducible pages that use
poetry, puzzles, games, songs, and cheers to cre-
atively teach children about bullying. We wrote it to
be used alone or with any of the other books in our
antibullying series.
All of our books are available at our website
(senorsmartypantaloons.com) and online at Amazon,
AuthorHouse, and Barnes & Noble.
For more information, visit booklife.com/davis
B O O K L I F E .C O M 43
 ® COVER ART

Cover Redesign
This month, Michelle Argyle at Melissa Williams Design
reimagines the cover of Spinning by indie author Janine
Kovac, who praised the new cover for proclaiming, “‘I want
you to notice this book!’”
To submit a book for a free cover redesign, email us at booklifeeditor@booklife.com. Original Cover

This is a story
Choosing a font
about the
for the title was
author’s career
tricky. We
as a ballerina
finally decided
but also about
on a soft, femi-
her journey of
nine script that
motherhood. I
is also easy to
conveyed this by
read.
adding a second
subtitle but kept
it separate from
the first subtitle
via a different
font and
spacing.

I went with a
warmer color
palette for
the new cover,
especially
because of
the thematic The dramatic
importance of colors, lighting,
the colors red and position of
and blue in the ballerina
the memoir. make the
reader look
twice at this
cover.

44 B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
 ®

Creating
Q&A SPONSORED

BookLife Talks with

Content Libby Fischer Hellmann

Readers
Hellmann’s Chicago PI Georgia Davis returns to solve
a politically motivated Facebook murder mystery.

What’s different about High

Will Want
Crimes from your previous
books?
High Crimes was personal.
After Nov. 8, 2016, I spent an

To Share
entire year in a state of semi-
paralysis. I couldn’t write. I
couldn’t talk about anything
but the election. Eventually, I
realized that I had given the
How indie authors can occupant of the Oval Office all
my power, especially where
leverage social media and my writing was concerned. I
brainstormed two different
blog posts to sell more novels, but they just didn’t
books resonate.
Then came the eureka
moment. A few days after the
election, I’d joined a resis-
tance Facebook group, which
eventually grew to 42,000
BY JOEL members. Now I asked myself,
FRIEDLANDER “What if the leader of a size-
able resistance Facebook
group was assassinated? Who would have done it
and why? And what if Georgia Davis was hired to
look into it?” From that point on, the story took off.

Tell us a little about Georgia Davis, your series, and

how the events in High Crimes test her mettle.
Georgia was a cop when she first appeared in my Ellie
Foreman series. But as soon as she walked onto the
page, I knew she would have her own series. She is
completely apolitical. If anything, she leans toward

F
or many indie authors, book marketing has the conservative side. Although there is a political
become synonymous with social media activ- slant to High Crimes, Georgia helps make it even-
ity. The effectiveness of marketing a book handed. She also has a finely tuned sense of justice,
which allows her to take risks that the rest of us would
depends on likes, comments, retweets, and pins—all
find unacceptable.
methods of interacting with content in the online
social world.
For the complete interview, visit
Although video has exploded as a favorite form
booklife.com/hellmann
for sharing across social networks, a lot of the

B O O K L I F E .C O M 45
 ®
Q&A SPONSORED
BookLife Talks with
Professor Gore
Education expert Gore debuts a Kirkus-starred chil-
dren’s picture book about a same-sex family.
What is the story behind All Is Assuredly Well—
what inspired you to write it?
On my 47th birthday, I took to the witness stand in
federal court. Wichita Falls, Tex., had passed a book-
banning law to rid the library of Heather Has Two
Mommies and Daddy’s Roommate, two children’s
picture books depicting families with same-sex par-
ents. I was an expert witness because I was a multi-
cultural education professor. I was a plaintiff out of
conscience. I longed to see a fairy tale illustrated in
the Pre-Raphaelite tradition that I’d loved as a child
added to the canon to address this subject, but none
appeared. I finally decided that the responsibility to
create such a book was mine.
How did you settle upon the idea of writing the
story of a same-sex couple’s quest to adopt a
child as a fairy tale?
I knew that the first book I wanted to write would be
about a timid king who had to go on the hero’s jour-
ney to win a baby girl while his loving, stoic, if bewil-
dered, husband looked on. I also knew it would be
infused with fairy tale elements.
For the complete interview, visit booklife.com/gore
46 B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
content that lies behind the links we see on social
outlets is still text-based articles from blogs. This
is especially true of authoritative information
used for problem solving.
Creating Shareable Content
Content isn’t created in a vacuum—there has to be
a need for it to exist. Why else write it?
The best way I’ve found to create content that
people will really want to share is by thinking from
the perspective of the person searching for help.
What are an author’s target readers actually look-
ing for?
For writers who know their subject matter deeply,
this might involve demonstrating expertise in a
way that helps others solve problems. Writers who
are newcomers to a field could share what they
learn for the benefit of those who will follow in
their footsteps. Other writers provide news or
entertainment.
There are so many kinds of sites and so many
kinds of writers that it can be hard to generalize.
But, ever y day, some content rises above the
seething mass of new articles, videos, podcasts,
and blog posts. What makes some content so
compelling that readers just have to share it?
Fourteen Kinds of Shareable Content
To become irresistible to readers, focus on creating
content that is unique, engaging, or useful; solves
real problems; uses great headlines; and provokes
controversy. Using these criteria, here’s a list of
content types that can help writers decide what
to write about:
1. Foundation posts: These articles address an
author’s history and qualifications to write, as well
as basic concepts, terms, and processes in the field
he or she is writing about.
2. List posts: The most popular form of blog posts,
a list post is just that: a list with a number in the
headline, like this one.
3. How-to posts: This basic form of content answers
the eternal question, “How do I...?” Both readers
and search engines love how-to posts.
4. Definition articles: These are posts dedicated
to exploring specific topics and defining them for
readers.
 SOCIAL MEDIA
5. Technical blueprints: These are a type of how- Q&A SPONSORED
to article that lays out plans for technical processes.

6. Post series: These combine articles into a series

that increases the impact of each post.
BookLife Talks with
7. Opinion pieces: Authors who can back up their
Janet Colbert
opinions with facts will make waves and inspire Colbert, an RN turned opi-
people who agree with them to share their posts. oid crisis activist, takes
readers behind the scenes
8. Resource posts: These are listings of recom- in this eye-opening story
mended resources for equipment or supplies, tools, about her fight against Big
software, or hardware. Pharma.

9. Curated content: These are posts from other What is the story behind
sites that enhance an author’s authority within a STOPPNow—what
subject area. prompted you to write it?
As a neonatal intensive
10. Interviews: Authors who don’t have a big care nurse at a children’s
platform yet can interview leaders in their fields hospital in Broward Coun-
and publish in audio, video, text, or all three. ty, Fla., I was caring for
drug-addicted babies and
finding it hard to walk
11. News announcements: Authors can announce
away from them to go
news of any kind about their business or their
home at night. I founded
books.
STOPPNow and started
holding peaceful protests
12. Product reviews: Reviews are relied on by a outside the “pill mills” that
huge portion of shoppers for clear information and were proliferating in my
honest evaluation of products. c o m m u n i t y. T h a t w a s
when I realized how severe
13. Tutorials: Walking readers step-by-step through the opioid epidemic was
a confusing, technical, or complex process can for our entire nation, and
produce content that becomes very popular. the role that Broward County played in it.

14. News jacks: Authors can turn the news to their
advantage by finding angles that connect their
expertise to current events.
This list is by no means exhaustive. Some of these
types of articles lend themselves well to video
or audio production, some less so. But each can be
used within an indie author’s marketing strategy.
Producing content that people want to share via
social media is one of the most effective ways to
amplify an author’s voice and thus find a host of
new readers for books—as well as buyers for any
related products or services. ■
Joel Friedlander is a book designer and author;
he blogs about book design, marketing, and the
future of the book at the Book Designer.
Tell us about the larger issue of businesses putting
profits over people and how this has affected pub-
lic health.
Rates of drug addiction among newborn babies in
Florida have increased more than 1,000% in the last
decade. Deaths from the opioid crisis continue to
escalate every year. The numbers are horrific, but
the personal losses suffered by families cannot be
conveyed by statistics. Many states are now involved
in lawsuits against the drug companies. Criminal
charges should be filed as well, but a Senate investi-
gation into the crisis, which I write about, was
quashed. The opioid epidemic was well planned—for
profit at any cost.
For the complete interview, visit
booklife.com/colbert

B O O K L I F E .C O M 47
 ® BOOKS TO WATCH

Scouting Report
In this month’s roundup of the best-reviewed BookLife titles,
we highlight works of science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal
romance, as well as a parenting book and a writing guide.

★ Viral ★ The Wolf of

PIERS PLATT
Synopsis: Platt puts a relat-
able face on the future of
human warfare in this sci-
fi tale of self-discovery,
conflict, and loss.
PW’s Takeaway: Platt brings
otherworldly conflict down
to Earth in thrilling action
sequences, adroitly por-
trays the bleakness of depression, and crafts a
well-rounded cast that’s diverse in sexuality,
ethnicity, and gender.
Comparable Title: Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s
Game
Sample Line: “In my first battle, I made fourteen
thousand dollars in five minutes.”
Read the Review:
publishersweekly.com/ASINB07DHZ8R6Y
Oren-yaro
K.S. VILLOSO
Synopsis: Villoso begins her
Annals of the Bitch Queen
fantasy series with this
remarkable tale of nonstop
tension, action, and
betrayal.
PW’s Takeaway: The pace is
breakneck but never
exhausting. This excellent work will appeal to all
readers of epic fantasy.
Comparable Titles: Sarah Beth Durst’s Queen of
Renthia Series
Sample Line: “They call me ‘bitch,’ the she-wolf,
because I murdered a man and made my hus-
band leave the night before they crowned me.”
Read the Review:
publishersweekly.com/ASINB0772XDV68

★ Stones of The Kind of Writing to Be

Dracontias Parent You
N.D. JONES Are
BRIAN VONDRUSKA
Synopsis: A para- Synopsis: A father
normal romance of two presents a
full of intrigue, wise and thought-
with an unusual spin on dragon ful guide to child rearing.
shapeshifters. PW’s Takeaway: This perceptive
PW’s Takeaway: This is a fasci- guide will be useful to readers.
nating, enticing beginning to a Comparable Title: Adele Faber and
very promising series. Elaine Mazlish’s How to Talk So
Comparable Titles: Nalini Singh’s Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids
Psy-Changeling Series Will Talk
Read the Review: publishers- Read the Review: publishers-
weekly.com/ASINB07CNHVWST weekly.com/9780998751139
Understood
ANNE JANZER
Synopsis: Janzer
uses insights from
psychology and
science to aid
writers gear their work to readers.
PW’s Takeaway: Janzer’s belief
that we need effective communi-
cators provides this entry with a
compelling reason for being.
Comparable Title: William Zinsser’s
On Writing Well
Read the Review: publishers-
weekly.com/9780999624814

48 B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
FIRST LINES ®

First Lines The Ghetto Dog

Our monthly look at some of the best
first lines from BookLife authors
This month we’ve got rats, helicopters, paper dolls,
foul odors, and more. To submit a first line, email
booklifeeditor@booklife.com.
FRAN RATHMANN
“The first thing I remember is the
stink.”
Going Widdershins
SHERRYE COHN
“On its face, the whole thing now
seems inevitable, but at the time I
didn’t know that dreams don’t lie and
endings are beginnings too.”

Slow Bullet Straining Forward

JOHN L. LANSDALE MICHELLE LAYER RAHAL
“The sound of Huey Helicopters in “I woke up in a bed that was not my
the distance meant the beginning.” own.”

The Light over Broken Tide

HOLLY DUCARTE Chasing Echoes
“We’re all like paper dolls. Happiest JODI PERKINS
when linked to another, often unaware “It all started because of a rat.”
of our flimsiness. So easily torn.”

B O O K L I F E .C O M 49
 ® WRITING ADVICE

Ask refers to the worldview of a

character (how she is feeling
reader but gives her the free-
dom to interpret the importance

the
and thinking). Most novels are of events, as well as the charac-
written from either a first-per- ters’ reactions to them.
son POV or a third-person POV. Whether you choose a first-

Editer Writing in the second person is

A veteran editor answers
your writing questions
BY BETTY KELLY SARGENT
Dear Editor:
difficult to pull off in fiction.
A first-person narrative can
feel intimate because the
reader knows what the narra-
tor feels and believes. It can be
limiting though, because the
narrator may have a lopsided
take on things and may not be
good at characterizing herself.
or third-person point of view,
getting the perspective of each
of your characters down pat is
essential. Try to walk their walk
and talk their talk. Getting a
firm grip on the perspective of
each of your characters can make
a big difference in the success
of your novel.

C ould you please explain the

difference between point of
view and perspective in fiction?
 —James K.
Third-person narratives can
be limited (one character’s
point of view prevails through-
out the story) or omniscient Betty Kelly Sargent is the
(there are many characters, and founder and CEO of BookWorks.

A s I see it, point of view refers

to the format the author has
chosen for the narration (who is
speaking), whereas perspective
the narrator knows everything
about them, past, present, and
future). The latter reduces the
If you have a question for the
editor, please email Betty Sargent
narrator’s intimacy with the at booklifeeditor@booklife.com.

"A poignant dramatization of the emotional

fallout of war." --Kirkus Reviews

When U.S. Army sniper Robert Kent retires at the age of 36, he
returns to a civilian culture filled with hostile, petty people living
in a virtual world who don't realize how fragile their lives are. As
he struggles to find out where he belongs, his psychiatrist
suggests he try finding out who his father really was. He
succeeds, but in doing so his entire life is upended. Kent is
forced to do the one thing he'd rather not: trust, and love,
ano
another human being. A turbulent and tragic, heart-warming
journey of redemption.

"As a veteran of every American war from Grenada to the

current War on Terror, I found Sergeant Kent's journey of
self-discovery a model of self healing, applicable to all
combat veterans, past and present. Valuable and
entertaining reading for anyone who knows a combat vet
en
and hopes to understand them better." --Dennis Woods,
CSM retired, author of Black Flag Journals

"Hutson's empathic narrative explores the psychological

ramifications of war in a single voice that rings true,
captivates and endears." --Jeffrey Hess, author of
Beachhead, Tushhog, and Cold War Canoe Club

Released August 15th, 2018, from Koehler Books.

Available hardbound, soft-cover, as well as Nook and Kindle formats
ISBN: 978-1633936225

50 B O O K L I F E , O COT B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
 PAID LISTINGS

PW SELECT LISTINGS ®

New Titles from

Self-Publishers
Booksellers, publishers, librarians, and agents are encouraged to look at the 101
self-published titles below. Each appears with a list of retailers that are selling
the book and a description provided by its author. Some of these writers are wait-
ing to be discovered; others have track records and followings and are doing it
on their own. If you are a self-published author interested in listing titles in this
section, please visit publishersweekly.com/pw-select for more information.
Fiction Amazon, BN.com $14.50 paper (589p),
Against Walls (Amgalant, Book 1) Cinematic and unsen- ISBN 978-1-71987-
Bryn Hammond. Bryn timental, this novel is a 093-1
Hammond. $21 paper wry Victorian pastiche Amazon
(570p), ISBN 978-1- about profane clan- Having spent much
980893-96-7; $6.99 destine relationships, time writing reports,
e-book, ASIN B0083EOGHI opium, and treason. Gualtieri turned to sto-
Amazon, Apple iBooks, ries in his retirement.
BN.com, Kobo Beyond the Fire Reports have to be factual, he says; in
The Mongols’ 100 Dewayne A. Jackson. WestBow Press. $24.95 stories you can let your imagination run
tribes have come together with one aim: paper (556p), ISBN 978-1-5127-9557-8; free.
to push back against the walls that have $2.99 e-book, ISBN
crept onto the steppe farther than China 978-1-5127-9558-5 Dog Wash. Can I Help You?
has ever extended its walls before. Amazon J.L. Campbell. iUniverse. $28.99 paper
When Destry travels to (492p), ISBN 978-1-5320-3794-8; $3.99
At Vitoria: A City’s Medieval meet her in-laws for e-book, ISBN 978-1-
Promise Between Christians the first time, they all 5320-3793-1
and Sephardic Jews end up trapped by a Amazon
Marcia Riman Selz. terrible blizzard. Tony, a homeless vet-
Archway Publishing. Waiting it out, Destry begins to wonder eran, prays to his
$17.99 paper (266p), if God actually interacts with people. patron saint to help
ISBN 978-1-4808- him find a job. Then
5297-6; $3.99 e-book, A Bullied Reunion Tony enters a groom-
ISBN 978-1-4808- Chris Ponici. Tellwell ing salon, where a talking bird welcomes
5296-9 Talent. $2.97 e-book, him to his future.
Amazon ASIN B07GQBXWQY
In this story of survival that transcends Amazon, BN.com, Gap-Toothed Girl
generations, a medieval Jewish family Chapters, Indigo Ray Harvey. Pearl Button
must overcome religious differences A coming-of-age noir Press. $8 paper (192p),
and resentments in order to preserve its story illustrating the ISBN 978-0-9823979-
legacy. life of a bullied teenager, with a revenge 8-5; $3.99 e-book,
plot that ties it all together. ASIN B07GTBLNXS
Baby Snakes Amazon
Demarest Campbell. Okir. $9.99 paper Clones New People Dusty May, an orphan,
(314p), ISBN 978-1-64271-060-1 Angelo Gualtieri. Capstone Media Services. runs away from her foster father to pur-

B O O K L I F E .C O M 51

® PW SELECT LISTINGS
sue her dream of lightness and ballet,
even as her foster father unleashes an
army to bring her down.
The Garnet Bunches
Zeynab Salimova. Xlibris.
$15.99 paper (318p),
ISBN 978-1-5434-
4193-2; $3.99 e-book,
ISBN 978-1-5434-
4192-5
Amazon
A novel charting the journey of a woman
and her family through trials to find
refuge in a new land. A story reflecting
the life of the people in Azerbaijan.
Hamda’s Ashes:
The Story of a
Palestinian Exile
Ghassoub Bani Kanaan.
PartridgeSingapore.
$21.45 paper (392p),
ISBN 978-1-4828-
8253-7; $3.99 e-book,
ISBN 978-1-4828-8255-1
Amazon
A Palestinian exile bravely conquers
many hurdles to rise above childhood
abandonment and fear to become a
respected instructor at a prestigious
Dubai college.
Raised on Rock
Thomas Drago. Gold Avenue Press. $11.99
paper (276p), ISBN 978-0-692-17231-5;
99¢ e-book, ASIN
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After his wife’s health
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Andrew Himmel.
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An attorney is torn between evidence
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A Reunion in Heaven
John Kumara. John
Kumara. $9.95 e-book,
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The happy marriage
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Tom Bosak, a suc-
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William T. Elliott. Xlibris. $19.99 paper (128p),
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Cecilia Cetateanu.
Dorrance Publishing.
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Andrew Zubinas. Toplink
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Ercell H. Hoffman.
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Celebrate love in all
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Karen J. Chisholm. Xlibris. $19.99 paper
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This collection looks BookLife Talks with
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toward humankind
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My uncle Angelo served as a U.S. Army Ranger during WWII. The Nazis
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Elizabeth Rea.
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To develop greater intimacy between reader and character, I decided to
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company seek to find closure.
experiences, and my cousin, Steve DiMarco, helped to ensure that they
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Barbara Elle. Barbara
How did you research More Than a Solider?
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More Than a Soldier recounts a young man’s coming of age in a chal-
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The DNR Trilogy, Vol. 1:
of one soldier who made a difference doing his part to preserve our
Backing the Wrong Primate
freedoms.
Don W. Hill. Archway Publishing. $24.99
paper (400p), ISBN 978-1-4808-5825-1;
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$5.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4808-5824-4

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An aging physician
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Helmut S. Helmut Joseph Mark Glazner. Joseph Mark Glazner.
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 The Singularity
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SAMMY SHOVEL
Witness
Dan Grant. MindScape
Press. $19.95 paper
DETECTIVE NOVELS
BY RONALD M. JAMES
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life for millennia aimed at enlightening Amazon 9903936-6-5
Westerners. Bea the wee bear has a good heart but Amazon, Ingram
carries heavy memories of the times Chevalier,
Yes—Anyone Can! A Secret to Attract other bears were mean to her. Can she Tom-Tom, and
Success by Using the Three Big C ever get better? the Princess
Principles Faere race to
Rose P. Burton. WestBow BFFs (Best Friends Forever), stave off disaster by stopping the war
Press. $13.95 paper First in the Alex’s Dreams Trilogy between the armies of Ever After and the
(168p), ISBN 978-1- Alexander Rutherford. Strategic Book Far, Far Away before it can begin.
5127-1159-2 Publishing & Rights
Amazon Agency. $26.95 paper Elizabeth and the Potato Dolly
This book aims to guide (570p), ISBN 978-1- Barbara Sorensen Fallick, illus. by Amelia
readers of all ages on 68181-884-9 Thelin. IngramSpark. $23.95 hardcover (32p),
an exciting journey into the realization of Amazon ISBN 978-0-
the power and capabilities they already Alex and her friends 692-31163-9
possess. face the challenges of Amazon
young adulthood. Illustrated
Zionism vs. the West: with photo-
How Talmudic Ideology Is A Bright, Cold Sunny Day graphs done
Undermining Western Culture J.G. Lightborne, illus. by Pat Lane Diaz. Xlibris. at a living his-
Jonas E. Alexis. AuthorHouse. $28.99 paper $15.99 paper (24p), ISBN 978-1-5245- tory museum, this book has a child tell
(472p), ISBN 978-1-5462-2461-7; $3.99 4102-6; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5245- the story of Elizabeth and the potato
e-book, ISBN 978-1-5462-2460-0 4101-9 dolly to her one-room classroom.
Amazon Amazon
In this scholarly work, This picture Embolden: Forbidden, Book 2
the author argues that book intro- Syrie James and Ryan M.
Zionism, for over 60 duces James. LDLA Publishing.
years, has shaken the young $13.99 paper (336p),
moral, philosophical, readers to ISBN 978-1-72014370-
and intellectual foun- cold- 3; $7.99 e-book,
dation of much of weather recreation experiences and lov- ASIN B07G3GCYX1
Western culture. able animals who stay awake all winter. Amazon, Apple iBooks,

B O O K L I F E .C O M 59
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Claire and her angel-gone-AWOL boy-
friend Alec’s relationship is tested to its
limits as they deal with her surprising
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for her missing father.
Etty Steele Vampire Hunter
(The Hunter Series)
Grayson Grave. Grayson
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(180p), ISBN 978-1-
71783-616-8;
99¢ e-book,
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Etty Steele is a vampire hunter. There’s
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hunter powers. No superstrength. No
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in a world of monsters.
French Fries in the Park
J.M. Sheridan, illus. by Jamie Forgetta.
AuthorHouse. $16.99 paper (28p),
ISBN 978-1-
5462-0963-8
Jmsheridan.com,
Amazon,
AuthorHouse,
BN.com
The happy duo,
Mrs. Moomoo
and Brianna, meet an autistic boy named
Tommy. This book helps teach children
what autism is and how it affects some
children.
The Grove Dogs
Alfonso Grambone. Xlibris. $21.99 paper
(28p), ISBN 978-1-5245-9944-7; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-
5245-9943-0
Amazon
A group of five
friends embarks on
an adventure to
solve a mystery.
They work together
and combine their
talents to solve a problem and, in addi-
tion, expand their circle of friends.
Hit Girlz
Darryl Hughes, illus. by
Monique MacNaughton.
Brand X Books. $12.98
paper (124p), ISBN 978-
0-9903936-8-9
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BFFs Bella and
MaryBeth balance the popularity contest
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I Am Confident, Brave & Beautiful:
A Coloring Book for Girls
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This coloring book is
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Idi & the Oracle’s Quest: Born to Be
Fantasy Series, Book 1
T.N. Traynor. T.N. Traynor.
$3.99 e-book,
ASIN B01C1UDQKC
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Idi, short for idiot, is on
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his past. Marcus, a
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cover the secret to true magic.
Jake and the Dynamo:
The Wattage of Justice
D.G.D. Davidson, illus. by Roffles Lowell.
Superversive Press.
$14.99 paper (317p),
ISBN 978-1-925645-
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Jake just wants to go
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computer glitch
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army of monsters.
Mama’s Needle
Jeanette W. Stickel, illus. by Helen S.
Worcester and Jeanette W. Stickel.
CreateSpace.
$10.95 paper
(32p), ISBN 978-
1-73201-572-2
Amazon
A boy’s mama
patches holes in
his pants, binds
scraps of cloth
into quilts, and stitches dreams into
reality. With her “memory” quilt on his
back, the boy flies with his imagination.
Milney Gets Recycled
Sandra Watson. AuthorHouse. $16.99 paper
(44p), ISBN 978-1-5462-2792-2; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-5462-2791-5
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Milney is no ordinary milk bottle. He can
see, hear, and sing. But an accident
leaves him flattened and useless. Will
there be a happy ending for Milney?
Oscar:
A Frogfish’s Guide to the Aquarium
Rob Albanese.
Frogfish Studios.
$12.99 paper
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1-73250-280-2
Amazon, BN.com
Oscar, the resi-
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gives a fun-
filled tour of the

60 B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
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aquarium that teaches children interest- Artist Blish paper (98p), ISBN 978-
ing facts about his fellow aquarium rekindles the 1-949813-01-2
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Christmas Eve, ASIN B00KK5IPN4 Lori Metzsch. WestBow Press. $16.95 paper
he can’t guide Amazon (30p), ISBN 978-1-973628-07-1; $3.99
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ISBN 978-1-5439-3382-6
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1 Zamiz Press. $19.99 hardcover vation is described in simple terms that
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 ® REVIEWS
Fiction
The Alien Corn
Clare Flynn. Cranbrook Press, $14.99 trade
paper (284p) ISBN 978-0-9933324-6-3
Flynn follows The Chalky Sea with this
enjoyable sequel, set in post-WWII
England and Canada. Canadian farmer Jim
Armstrong has returned to Ontario in
1945, after serving five years in the army in
Europe, and is joined by his British wife,
Joan, and their three-year-old son, Jimmy,
who reunite with him in Canada after being
apart for three years. Joan’s ability to adapt
to her new environment is thwarted by the
hostility of Jim’s mother, Helga, and the
tepid offer of friendship from Alice, Jim’s
former fiancée who jilted him to marry his
now-deceased brother, Walt, a casualty of
the war. The passion between Joan and Jim
keeps their marriage alive as Joan realizes
how important the farm is to Jim. Bonding
over shared experiences, Alice and Joan
develop a tenuous friendship as Helga
finally curbs her animosity towards Joan.
But Joan is afraid that Jim’s emotional dis-
tance, a result of an aborted affair during the
war as well as his reluctance to share war-
time traumas, may prevent them from
having a lasting relationship. Flynn’s novel
captures the obstacles faced both by soldiers
returning from battle and by those close to
them. Readers of the first book will relish
the chance to spend more time with the
characters, and new readers will find plenty
to savor.
Blackwax Boulevard: Five Years,
What a Surprise (2012-2017)
Dmitri Jackson. Frotoon, $30 trade paper
(232p) ISBN 978-0-9992596-3-4
Record stores might be struggling for
survival, but in this warmhearted tribute to
the joys of music shopping, they are posi-
tively flush with camaraderie. Marsalis, an
employee of record store Blackwax
Boulevard, is a stuttering nerd whose devo-
tion to vinyl is as impressive as he is insuf-
ferable in extolling it. Alongside rockabilly
Veronika and metalhead Hardy, they
indulge Green Day–loving grade schoolers
and preening hipsters alike in the decaying
city they call home. Jackson creates an
honest, believable world where the cool girl
61a B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
behind the counter struggles with addic-
tion and the quirky owner isn’t always dili-
gent about managing his diabetes.
Marsalis’s desire to succeed as an aspiring
music critic and community activist, mean-
while, chafes disastrously against his crip-
pling anxiety. The store and its denizens
pulse with life, rendered in Jackson’s
expertly chunky inking: everything from
Veronika’s tattoos to the shop’s eternal
clutter feels right-on. Readers won’t just
want to visit Blackwax (or get inspired to
drop by their real local indie, if it’s still
standing) by the last page—they’ll feel like
a part of the gang.
The Bone Field
Leonard Krishtalka. Gatekeeper, $7.98 trade
paper (310p) ISBN 978-1-64237-017-1
Paleontologist Krishtalka (Dinosaur
Plots) puts his professional experience to
good use in his satisfyingly twisty fiction
debut, a series launch featuring Pittsburgh
PI Harry Przewalski. Harry was once a pale-
ontology graduate student at the Carnegie
Museum of Natural History, until a per-
sonal tragedy caused him to abandon his
dissertation and enlist in the U.S. Army; he
“escaped to a war, came back with a gun and
got a license to detect.” His academic back-
ground provides Harry with an advantage
when the Carnegie Museum’s director hires
him to look into the disappearance of Peter
Marchand, one of the institution’s curators.
Marchand, who was notorious for having
proposed “radical theories about changes in
the Earth’s climate during the Age of
Dinosaurs,” vanished 10 days earlier from
a fossil-hunting expedition in Wyoming.
There’s one clue: the previous spring,
Marchand received a threat from a Christian
fundamentalist. In Wyoming, Harry
exposes multiple suspects before he astutely
sorts out what had happened to Marchand.
This is a promising start to what is shaping
up to be an intriguing series.
The Clockwork Menagerie
Elliot Cooper. Elliot Cooper, $2.99 e-book
(40p) ASIN B07DH3K6LG
Cooper’s short tale draws readers into a
charming steampunk world with heart and
personality. Clement Dyer is an autosmith,
manufacturing automatic animals for an
elite clientele. When one of his customers
is unsatisfied with his work, his livelihood
is threatened. While he frets over the pos-
sibility of losing his job and starting afresh,
his competitor and ex-lover, Duke
Goodwin, taunts him. He thinks Duke is
up to no good, but the lingering heat
between them hints at other possibilities.
In a brief space, Cooper captures the passion
Clement has for his work, and the intrica-
cies of the world in which he lives. The
romance comes across clearly and never feels
trite. Cooper’s writing is suffused with
atmosphere, and fantasy and steampunk
readers will find it very enjoyable.
Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s
Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues
Edited by Christina Boyd. The Quill Ink,
$12.95 trade paper (380p) ISBN 978-0-
9986540-1-0
This capable homage anthology brings
new life to the rakes of Jane Austen’s worlds.
Each of the stories details either a rake’s rise
to roguishness or his fall from it. Beyond
this unifying theme, the authors seem to
come together in the belief that women set
the men on their wicked paths, except in
one or two stories. In Katie Oliver’s “A
Wicked Game,” George Wickham is the
victim of a woman who stole his innocence,
much as he tried to steal Georgiana Darcy’s.
In Jenetta James’s “The Lost Chapter in the
Life of William Elliot,” William Elliot is
seduced and humiliated by a young actress.
In “Willoughby’s Crossroads,” Joanna
Starnes imagines the woman who broke
John Willoughby’s heart. Though the final
story, Amy D’Orazio’s “For Mischief’s
Sake,” seems to want to redeem this point,
teaching Capt. Frederick Tilney to feel
ashamed of casually destroying women’s
reputations, the other portrayals of women
as villains is disheartening and may turn
some readers off. For fans of Austen, bad
boys, and romance, this anthology will be
a fun frolic into the worlds they know well,
so long as they do not dwell on the fates of
women.
Divine Prey
Chris Andrews. Creative Manuscript Services,
$15.95 trade paper (404p) ISBN 978-1-
925803-03-7
Andrews’s derivative fantasy debut dem-
onstrates good prose but otherwise falls
REVIEWS
short. Princess Caroline of Fandelyon,
recently confined to an abbey to give birth
out of wedlock, heads home with divine
stigmata and serious questions about her
future. Meanwhile, Allyn and Elias—
pointy-eared humanoid immortals called
izzen—feel a sudden conviction that the
goddess Marnier du Shae has called them to
intervene in Caroline’s journey. Reluctantly,
they respond and find her entourage under
attack. By the time Caroline convalesces
from her misadventure and receives Allyn’s
info dump that she is the goddess’s chosen
champion, the book is a quarter over—and
still no character has exhibited a personal
goal or even agency. All intention and con-
flict exists among the gods as they jockey
for an apocalypse called Noramgaell. The
gods are Greco-Roman in their power-
hungry humanness, and there are some
nicely realized horror sequences, but the
human and izzen characters are mere min-
ions, bashing one another gruesomely in
encounters randomly staged by their divine
dungeon masters. With no cause to root for,
this isn’t an alluring setup for a projected
four-volume series.
Demon King
Erik Henry Vick. Ratatoskr, $4.99 e-book
(648p) ASIN B0795952YZ
Vick’s dark, tense thriller pits young
kids—and their older selves—against a
demonic evil and his twisted daughters in
Upstate New York. In 1979, Benny
Cartwright knows something is wrong
when his friend Toby Burton doesn’t show
up for school. He sets out to find his friend
and is almost captured by the demon
Herlequin, who took Toby. Quickly, the
town is besieged by Herlequin’s demon
horde, including his daughter, Brigitta, and
her lover, former Marine sniper Owen Gray,
who goes on a shooting rampage. In 2007,
Drew Reid is a college professor who can see
demons (which appear human to everyone
else) and kills each one he finds. Scott Lewis
is a state trooper investigating the killings
who quickly becomes involved in Reid’s
hunt for demons. Vick bounces the story
line between eras effectively, and the ten-
sion never lets up. Stephen King fans will
enjoy spotting the references that Vick
sprinkles throughout in homage. Readers
may find the story confusing at first, the
quick plot resolution too thin, and some
rape and killing scenes overly graphic, but
the thrills and horrors are engrossing.
★ The Electrical Menagerie
Mollie E. Reeder. Writeratops, $15.99 trade
paper (323p) ISBN 978-0-692-12428-4
This delightful steampunk novel, which
opens the Celestial Isle series, follows
impoverished magician Sylvester Carthage
and his assistant, Arbrook Huxley, as they
compete to perform for the future queen of
their fantastical land. Carthage convinces
Huxley to enter the contest, but there’s
danger lurking behind the scenes. As they
unravel a terrorist plot, they untangle per-
sonal secrets, and their friendship grows.
Reeder has created two dynamic and
delightful characters in Carthage, a shy illu-
sionist and inventor, and Huxley, a worldly
con artist who is still very naive; they will
grab the reader’s heart. The world Reeder
builds for them, with floating islands, sky
trains, and robots, is just as incredible.
Hints of inspirational messages (“Nothing
is impossible, Huxley. Not with a little
imagination and the Grace of God”) flow
perfectly with the story. Fantasy and steam-
punk fans will be amazed by this magical
tale of mystery, illusion, and friendship.
Hard Cider Abbey:
A Barefoot Monk Mystery
K.P. Cecala. CreateSpace, $14.99 trade paper
(188p) ISBN 978-1-72112-574-6
Gentle humor and restrained prose lift
Cecala’s series launch. Odo LeRoi, a young
monk, is transferred from an abbey in
Quebec to Holy Face Abbey in Appalachian
West Virginia, where he encounters an
eclectic cast of hard cider–brewing monks.
He also stumbles on a corpse in the woods—
that of the abbey’s esteemed librarian, Fr.
Lucian Powers, whose death is initially
thought to be a suicide. Odo himself is an
enigmatic addition to the abbey: while con-
sidered mute since birth, the truth is that
“he could speak. He simply chose not to.”
Brother Emerick Ottlesby, a straight-
talking veteran born and raised in the hard-
ened community surrounding the abbey,
takes Odo under his wing. Emerick, who’s
certain that the good-natured Lucian would
never have taken his own life and was
instead murdered by a monk at the abbey,
®
and Odo work together to track down the
killer. Cecala crafts a quirky mystery with
two unlikely sleuths and an exceptionally
appealing setting. Readers will be eager for
more adventures from the endearing duo.
Island on Fire
Sophie Schiller. CreateSpace, $10.99 trade
paper (270p) ISBN 978-1-986210-78-2
Schiller (Race to Tibet) sets this memo-
rable romantic thriller in 1902 on the island
of Martinique, whose main city, Saint-
Pierre, was considered at the time to be the
Paris of the West Indies, shortly before the
eruption of the Mount Pelée volcano, which
claimed approximately 30,000 lives. The
personal life of Emelie Dujon, an upper-
class 19-year-old, is in turmoil after she
learns of her fiancé’s unfaithfulness. As
tremors threaten the island, Emelie strug-
gles to find a way to end her engagement
without becoming a social pariah, even
turning, in desperation, to voodoo. That
story line is enhanced by sections illumi-
nating the island’s politics, as Gov. Louis
Mouttet, whose role in the response to the
volcanic catastrophe remains a source of
controversy, struggles with the growing
electoral strength of radical socialists. A
closing author’s note details how closely the
novel adheres to the known facts of what
transpired in Saint-Pierre. Schiller nicely
balances history and fiction.
Literature®
Guillermo Stitch. Nineveh Editions, $2.99
e-book (101p) ASIN B07D6YK614
In this zippy debut, Stitch chronicles a
day in the life of Billy Stringer, a bored
sports journalist living in a far-future Earth
city where reading and writing fiction is
illegal. Billy is recruited by the megacor-
poration Gripping Tails, the only approved
fiction producer left. Its latest technology
is powered by cognition drives whose fuel
is the synaptic activity generated by writing
carefully controlled fiction. Before Billy can
accept the job, he tries to stash his supply
of contraband books, but the corporation
will stop at nothing to get the books from
Billy before he can off-load them, including
threatening to murder Billy and his loved
ones. Billy begins as an unlikable and bland
main character, but as he morphs into a
reluctant hero, he becomes more sympa-
B O O K L I F E .C O M 61b
 ® REVIEWS
thetic. His race to warn those who matter
most to him, and safeguard his books, will
keep readers turning pages.
Love and Mutiny
Anne George. Anne George Books, $14.99
trade paper (308p) ISBN 978-1-73226-981-1
George’s novel is a stimulating journey
to mid-19th-century India, where the
tumultuous times surrounding the great
mutiny against the British are tempered by
grace and chivalry. Nineteen-year-old
Edwina Hardingham and her two sisters
are members of a wealthy British family,
but they love the country where they were
raised and are not inclined to treat the local
Indian population with scorn. They
embrace the country’s customs and its
people, which often surprises the
Hardinghams’ contemporaries, many of
whom view Indians with contempt.
Edwina is nevertheless vocal about her
empathy, which is sometimes off-putting
for her suitors. She believes her sisters are
more desirable but nevertheless catches the
attention of James Davenport, a rakish,
gallant, gentleman trader who is her uncle’s
friend. Before their love can fully blossom,
however, the rebellion of 1857 breaks out.
As the disarray roils the country, Davenport
travels from Edwina’s home in Simla to
Calcutta to ensure his sister and Edwina’s
two sisters are not in danger from the
uprising, fighting beside his Indian friends
along the way. Meanwhile, Edwina quietly
waits in Simla, struggling with uncertain-
ties about romance and the threat of muti-
neers harming her loved ones. The con-
vincing setting and rich descriptions
bolster the vibrant cast of characters,
resulting in a memorable novel.
NanoMorphosis
Marla Anderson. Wolfheart, $18.99 trade paper
(439p) ISBN 978-0-9963249-2-2
Anderson’s debut tackles human nature
through a science fiction lens. On an over-
crowded 22nd-century Earth, Daniel
Walker, childhood survivor of an alien
attack, is determined to carry on his mur-
dered parents’ legacy and find a habitable
exoplanet. Even as he gains public support,
he is undermined by Senator Bromberg, a
xenophobic politician with a secret life, and
sabotaged by Dr. Cadmon Dhyre, a bioen-
61c B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
gineer trying to find a cure for a nanogenetic
plague. Before Daniel’s ship leaves the solar
system, Dhyre’s intelligent nanobots infect
the mission, developing into Carrie, a sen-
tient shape-shifter who sparks curiosity and
fear among Daniel and his crew. On their
return, Dhyre attempts to finish what he
started and regain control over Carrie.
Anderson ably explores the worst elements
of human nature—rape and violence play a
large role in the narrative—while still
leaving hope for the future. A crowded plot
means that each thread does not get the
attention that it deserves, but by the end,
the various story elements resolve success-
fully into a coherent whole.
The Path to Somerset
Janet Wertman. Janet Wertman, $13.99 trade
paper (378p) ISBN 978-0-9971338-4-4
Wertman’s second book of the Seymour
Saga (after Jane the Quene) moves confidently
through the dark, final years of Henry VIII
as well as through the vicious power
struggle between soldier/politician Edward
Seymour and Bishop Stephen Gardiner. In
1539, Henry is mourning Jane Seymour,
his third wife and Edward’s sister, who died
giving birth to the son he had long wanted.
A depressed Henry arranges a political mar-
riage to Anne of Cleves, which is never con-
summated and quickly annulled once he
becomes smitten with 17-year-old
Catherine Howard (Henry is 49 at the
time). Catherine becomes queen and the
simmering Seymour-Howard feud—
between Edward and the Howard family
ally, Gardiner—flares. Wertman dives into
the rivalry between Edward and Gardiner:
their political power struggle; religious
disagreements (reformist and papist,
respectively), and schemes to make each
other appear as traitors in the eyes of an
unstable king. Wertman provides a stark
image of the aging, volatile king: a prolific
executioner who sends two wives and
numerous others to the scaffold; suffers
from painful, rancid leg ulcers; and spends
extravagantly on finery while budgeting
poorly for a military campaign against
Scotland. The novel’s sweeping historic
detail and bewitching blend of rivalries and
romances will dazzle devotees of Tudor
England.
Percival Gynt and the Conspiracy
of Days
Drew Melbourne. Ruesday, $16.95 trade paper
(354p) ISBN 978-0-9998748-0-6
In this offbeat, enjoyable adventure set
in the far-flung future of 20018, a mild-
mannered accountant with a dark past
reluctantly teams up with a three-armed
alien cop and a mysterious young woman to
save the universe. Percival Gynt and his
allies must crack the mystery of the long-
hidden Engine of Armageddon before it can
finish unmaking all of creation. Along the
way, they have to cope with a galaxy-span-
ning church, relentless space Nazis, and an
evil wizard whose very existence was erased
from memory. Melbourne’s zippy, often
tongue-in-cheek debut reads like post-
modern Douglas Adams: a mixture of self-
aware humor, existential crisis, and cultural
satire. Modern brand names such as Apple,
Viagra, and Walmart persist millennia from
now, juxtaposed with clones, temporal
manipulation, and magic. Percival is a con-
tradictory everyman, a dapper-dressed
nobody with unexpected heroic qualities.
Though the plot is occasionally too twisty
and clever for its own good, the underlying
sense of good-natured excitement makes
this a fun, frenetic story.
The Planetsider
G.J. Ogden. Ogden Media, $14.95 trade paper
(320p) ISBN 978-1-983716-72-0
In this action-packed debut, Ogden
introduces Ethan, a member of the ranger
force of the Forest Gate settlement on a
postapocalyptic world known only as “the
planet,” who discovers two visitors from the
moon. Ethan hopes the crash-landed
arrivals can explain why some people suc-
cumb to the Maddening, an affliction that
turns people into violent monsters.
Unbeknownst to those still living on the
planet, the destruction was caused between
two moon settlements that were vying for
economic dominance and remain locked in
a bitter war. The more he learns, the less he
trusts the outsiders, but Ethan agrees to
assist them mostly because of his fascination
with one of them, Maria Salus. When Ethan
reaches the moon, both of the warring
groups want his cooperation, and Ethan
must decide the future of their communi-
ties as well as his own. Though the emo-
REVIEWS
tional moments are occasionally flawed, the
strong action sequences and thoughtful
worldbuilding make this one worth picking
up for fans of plot-driven SF.
The Road Once Taken
Lori L. MacLaughlin. Book and Sword, $19.99
trade paper (446p) ISBN 978-1-942015-04-8
MacLaughlin’s third novel (after Trouble
by Any Other Name) suffers from a flimsy
protagonist who’s outshone by her sup-
porting cast. On her way to visit a friend,
Jacinda Harper witnesses an accident that
gravely injures a woman, Deirdre. She
instructs Jaci to find a key hidden at her
estate. When Jaci agrees to the request, she
is transported through a portal to the
kingdom of Tarshane, still holding the key.
Rescued from the elements by a band of
rebels and their leader, Talan d’Lochlann,
Jaci learns that Tarshane is under control of
the sorcerer Galenock, a usurper of the
rightful royal family. Jaci bears a striking
resemblance to the missing Princess
Deirdre, and the key opens a crypt with the
ability to increase Galenock’s power expo-
nentially. Lauded as the heir to the throne
and capable of extraordinary defensive
magic, Jaci joins the rebels to overthrow
Galenock’s rule. MacLaughlin provides
little context for Jaci’s life prior to her
arrival, and each detail gleaned along the
way feels too convenient and in service of
plot. However, Talan and the other charac-
ters have distinctive voices that give the
story enough color and drive for readers to
see it through to the end.
Rogue Wolf
Elliot Cooper. Elliot Cooper, $3.99 e-book
(131p) ASIN B077N848MF
Cooper’s bawdy genre mash-up is set
aboard the spaceship Cygnus, a pirate vessel
crewed by rugged human captain Trent
Rolston, cheerful Tithan telepaths Lindi
and Reyla, secretive Fenrite werewolf
Vince, and nerdy navigator Winston. When
Fenrite raiders board the Cygnus, they rec-
ognize Vince as an infamous traitor, forcing
him to confess painful aspects of his past.
Complicating matters further, Vince real-
izes he is falling under the sway of powerful
seasonal mating urges. Despite his fears of
betraying the memory of his late lifemate,
Rok, Vince begins an intense sexual rela-
tionship with Trent that immediately
cements them as pair-bonded for life,
though Trent still thinks of them more as
buddies than as partners. Vince’s love for
the crew fuels him to take increasingly reck-
less steps to protect them as Fenrite hunters
are dispatched to bring him home by any
means necessary. The book is structured like
erotica, with significant focus on the
explicit scenes (one of which includes
descriptions of Vince’s canine physical char-
acteristics that some readers may find off-
putting), but Trent and Vince keep inter-
rupting the sex for heart-to-hearts. Though
Cooper (Junk Mage) is very creative with the
story’s premise and setting, this unfortu-
nate chronicle is undermined by choppy
pacing, underdeveloped characters and rela-
tionships, and rushed emotional arcs, ulti-
mately failing to satisfy as a romance.
The Science of Paul
Aaron Philip Clark. Shotgun Honey, $14.95
trade paper (238p) ISBN 978-1-948235-00-6
Fans of gritty, uncompromising noir will
welcome Clark’s promising debut, set on
the mean streets of Philadelphia, “a blue-
collar town, with a blue-collar way of
killing you.” Paul Little, an ex-con who
killed a mother and her son while driving
drunk, has been fortunate enough to find a
woman who loves him in Tammy Delgado.
But in the wake of the death of the grand-
father who reared him, and with his term of
probation about to end, Paul decides to
move on, convinced that he’s not good
enough for Tammy. Almost broke, Paul is
tempted to make some easy money from
businessman Harlin Washington, who
offers him a job. When his decision to earn
$1,000 from delivering a package for
Washington leads to tragedy, Paul again
considers himself a blight on others’ lives.
Though the contours of the plot—including
betrayals, corruption, and more blood-
shed—are familiar, Clark makes the dark-
ness of the City of Brotherly Love palpable
and his wounded, Hume-reading lead
plausible.
The Second Coming of Jesse
James
Mark Herder. Bison Blues Press, $10.93 trade
paper (294p) ISBN 978-1-5005-7533-5
Herder celebrates a Depression-era
®
scoundrel in a tale that’s equally delightful
and haunting. Jack Carpenter quickly
matures from farm boy to rakish moon-
shiner. His days are spent chasing women
and smuggling whiskey through
Newkonska County, Mo. Jack relies on luck
and charm to get by, but his luck runs out
when a brush with the law lands him in jail
and his girl marries his best friend. With
his family’s farm lost to the bank, and
nothing else to live for, Jack teams up with
his friend from jail, Reverend Rattles, once
they are out, to begin a bank-robbing cru-
sade against the “vested interests” across
America that will turn Jack “Jesse James”
Carpenter into the people’s hero, a wanted
felon, and eventually, a dead man. Jack is
filled with a ceaseless stubbornness and the
kind of commitment to bad ideas that
makes for rollicking fun. Herder’s humor
gradually gives way to the bloody end
apparent from the start. This is smart,
heartfelt, and rambunctious from start to
finish.
Shades of Winter
Morgan Smith. Traveling Light, $2.99 e-book
(286p) ISBN 978-0-9950366-3-5
The disjointed latest standalone install-
ment in Smith’s Viking-esque fantasy
series, the Averraine Cycle, finds the aging
and world-weary Tam Isliefsdottir leading
her comrades, the Kyndred, in a retaliatory
raid on a mysterious island protected by
dangerous magic. After encountering a
vicious legendary monster, they rescue
someone thought long gone who may
bring new hope or tragedy down on them.
The story’s events don’t always seem to
connect, and sometimes they feel as if
they’ve lost their relevance until the
climax approaches. The pacing is irregu-
larly balanced among action, flashbacks,
and occasionally sluggish sections where
little happens. But Tam still draws readers
in as the tired warrior driven by a frustra-
tion; her continual struggles, both in
combat and in her personal life, and her
once-deep relationship with her rescued
companion make her sympathetic. This
novel covers ground too seldom trod in any
variation of the Viking setting, and despite
its flaws, any fan of quasi-historical fantasy
will find it enjoyable.
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 ® REVIEWS
A Sinner Without a Saint
Bliss Bennet. Bliss Bennet, $4.99 e-book
(352p) ASIN B07DZ2CVK9
Bennett’s fourth Pennington romance
introduces complicated gay characters who
face down social conventions in 19th-cen-
tury England. Incorrigibly glib Sinclair
“Dulcie” Milne faces extreme pressure to
marry well from his father, Lord Milne. He
is goaded into betting that he can woo
Polly Adler and inherit her grandfather’s
extensive art collection, but his interests
lie elsewhere—with his former schoolmate
and artist, Benedict Pennington. Benedict
engages in a parallel campaign to convince
the Adlers to found a public art museum
with their collection. The two men share a
deep attraction, butting heads as they meet
socially and Dulcie canvasses for Benedict’s
brother’s parliamentary campaign.
Impressed by the artistic realism of
Benedict’s work, Dulcie talks Benedict into
painting his portrait. The more serious,
relationship-minded Benedict uses their
posing sessions to wear down Dulcie’s flip-
pancy and draw him into a hesitant
romance. Several twists and turns delay
their happy ending. This pleasing romance
highlights the complications of premodern
gay desires, rounding out its story with
precise historical flair and genuine
feelings.
Small Secrets
Joan Jacobson. Words and Pages, $12.99
trade paper (366p) ISBN 978-0-692-97645-6
Jacobson’s debut is a vividly detailed
mystery with authentic, relatable characters
and a sprinkling of romance. Growing up
on a farm in central Minnesota, Raki
Pederson has her life planned out: she’ll
graduate high school, then open her own
bakery. But after she gets pregnant and is
kicked out of her house after she refuses to
reveal the father, she must rely solely on the
kindness of strangers to survive. Now, years
later, Raki is a former journalist in her mid-
40s enjoying her retirement. As she pre-
pares to bury her mentor, Dolores Richter,
Raki discovers a secret from Dolores’s past
that leads her to wonder: why did Dolores
quit law school and go to France for a year?
Raki is determined to uncover the truth
before revealing to her daughter, Joey, the
identity of her father. As Raki, Joey, and
61e B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
Raki’s sister, Lija, sift through Dolores’s
belongings, they slowly begin to piece
together the mystery of a broken romance.
Each of the three main characters are well-
rounded, and Raki’s internal struggle
emerges organically as she works to piece
together the puzzle of Dolores’s past.
Jacobson’s enjoyable story demonstrates
how secrets are never safe for long—even
those taken to the grave.
★ Stones of Dracontias
N.D. Jones. Kuumba, $1.99 e-book (171p)
ASIN B07CNHVWST
Spanning 21 years, this delectable para-
normal romance novella from Jones (the
Death and Destiny trilogy) puts an unusual
spin on dragon shapeshifters while mixing
romantic connection with high-stakes
intrigue. Kya, a young dragon whose skull
cradles a magical healing gem, is sent to
explore Washington, D.C., in order to learn
about human culture. She sees Armstrong
Knight, a Secret Service agent, rescue a
woman from would-be rapists and decides
he’s worth getting to know. As they form a
friendship, Kya and Armstrong are attacked
by the Circle of Drayke, a human organiza-
tion interested in capturing dragons in an
attempt to gain power. Jones’s innovations
include humans knowing scraps about
dragon culture—the powerful, long-lived
dragons guard their privacy well, but often
intervene in human affairs and even appear
on TV—and all the dragons having dark
skin in their human form. This is a fasci-
nating, enticing beginning to a very prom-
ising series.
Then She Was Born
Cristiano Gentili, trans. from the Italian by
Lori Hetherington. #HelpAfricanAlbinos,
$3.99 e-book (320) ASIN B01N214BWU
Gentili’s novel successfully pleads the
case for improved treatment of African
albinos, despite some flawed character con-
struction. From the moment that Adimu,
an albino girl, is born, she is in danger from
those around her; in her island community
of Ukerewe in Tanzania, an albino is not a
person but a zeru zeru, “phantom” in
Swahili. Her paternal grandmother,
Nkamba, rescues her from being killed
upon birth and raises her. Few others in
Adimu’s community show her any kind-
ness—her parents disown her, other chil-
dren taunt her when they aren’t ignoring
her, and the local shaman, Zuberi, wants to
make charms from her body. Charles
Fielding, a wealthy white mine owner,
wants nothing to do with Adimu, but his
wife, Sarah, dreams of adopting her. When
Nkamba dies, Adimu is treated like a ser-
vant by the rest of her family and sought by
kidnappers who would sell her body to men
like Zuberi. While Gentili creates a fully
realized character in Adimu, others are less
believable—Charles’s behavior is very
inconsistent, while Zuberi is simply a cari-
cature of an evil and ambitious “witch
doctor.” Still, despite the inconsistent sto-
rytelling, the novel is a detailed portrait of
its community and is an intriguing look at
a lesser-known aspect of Tanzanian life.
The Unexpected Wife
Caroline Warfield. Soul Mate, $3.99 e-book
(271p) ISBN 978-1-68291-716-9
Warfield’s ambitious but lackluster
romance (following The Reluctant Wife)
takes place in 1838, in the period leading
up to the Opium Wars. Aristocratic English
scapegrace Thorn Hayden sails on a trade
ship to China to make his fortune, against
the wishes of his father, the Duke of
Sudbury; Thorn’s sister, Zambak, runs away
with him to take care of him. Charles
Wheatley, struggling to recover from the
death of his young son, is sent by Sudbury
to watch out for the errant pair, and also to
take notes on the political situation in
Macao and Canton for the British govern-
ment. The sprawling plot involves plenty
of actual political maneuvers and real his-
torical personages on both the British and
Chinese sides, as well as Thorn’s descent
into opium addiction, Zambak sneaking
into portions of China where Western
women were not permitted, the unexpected
reappearance of Charles’s runaway wife, and
a look at the emigré society of Macao.
However, well-researched as it is, the book
never fully engages with the horrors of
imperialism and colonialism—Charles and
Zambak can, after all, leave China and put
it all behind them. Their dawning love,
though sincere, does not strike a bright note
against the overall tragedy, but instead
sinks into sentimentality.
REVIEWS
Vice Report
C.X. Wood. Wood Pulp, $15.99 trade paper
(243p) ISBN 978-1-9851-4247-3
Mona Breen, the narrator of Wood’s
promising first novel and series launch,
covers crime for Vice Report, a seedy web-
site based in Oakland, Calif., and brings in
additional income by writing online sex
fantasies for a site that requires the stories
to be ones that “a slow reader” can finish in
seven minutes or less. When her boss,
Grant, gets a tip, Mona responds to the
apartment of Veronica Wolfe, who was
found dead after a neighbor reported a sus-
picious smell. The woman’s sister, Dahlia
Black, who’s the wife of a noted crime
writer, tells Det. Devin Powers, the inves-
tigating officer, that Veronica was an addict
for most of her life. The authorities later
determine that she died of an opioid over-
dose, but both Devin and Mona suspect foul
play. Mona uses Veronica’s case to persuade
Grant to approve some serious journalism,
allowing her to explore the human dimen-
sions of the opioid epidemic. Fans of capable
and complex female leads, who struggle to
manage personal difficulties with profes-
sional ambitions, will look forward to
future books.
★ Viral
Piers Platt. Piers Platt, $4.99 e-book (354p)
ASIN B07DHZ8R6Y
Platt (Escape from Oz) puts a relatable face
on the future of human warfare in this
affecting tale of self-discovery, conflict, and
loss. Sam Ombotu-Chen is an aimless col-
lege graduate with a worthless degree and
a bucketload of guilt-driven depression fol-
lowing the death of her best friend. Trying
to make something of her life, she signs up
for StreaMercs, a company training remote
warriors (“deathstreamers”) to wage war on
the encroaching extraterrestrial horde
known as the Octipedes, or Ochos, on dis-
tant planets. Their battles are broadcast as
entertainment to earn money. Through
several clashes, Sam transforms from a
novice made flush by beginner’s luck to an
experienced StreaMerc with millions of
viewers, and trains naive “noobs” to survive
on foreign beachheads. Sam weathers for-
tune and heartbreak on her way to an inter-
planetary conflict that jeopardizes the
future of the Ochos and humans alike. Platt
brings otherworldly conflict down to Earth
in thrilling action sequences; adroitly por-
trays the bleakness of depression; and crafts
a well-rounded cast that’s diverse in sexu-
ality, ethnicity, and gender. This is a must-
read for fans of video game streamers and
futuristic SF.
★ The Wolf of Oren-yaro
K.S. Villoso. Liam’s Vigil Publishing, $3.99 e-
book (417p) ASIN B0772XDV68
Villoso (Sapphire’s Flight) begins her
Annals of the Bitch Queen series with this
remarkable tale of nonstop tension, action,
and betrayal. In a fantasy realm, Queen
Talyien’s position has become increasingly
untenable. Five years ago, Prince Rayyel,
her husband, left the night before their joint
crowning, which was to have brought peace
to their war-torn kingdom of Jin-Sayeng.
Instead, Talyien has ruled alone as best she
could. She eventually receives a letter from
Rayyel asking her to meet him in the city
of Anzhao, across the sea in the Zarojo
Empire, but assassins interrupt the meeting
and Tal finds herself alone with Khine, a
local chance-met con, as her sole ally.
Fearing to trust officials of Anzhao and not
knowing the fate of Rayyel, Talyien risks a
journey to the city of Zorheng, only to find
that its prince, Yuebek, has designs on her
hand and kingdom. Villoso’s allusions to
mad dragons and magical entities will leave
readers wanting more of her world. Her
queen is an intelligent and physically
capable woman facing a whirlwind of
treachery. The pace is breakneck but never
exhausting. This excellent work will appeal
to all readers of epic fantasy.
Nonfiction
240 Beats Per Minute:
Life with an Unruly Heart
Bernard Witholt, with Roger M. Mills. River
Grove, $15.95 trade paper (254p) ISBN 978-1-
63299-186-7
As biologist Witholt began his 15-year
struggle with recurrent ventricular tachy-
cardia in 1999, he began recording his expe-
rience in scientific terms; this book repre-
sents that record, combined with thoughtful
italicized commentary from his lifelong
friend, physician Mills (Nesiritide: The Rise
®
and Fall of Scios). Witholt first knew some-
thing was wrong when his pulse rate shot
up to 240 beats per minute. He initially
resisted the common treatment, an
implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or
ICD, which has the unpleasant effect of
delivering “a shock... directly inside your
heart,” but eventually acquiesced in early
2000. Happily, as Witholt became accus-
tomed to the ICD, he was able to return to
his beloved pursuit of rowing. Mills, also a
rower, affectionately echoes and emphasizes
his friend’s paeans to the sport: “Bernie’s
almost lyric description of his Saturday
mornings went far beyond science; he loved
life.” However, Mills also shares frustrations
with how reluctant his friend could be to
seek necessary medical care, recalling, “I
was his friend, not his physician.... I find it
an impossible situation.” Culminating in
Witholt’s death due to pancreatic cancer in
2015, this book serves as an endearing elegy
from a devoted friend and, fittingly,
includes three of Witholt’s essays, intended
to illustrate his devotion and love for
teaching.
Come Follow Me:
A Memoir. The NFL. A Transition.
A Challenge. A Change
Hamza Abdullah. Abdullah Bros, $23 (390p)
ISBN 978-0-9981129-0-9
Abdullah, who played safety for four NFL
teams from 2005 to 2011, recounts his life
in and out of professional football, focusing
on what he calls “The Transition”—how to
navigate the “financial, physical, emo-
tional, psychological, spiritual or mental”
challenges that players face when they leave
the game. Abdullah criticizes the way the
NFL “indoctrinates” players to rely solely
on the team to the detriment of each indi-
vidual player (“I assumed I would be inte-
grated into NFL culture with the protection
of a shepherd. I was sadly mistaken”). He
critiques college player evaluations (“a
modern-day slave trade where we were mea-
sured, weighed, and evaluated purely on our
physical appearance”) and contract negotia-
tions (“In the NFL we don’t sign contracts.
We sign promissory notes, with people
whose fingers are crossed behind their
backs”). Abdullah also writes movingly
about how deepening his Muslim faith
helped him endure difficult times and bring
B O O K L I F E .C O M 61f
 ® REVIEWS
“compassion, empathy and heart” to profes-
sional athletes and to develop “a playbook
for the NFL afterlife.” Abdullah provides a
unique and important look at the life of
NFL players today.
A Christian Life Without Father God
Leanne Goff. CreateSpace, $25 trade paper
(204p) ISBN 978-1-4823-1329-1
In this breezy memoir, Goff details her
experiences growing up without a father
figure. Goff writes that at age 12 she
decided that she would not let her father-
lessness define her. Instead, she would
become a young woman “propelled into
[her] designed destiny.” Goff was able to
find common cause with the support group
Teen Challenge, which helped underscore
the message she feels she has been called
upon to preach: God offers true love and
care, especially to the parentless. She did
eventually meet her birth father, but it
wasn’t until she was 28 and he was dying of
cancer. His death caused Goff’s immersion
into Christianity and ministry to deepen,
and she learned to appreciate the fatherhood
of God, whom believers can confidently
turn to as one turns to an earthly father. This
uplifting story will be welcomed by
Christian readers seeking a tale of affirma-
tion and triumph over trauma.
Finding Theo:
A Father’s True Story of Loss,
Courage, and Discovery
Timothy Krause. Clovercroft, $14.99 trade pa-
per (192p) ISBN 978-1-945507-92-2
Krause delivers a stirring account of his
son Theo’s severe spinal injury and recovery.
On Sept. 17, 2013, just a few weeks after he
turned 25, Theo Krause was mountain
biking in Crested Butte, Colo., when he lost
control of his bike and launched headfirst
into a tree. After being evacuated to a hos-
pital by helicopter, Theo was told his neck
was broken, he needed immediate surgery,
and he probably would not walk again. In
candid prose, Krause recounts his son’s
struggle to walk, as well as Krause’s and his
wife’s feelings of helplessness as parents.
(“Emotions soared with each sign of prog-
ress and then plunged at every disappoint-
ment, slamming us back and forth between
exhilaration and fear, hope and despair.“)
Krause is repeatedly grateful and amazed as
61g B O O K L I F E , O CTO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 8
Theo makes remarkable strides in working
toward living independently. Krause’s phi-
losophizing is a bit tedious at times (“All of
us, including me, are still in some stage of
‘finding Theo,’ in the sense of under-
standing our gifts, in understanding our
place in the world”), but readers will root
for the dogged Theo and all the friends,
family, and medical professionals who sup-
ported him.
Hope Blooms:
Organ Donation, the Rose Parade,
and Our Journey to Save Lives
Bryan Stewart. Advantage Media Group,
$39.99 (360p) ISBN 978-1-59932-948-2
Stewart movingly chronicles the story of
how the subject of organ and tissue dona-
tion became the centerpiece of beautiful
floral tributes in Pasadena, Calif.’s famous
Rose Parade (“America’s New Year
Celebration”). As chair of the Donate Life
Rose Parade Float Committee, he is
uniquely well-equipped to write this
detailed, 12-year account of how the idea of
publicizing organ donations at the Rose
Parade, first hatched in 2002, became a
reality. Themes executed have included
2004’s A Symphony of Life, 2006’s Life
Transformed, 2008’s Life Takes Flight, and
2010’s New Life Rises. Floats have intro-
duced recipients to their donors, or to the
families of their donors, for the first time,
and have united fellow recipients with each
other—a pair of riders invited onto the float
one year had received heart transplants at
the same time and hospital while they were
still infants. The Donate Life initiative has
also shed light on lesser-known organ dona-
tion streams, such as living donation kidney
chains, in which would-be donors incom-
patible with their preferred recipient
instead pass the donation onto someone else
in need. Stewart’s passion for his cause
shines through this inspiring narrative.
The Kind of Parent You Are:
Becoming Your Best Person
So Your Children Can Become
Their Best Adults
Brian Vondruska. Aurora Park, $18.95 trade
paper (346p) ISBN 978-0-9987511-3-9
Vondruska (The Optimal Life Experience),
the father of two children, presents a wise
and thoughtful guide to child-rearing based
on his own experiences, as well as research,
drawing in particular upon such experts as
John Gottman, Adele Faber, and Elaine
Mazlish. He walks readers through the steps
of creating a parenting philosophy that
includes beliefs, values, purpose, goals, and
vision. Explaining that his is less a “how-to”
than a “why-to” approach, the author looks
closely at common practices in order to find
if they accord with his value system, which
he explains is centered around the “guiding
belief that everyone has the potential to
have a meaningful and enriching life.” For
instance, Vondruska found when using
“time-out” to discipline his young son that
his “empathy alarm” went off (making his
child feel “powerless” was inconsistent with
his values). He also provides worthwhile
self-reflection tools throughout, such as
“Imaginary Time Travel,” which prompts
readers to envision the future outcome of
choices that sacrifice time with their chil-
dren, and “What’s in My Mirror?” which
invites readers to witness their parenting
behavior from the perspective of others.
This perceptive and well-researched guide
will be useful to readers hoping to clarify
their parenting goals and raise emotionally
healthy children.
Looking Backward:
America’s Love Affair
with the Station Wagon
Will Bodine and John Jordan. Jordan-Bodine,
$24.95 (125p) ISBN 978-0-692-59420-9
Former publisher sales rep Bodine and
photographer Jordan celebrate the glories
of the station wagon in this affectionate,
informative pictorial history. Long before
the arrival of SUVs, Bodine notes, auto-
makers seduced the American driver with
the comfort and convenience of family-sized
automobiles. The authors trace the emer-
gence of the station wagon, initially
inspired by horse-drawn carriages, to the
1941 Buick Special Estate Wagon and the
Chrysler Town & Country, and follow its
evolution through the post-WWII boom
that saw the introduction of the Oldsmobile
88 Station Wagon and the Ford Country
Squire. The authors celebrate the station
wagon’s glory days—which they peg from
1955 to 1958—highlighting the 1955
Plymouth Savoy Suburban, 1957 Buick
Century Caballero, and 1958 Edsel
REVIEWS
Bermuda. Bodine doesn’t shy away from
pointing out design flaws of some of the
cars, such as the first generation of the 1962
Chevrolet Convair Monza wagon, the han-
dling of which was criticized by Ralph
Nader in his book Unsafe at Any Speed.
Sporting gorgeous color photographs on
nearly every page, this well-researched
tribute will charm nostalgic car enthusiasts.
Love Songs: The Lives, Loves, and
Poetry of Nine American Women
John Dizikes. Animal Mitchell, $35 (582p)
ISBN 978-1-944037-76-5
This fine book from Dizikes (Opera in
America: A Cultural History), professor
emeritus of American Studies at UC–Santa
Cruz, follows the lives and work of nine
American women poets who rose to promi-
nence in the first half of the 20th century.
Some, such as Amy Lowell, Edna St. Vincent
Millay, and Dorothy Parker, are still
familiar names. Others, such as Léonie
Adams, Louise Bogan, and Elinor Wylie,
have fallen into obscurity. All, however,
gravitated at some point to New York City
and contributed to its vibrant literary and
cultural scene. Dizikes explores their lives
by dividing his book into sections based on
historical period, offering a slice of each
woman’s life in each section, allowing
readers the chance to compare and contrast,
or to flip through the book and read any one
poet’s life through. Dizikes’s prose is
straightforward and easily readable,
without critical jargon. His chief strength,
however, is his ability to convey the per-
sonal cost of art for women in this period:
some left husbands and children behind or
had abortions, Parker attempted suicide
twice, and a few faced a lack of recognition
for their work as they aged. This would
make an excellent gift book for bibliophiles,
easy to dip in and out of, and filled with
attention-grabbing and important poems
and stories.
Out of the Wild:
Seven Years in the Wilderness
Charlie Paterson. Charlie Paterson, $14.99
trade paper (184p) ISBN 978-1-980-245-54-4
Paterson explores the unexpected spiri-
tual growth he experienced while trying to
build a home and wilderness lodge for tour-
ists in the remote rainforest of New
Zealand’s Fiordland National Park in this
raw account. Unfortunately, the author
buries the novelty of his experience beneath
mundane detail, giving almost equal time
to his struggles with bureaucracy as his
encounters with nature. Paterson’s lifestyle
is unique and definitely not for the squea-
mish. He describes in detail deer hunting,
having to scrape fly eggs and maggots off of
his kill, and the proper way to “dispatch” a
possum. His isolation (15 minutes by heli-
copter from Milford Sound or a three-day
walk to the closest road) proves to be a
mixed blessing. The order and purpose of
nature unexpectedly draws Paterson toward
a deep faith in God, while his solitude leaves
him struggling with celibacy, as well sui-
cidal thoughts. In the end, flipping to a
random verse in his Bible (Micah 2:10:
“Arise and depart, for this is not your place
of rest”) prompts Paterson to return to civi-
lization (without completing the lodge).
Although Paterson is a talented writer and
the story is delivered with panache, his
meandering attention distracts from an oth-
erwise enjoyable look at living a spiritual
life far off the grid.
Stars Upside Down:
A Memoir of Travel, Grief,
and an Incandescent God
Jennie Goutet. CreateSpace, $11.99 e-book
(262p) ISBN 978-1-5236-8899-9
Blogger Goutet (The Viscount of Maisons-
Laffitte) details her travels abroad, as well
as her early adult experiences living in New
York City, in this revealing, energetic
memoir. She starts with her brief brushes
with religion as an adolescent before a more
serious consideration of faith as an adult. A
Christian counselor convinced her that she
needed to accept Jesus during college: “So
I took a deep breath and said inwardly, Um.
Jesus? I opened the door to my heart so you
could come in. Suddenly I felt a little sick.
I felt invaded. No, no, ­get out. Get out! I
don’t know you.” Eventually, Goutet found
this same vulnerable feeling to be reas-
suring, and became involved in a church in
New York. After she got married, Goutet
and her husband traveled to Kenya to serve
as missionaries. She was unprepared for the
poverty and suffering she witnessed, and
soon she spiraled into depression. She then
describes her volunteer work as a salve for
®
that depression, and spends her final chap-
ters on her current work in France. Goutet
demonstrates in this candid and engaging
story how maturing spiritually can alleviate
depression.
Writing to Be Understood:
What Works and Why
Anne Janzer. Cuesta Park Consulting, $25
(228p) ISBN 978-0-9996248-1-4
In this straightforward, practical guide
from Janzer (The Writer’s Process), the “why”
of her subtitle provides her book’s most
intriguing aspect. She applies insights from
psychology and cognitive science, among
other disciplines, to help nonfiction writers
gear their work to the minds of their audi-
ence. Rather than focus exclusively on style
or technique—though she does provide
advice on tone and stylistic elements, such
as the use of humor—Janzer seeks to figure
out how to connect with readers, including
hostile or resistant ones, and avoid alien-
ating them. (Avoid overly complex sen-
tences and “field-specific” jargon, for
example.) She also explains how to take dif-
ficult issues and make them accessible and
appealing to a general readership by under-
standing how people take in and process
information. Acknowledging that readers
“may be surprised by the amount of cogni-
tive science” in what’s billed as a writing
guide, she explains, per the title, “that’s
because the end goal [of writing] is being
understood, and understanding is a cogni-
tive function.” It’s a unique way to approach
the topic, and while it may not resonate
with everyone, it’s worthy of investigation.
Moreover, her belief that the world needs
effective communicators of challenging and
multifaceted topics provides this entry into
a crowded genre with an unusually compel-
ling reason for being.
Children’s/YA
What Am I? Vegetables
John Benzee. Split Seed, $18.99 (36p)
ISBN 978-0-9997379-0-3
In this guess-the-vegetable book, Benzee
presents 15 rhyming “riddles” that hint at
common varieties: “I’m grown in pods/ On
bush or vine/ With spiraling, twisting
spine,/ The size of a pencil rod... What am
B O O K L I F E .C O M 61h
 ® REVIEWS
I?” (a bean). Graphics display each vege-
table growing in the dirt and on the vine,
or sliced to reveal their seeds and juicy
insides—or, in the case of the beet: “My
blood oozes out/ When I’m cut in two,/
Now you have an inner view.” Benzee’s
descriptions are fun, and the artwork fea-
tures gentle color contrasts and a crisp,
modern feel. With the clues in the riddles,
images, and the names of the vegetables
appearing in bold capital letters, readers
should have an easy time guessing each one.
Ages 3–7.

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