Monday, December 29, 2014

WEEKLY STATUS REPORT # 37

This week I’m going to be quite brief in my weekly status report.

In addition to my late posting of Book Review #43, I read/reviewed an additional three books. This makes a total of 50 books [my target figure on Shelfari] that I’ve read this year. I’ve got to go back to edit/add information for the past several books I’ve read/reviewed. My reviewer ranking on Amazon is currently at 53,477. So any time you’ve really liked a review I did, I’d appreciate it if could go Amazon and say YES at the end of my review there.

Book Review #46 will be the last book review I’ll be writing this year. Next year I’m going to push the envelope by setting a goal of reading/reviewing 100 books; and I’ll be numbering my reviews to reflect the numbered book I’m reviewing and the year.

With my wonderful OH having finally retired on Friday; I don’t know yet how much of my schedule will be changing forever, but a realignment of what I do each day will be definite occur.

As far as my writing endeavors are concerned, I’ll be slowing down the rate of progress on all of them unless I begin to see an uptick in the sales of my books.

I want to take this time to wish everyone and your families a very HAPPY NEW YEAR as well as a prosperous and healthy one.



Saturday, December 27, 2014

BOOK REVIEW # 46 - OLD SOCK LEARNS ABOUT CHRISTMAS


I received a copy of this book in a giveaway held by the author and the following is my honest review for it.

I found Melinda Kinsman a marvelous, innovative treat for its young readers, which I’d place between 5 – 8 years old; perhaps even 4 depending on the child. By giving human qualities to an inanimate object, in this case a sock; the author uses the child’s imagination to communicate the different things a child should know about  activities surrounding the Christmas holiday in an easy going manner. The author also kindly tells the child that everyone doesn’t celebrate the holiday, and that’s another holiday which comes around the same time, Chanukah [there’s several ways to spell this holiday] which are celebrated by children who are Jewish.

While the first portion of this beautifully illustrated book by the author herself deals with the items above the second portion goes on to tell its readers facts about Santa, what Christmas is all about, its traditions, etc. The third and final section of the book gives children and their parents several activities to enjoy which are all connected to the holiday in one way or another.

Given the above, I’m happy to give this 5 STARS.



Friday, December 26, 2014

BOOK REVIEW # 45 - DREAMTIME MAN

I received an autographed copy of this in a giveaway the author had, and the following is my honest opinion for the book.

The first thing one will notice about the story the author has created is that it has been written entirely in rhyme. While it’s not like the entertaining Dr. Seuss books I remember as a child, it does expose its young readers to poetry.

The poetry helps to draw whoever reads the book into the history of the Australian Aborigines and the lives they led before the “invasion” of white settlers with their diseases and unfriendly ways towards Mother Earth, in a way plain writing never would.

Before they came, the Aborigines lived in harmony with nature. Ms. Finke does a marvelous job in bring their struggle to survive in the modern day world while keeping their antiquity way of life alive. And to do so with as few words, makes it more amazing.

The glossary of Aussie words at the end of the book aids the reader in a better understanding of the story they’re reading. The illustrations, by Ioana Zdrelea vividly match the words it has been placed with.

This is why I’m not hesitating in giving this book the 5 STARS it so richly deserves.

BOOK REVIEW # 44 - WHERE THERE IS LOVE

I received a copy of this book in a giveaway on GoodReads. And this is my honest opinion for the book.

In “Where There Is Love,” Linda Becker takes her readers into the lives of three different women who each desire the simple pleasure of finding someone they can love for the rest of their lives. I believe Ms. Becker in making each of her female characters; Hannah, Helen and Julie real, made it possible to totally relate to at least one of them.

Just as in our lives, each character travels down a different path with real life-changing decisions having to be made along the way, including that of a heart-breaking decision to reject a marriage proposal where the mind won over the heart.

While some reviewers need to write about editing issues, I tend to read a book for the story it tells and how it is being told, which is what the vast majority of readers do. Instead of jumping from one story to another and back again, I’d like to have seen each of the different storylines made into three separate short stories, each with their own title; making for a better reading experience.

With all things considered, I’m giving this book 4 STARS.



UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0578142562



BOOK REVIEW # 43 - HOW I CHANGED MY LIFE IN A YEAR

The Christmas holiday crazies in over and I can finally get my daily routine back in order.

Here's the book review I mentioned in my previous post I didn't have time to post before. I now have three books I've read which I'm hopefully going to write the reviews for today.


How many of us are honestly willing to come out and admit we want to lose weight, get fit, beat the demons which are running our lives, and naturally find our sort of happiness? Basically, almost all of us have least one, and it doesn’t matter whether we’re a man or woman.

Since we can all now agree these issues do exist, but how many of us willing admit we’ve got these issues, and to do so publically and in writing? Not many. This is why we as individuals and as possible readers of this book need to thank Shelley Wilson for having the courage to do precisely that, and to do so in an amusing and inviting manner.


While some of us might have already read her suggestions elsewhere, some of us haven’t. The unfortunate thing about the book is that most of the website links she gives her readers are located in the U.K., which is where the author lives.


Aside from the inconvenience of the links being in the U.K.”, How I Changed My Life In a Year can prove to be quite helpful in helping us [man/woman] to lose weight and get a healthier body. And given I’m old enough to be her parent; I’m looking at trying some of her suggestions myself.


After negating the link problem I’ve mentioned, I’m giving this 4 STARS.





Tuesday, December 23, 2014

WEEKLY STATUS REPORT # 36

On Sunday I finally got around to posting three book reviews I had already posted on my four usual book sites here on my blog, and I still have one to post here [Book Review # 43]. For some reason I had to rewrite my original review several times before it would be accepted by Amazon’s computer screening process.

Besides reading/reviewing these four books, I’ve been involved with several personal matters I’ve been delaying and delaying. Yes, authors do have lives outside of being a struggling author.

With these things finally out of the way I got involved with promoting my two books, as well as giving my share of supporting to the support group I belong to. This is the reason why my weekly status report is late in getting posting.

For the rest of the week I’m looking at reading/reviewing the children’s book [real paperbacks] I’ve got piled in the work area of my apartment.

With my wonderful OH finally retiring, I don’t know yet how much of my schedule will be changing forever, but a realignment will be definite occurrence.


I hope everyone who will be celebrating their holiday will have a wonderful one with their family and friends.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

BOOK REVIEW # 42 - PRAYERS FROM CROOKED SPINES

Since becoming a Book Reviewer at the end of August of this year I’ve become interested and have enjoyed increasing the genres I’ve reviewed. When I saw this book being offered as a giveaway on GoodReads.com I looked at it as a possibility of adding another genre to my list. Needless to say I feel lucky to have won one of the signed copies being, and the following is my honest opinion of what I’ve read.

By reading the back cover we learn that the author as a child had been raised on the streets of New York City. Having been born and raised there myself, I also have memories which are still present and lingering in the back reaches of my mind. It is this same sort of memories the author, Angel Zapata, has transcribed onto paper and into this book.

As I read the various poems in his book I sensed a child’s mind at work as Angel recalls his personal family experiences as a child, as well as the sights and smells around him. Sights and sounds many of us raised in a large city might have also experienced.

For example in his poem Dissonant Chairs, I can remember seeing the grow-ups [old women] sitting on their folding chairs around the front stoop of the building I lived in, who at times looked at us children with nothing more than disdain; and we wondered what we’ve done to have elicit it.

The author seems to have then taken these childhood experiences and added an adult spin to them. For the emotions this book has evoked I’m glad to give it 5 STARS.



UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NNW50Y8 



BOOK REVIEW # 41 - INSIDE ROOM 913

How many of us can remember the jobs we all had as teenagers? How can remember how we felt when we found we’ve just been fired? Naturally we all wanted to find another job, a job which would mean for many of us that we could at long last move away from the all inquisitive eyes of our parents.

Unfortunately as this story by Bruce A. Borders, eighteen year old Cynthia Holt has lost her job, which meant a return to a life under her father’s roof. When her mother found out about this she suggests to her daughter she should apply for a job at the assisted living facility she once worked at, naturally Cynthia cringes at hearing it, but subsequently agrees.

The facility in question had once been a sanitarium, or mental hospital in its early days; and with that came an list of horror stories regarding what had occurred there.

The most important instruction she received on her first day had been to totally ignore Room 913, which included talking about it with any of her co­-workers. Working there, she could interact with any of its residents, and soon began to develop a relationship with some of them. Apparently one of the residents had a few secrets he kept close to himself, and one of them had concerned the forbidden room.  

What is this secret? Is this resident more than what he appears to be? Does he know a secret regarding Cynthia? All of these questions are revealed as the story progresses to its conclusion. While I’d been somewhat happy with the ending, it did seem a little anti-climactic leaving a few questions seeming hanging there unanswered.

All-in-all the book had been an enjoyable quick read, which I completed in a single sitting, I’m giving this endeavor by Bruce A. Borders 4 STARS and hope to read more of his offerings.



BOOK REVIEW # 40 - ANTics

ANTics by Dakota Douglas is a wonderful book which has successfully been geared for its intended audience of children between the ages of 7 and 11 regardless of whether they’re a boy or a girl. The book deals with serious topics which directly affects the daily lives of these children.

Having been a Sociology major in college I love the sociological and psychological mapping of these problems unto a society of ANTs which made learning how to deal with problems easier for the book’s young readers to understand.

Trying to “teach” a young reader how to deal with these daily issues they might face each day is not as easy as you might think it is. To begin with an author cAN’T simply write about these topics; they must be sure of two things.

First, they must be sure that they’re not talking down to its young reader. If they do, believe or not the reader will know it and shut down to what’s being said in what they’re reading.

Second, they must be sure that they’re not hitting its young reader over the head with the lesson[s] they book is trying to convey. This is another reason why a child might lose interest in what they’re reading.

Ms. Douglas’ book has succeeded to overcoming these hurdles to make the book what it is. A GREAT TEACHER.

While books like these can be used as a great tool to communicate certain topics to a child, there is a downside. The downside is getting someone [parents] to buy them.

For the effort, Ms. Douglas has made in producing this book, I’m happy to give it 5 STARS.


Monday, December 15, 2014

YEAR END CHANGE IN MY PRIORITIES


At the beginning of this year I'd once again made a New Year's Resolution to FINALLY return to reading books again. The MAJOR DIFFERENCE this year is that instead of reading NONE, since having declared myself a Book Review a few short months ago I've already read 39; and this does not include the handful of books I'd read in the beginning of the year.


This beginning the case, I've decided to really push the envelope in reading push, and read/review as many books as I possibly can, And in order to do this, basically all of my other activities will change drastically. There will be no movement in any of my writing endeavors, nor will there will any real effort to result to the writing prompts I usually respond.


I will continue to promote the two books I've already self-publisher. I will continue to send out Tweeks as I've always done.


Finally, in exchange for you kind support here on my blog, I’m offering a SPECIAL DISCOUNT on my two books

Micro Fiction – An Anthology regularly lists on Amazon for $8.99 and is discount to $8.54.   And I Kissed a Ghost which regularly lists for $9.99 and is discounted to $8.96.

I’m offering $1.95 off for either or both books if they’re ordered through CreateSpace and the code JXE954KW is used when checking out

To receive I Kissed a Ghost for $8.00 +tax/shipping go to

And to receive Micro Fiction – An Anthology for $7.00 +tax/shipping go to


You’re free to share these discount with your friends and family.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

WEEKLY STATUS REPORT # 35

After the exhausting week I had last week I decided to take a little breather and basically relax as much as possible for two days.  This didn’t mean I avoided going on the internet, I did; but merely to keep my email boxes for my three email addresses as clear as possible.  Other than quick responses I sorted by mail for quicker responses for when I got back into action on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, I posted a review which I’d said last time I’ve already posted on the four sites I usually do: Amazon.com, GoodReads.com, LibraryThing.com and Shelfari.com. I’d also received a comment for this review by the author himself who said that he loved that I wrote: “…as if we'd been sitting in a class given by the author of the book." And that he considers himself to be an inveterate teacher and that his how-to-write-memoir books to be "portable workshops." It’s a nice feeling to have the author of a book you’ve reviewed to take time out of their busy schedule to compliment you for what you’ve written.

In additional to this review, this week I’ve been EXTREMELY BUSY as a Book Reviewer. In the past week I’ve read and reviewed an impressive additional five books. And at the present time on my Shelfari bookshelf I’ve got four books I still need to read. Three of them are for the REAL BOOKS I’ve won from the giveaways on GoodReads, which I’ve yet to receive, and one is for an e-book.

I can see my status as a Book Review is growing because my ranking as a reviewer on Amazon is now #53,477, so THANKS to those of you who’ve gone and said YES at the end of my reviews there.

As you can probably imagine, because of the above, I haven’t made any movement in any of my other endeavors. But so be it, I loved having done what I did this past week.


This week will probably be more of the same; especially with the Holiday Buying Season still in full swing.

A TOUR HAS STOPPED AT MY BLOG - JEFFREY von GLAHN


Background:

Jessica had always been haunted by the fear that the unthinkable had happened when she had been “made-up.” For as far back as she could remember, she had no sense of a Self. Her mother thought of her as the “perfect infant” because “she never wanted anything and she never needed anything.” As a child, just thinking of saying “I need” or “I want” left her feeling like an empty shell and that her mind was about to spin out of control. Terrified of who––or what––she was, she lived in constant dread over being found guilty of impersonating a human being. 

Jeffrey Von Glahn, Ph.D., an experienced therapist with an unshakable belief in the healing powers of the human spirit, and Jessica, blaze a trail into this unexplored territory. As if she has, in fact, become an infant again, Jessica remembers in extraordinary detail events from the earliest days of her life––events that threatened to twist her embryonic humanness from its natural course of development. Her recollections are like listening to an infant who could talk describe every psychologically dramatic moment of its life as it was happening. 


 

When Dr. Von Glahn met Jessica, she was 23. Everyone regarded her as a responsible, caring person – except that she never drove and she stayed at her mother’s when her husband worked nights.

For many months, Jessica’s therapy was stuck in an impasse. Dr. Von Glahn had absolutely no idea that she was so terrified over simply talking about herself. In hopes of breakthrough, she boldly asked for four hours of therapy a day, for three days a week, for six weeks. The mystery that was Jessica cracked open in dramatic fashion, and in a way that Dr. Von Glahn could never have imagined. Then she asked for four days a week – and for however long it took. In the following months, her electrifying journey into her mystifying past brought her ever closer to a final confrontation with the events that had threatened to forever strip her of her basic humanness.



Twitter Handle:  @JeffreyVonGlahn
Website:  http://jeffreyvonglahn.com

Purchase Link for book:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IUCKOD8

BLOG POST:

This excerpt is from the Prologue. It describes how my view of infants was changed by Jessica’s therapy.

Listening to Jessica during therapy sessions was the same as listening to an infant who could talk describe in vivid detail every psychologically dramatic moment of its life as it was happening. As a result, my perception of infants was radically altered. I will never again think of them as simple little beings primarily interested in eating and sleeping. They are far more complex than I had ever imagined. When I am now in an infant’s presence, I am acutely conscious that an active force in the world is before me. What I say and how I act will be watched with great interest by a mind that, though not as developed as mine, is probably more curious about the world and definitely more sensitive to it.

Infants, especially newborns, pull me toward them with what seems like an irresistible power. Whenever I see one of these brand-new human beings, I must fight my urge to drop whatever I’m doing and immediately rush to its side. In my fantasy, I see myself slow down as I approach my goal and unhurriedly cover the last bit of distance. I close in with the most incredibly joyous smile anyone has ever seen. My eyes bulge in unabashed delight, while my smile and eyes speak for me. They speak the language of infancy, a life rich in feelings, hopes, dreams, potential, and an insatiable curiosity about the world. It is a life as exciting and intriguing as anything adults can even imagine.


Saturday, December 13, 2014

BOOK REVIEW # 39 - A PERSONAL JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF TEACHING

I bought a copy of this book primarily for one reason. I couldn’t resist the price for the KINDLE edition for this book, FREE.

While I’ve never been a teacher, nor a parent of a child; like ALL OF US, I’ve been a student.

As students we never got to know what’s going on inside the minds of any of the teachers we’ve ever had from Kindergarten right through our senior year in high school. All we knew had been that the person in front of the classroom was there to teach what we needed to learn. And from the ninth grade on, for me it had been to pass the all-important year end test for the subjects I’ve taken a class in; which in New York State that was the State Regents Exams.

And for some reason, as students, we never could understand why we liked some teachers more than others, we just did. All we knew it basically had been the way our teachers interacted with us; some showing us an interest in what we might to ask at the end of a class, while others told us to get to our next class so we wouldn’t be late - - in other words the old brush-off.

In his book, John Fioravanti, has gone to where almost all teachers would never dare to thread, which is letting us into his psyche for his reasons for being a teacher and his development in becoming a better teacher. This book also proves that the line in the song “Getting to Know You” from the “The Kind and I” has some truth to back it up. For those who don’t know the line, it is: “If you become a teacher by your students you’ll be taught.”

The author’s life experiences is what this book is about, and in writing it, he has lifted the veil to the reason why teachers are the way they are, which is why I’m happy to give this book 5 STARS.

US:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K9UXW2E


UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00K9UXW2E


If you’ve liked reading this review, if possible I’d appreciate it if you could go to Amazon and say YES at the end of my review there. THANKS

BOOK REVIEW # 38 - THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

I bought a copy of this book primarily because the author and I belong internet support group “Rave Reviews” http/tinyurl.com/mqo65sj; as well as it being a relatively quick read.

As I read this book I felt somewhat like a voyeur, looking into the lives of several individuals while being stranded at an airport during a heavy snowstorm, through the various isolated snippets being told by them. Being a child of the 1950’s the book reminded me a little of the television show Candid Camera,” with Alan Funt; except the incidents here weren’t always funny. Instead, I experienced, like other readers will, a different emotion for each of the snippets I read.

Unfortunately, what has pulled my opinion of this book down has been the detailed description of each of the characters she has written about in her introduction. I’d been told numerous times, in writing, authors should allow their readers to formulate their own mental pictures of what any given character looks like. For example in the introduction to her book, Ms. Cowan wrote that:
Sue is around 5’6”, brown hair, outgoing, quick to laugh. John is around 6’, black hair, quiet but friendly.

To me Sue is around 5’2”, has brilliant green eyes with long auburn straight hair going halfway down her back. And John is around 5’10’, quite muscular with beautifully coiffed blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Since I didn’t read enough concerning each of her characters, I couldn’t really form an opinion of them; besides this, nowhere else through her book does she mention their relationship as a newlywed couple of husband/wife, which leaves to wonder how important it was for her telling us this.

In the end I giving this book 3 STARS.


US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OE6XLK2


UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OE6XLK2

BOOK REVIEW # 37 - LOOKING FOR MR. RIGHT

As I read this book, the first book I reviewed soon after I declared myself to be a Book Reviewer, “Searching4MrRight.com” by Rene D. Schultz, came into my mind. In that review I wrote “Who can't recall the horrors of the dates you had, many of which you'd sooner forget, before getting married for the first. For the dates you can recall, didn't you give each one of those dates a label of sort to "remember" them by? If you did and you can relate to what Rene had experienced when she decided to re-enter the dating and doing the same thing. Read this book, and see how many of her dates had been similar to ones you had experienced yourself.”

Hopefully by reading “Looking for Mr. Right,” you’ll be able to by-pass some of these experiences and disasters.

I feel this book has been written in an informative as well as an entertaining manner; which added to the enjoyment of my in reading it. The book addresses the issues most women are concerned about when it comes to the “The Dating Game.” The information this book seems to indicate it has been researched quite well, and the exercises it contains are quite useful is realizing what you need to know in order to attract your Mr. Right.

While this is a book which can easily be read in a single sitting of about an hour, you should reduce your reading speed so you won’t miss anything the author has to say, so read it a second time. I’d read this book twice over the course of three hours since I’d received the book, which included a break to have my dinner.

I was about to give this book 4 STARS, but how could I forget this book had been written by a MALE with a MALE’s POV; which is why I’m giving it 5 STARS.

This review has been my honest opinion, which I wrote in return for the free KINDLE version I received.




If you feel my review has made you interested in possibly buying the book.  Please say YES at the end of the review on Amazon.  THANKS.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

BOOK REVIEW # 36 - CHARLIE, THE FLATULENT CHRISTMAS ANGEL


The instant I began to read Steve Case’s “Charlie, The Flatulent Christmas Angel,” I got flung back to the days of youth when I had been a child of the 1950’s and to all of the Dr. Seuss’ I read then.  “The Cat in the Hat,” “The Cat in the Hat Returns,” both of the Horton books, “And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” and the rest of his books had been some of my favorite books back then.

The rhyming Case uses in writing his brief, cute stories matches that of Dr. Seuss, who must have influenced him when it came to writing this book. While Dr. Seuss aimed for the zany  and funny side in his stories, Mr. Case’s humor aims to be somewhat more sedate while at the time creating stories which leave its readers with a sense that something had been gained by the end of each story.

The book is something which would definitely appeal to its intended group of young readers, about age 5 – 9. This book will also allow its adult readers to rediscover their inner child as I did as I read this book THREE TIMES. And for allowing me to rediscover those days I’m giving this book FIVE STARS.

I received a copy of this book in a GoodReads giveaway in return for my honest opinion in a review.



BOOK REVIEW # 35 - BIG MOJO

Reading the first few lines of the book: “The big thing Jersey stockbrokers: we’re in cutthroat business. If we don’t keep our client names and their contact information secure, other brokers will pirate our business.” To this the fact his firm barely has any income, because his is derived just from his own sales and transactions involving his personal clients; and that Austin Carr is a ladies man and womanizer continues to attract them. And then add in voodoo spells. What I got is get is a roller coaster ride of a story in which the twists and fast turns it takes can make some readers dizzy.

In the mix for the storyline this book takes you have the boyfriend of a woman he’s involved, a gigantic ruby, a vast amount of money, and the risk of our main character going to jail.  While I’d been rooting for him as I read this book, all this made me wonder whether or not even had a slim chance of surviving. What happened to Austin in the end; whether or not he did survive, I’m not telling. You’ve got to read the book and take this ride yourself.

For the fun ride I’ve received in reading this book, I’m more than happy to give it 5 STARS ! ! !


I received an autographed copy of this book in a GoodReads giveaway for my honest review of this book.

  US:    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N8IHOOQ  

UK:   http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00N8IHOOQ

BOOK REVIEW # 34 - DON'T LET WRITER'S BLOCK STOP YOU

This is the book review I spoke about not being posted earlier.


I’d received a free digital copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Why would I say something like this, especially since none of us, even when we were children, like being lectured to? Let me explain.

I found the book to be quite informative, especially to aspiring authors who’ve been frustrated in writing their current endeavors. The exercises it contains are helpful in stimulating the creative juices we have inside those little grey cells of our minds.

However, I found “reading” this book to be somewhat difficult; that is until I realized one thing. This is not a book one can simply read. This is a book one has to listen to, just as if we’d been sitting in a class given by the author of the book, listening to him read the contains of the book to us.

While the double-spacing helps makes the book, given the material easy to read, the unjustified right margin made it somewhat distracting.

As for myself, I’ve found using a prompt word with a limitation of how much one can write to be quite useful in kick-starting one’s creativity. And compiling ones I’d already written as well as new ones allowed me to self-publish my second book.

So at the end of the day and after mulling all the attributes for the book I’m giving this book 4 STARS.








Monday, December 8, 2014

WEEKLY STATUS REPORT # 34

This past Monday has been a day I’ve anxiously waited for, ever since I typed the final period of my latest book “Micro Fiction – An Anthology.” My hands actually shook as I, with my eyes closed, ripped opened the package the UPS guy had handed me the package the new PROOF COPY for the book came in at 8:00 PM. I opened the book and stuck my nose right against the pages so I could inhale the luscious aroma of success from the ink on the freshly printed pages.

I immediately logged into my CreateSpace account to release the paperback edition of the book, which I followed by ordering the KINDLE conversion of the book directly through Amazon.

Both the paperback and KINDLE editions of the book became available by December 2, 2014. I also enrolled this in the KDP Select program. The best thing of all regarding the cost factor for self-publishing my second book, aside for my time; is there’s been NO COST !!! Experience is a WONDERFUL thing to have.

Here is the link for the KINDLE edition [US] of the book

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QH15K4M 

As you might have guess with all the first week of promoting I’ve done it allowed me little time to do almost anything else. Anything else doing that is except for my holiday shopping for gifts with the mid-week specials at the malls. So you can imagine how exhausted I became. I didn’t even have time to post the review for the one book I’d been able to do here on my book after having posted it on the four sites I usually post my reviews on.

Right now I’ve got two books I still need to read/review from my GoodReads giveaway wins; plus three books I’m still waiting to receive.

In regards to my anthology of Haiku, I’ve decided to take the advice I received last week about removing the titles for each of the ones I’ve already written. As I did, I wound up tweaking some and deleting others, so at the same time I’ve got a total of 98 out of the 250 I plan to have in this anthology.

This is a beginning of a new week, and another week of promoting not only my newest book, but the first real book that I’d self-published as well. Hopefully, the rearrangement of my previously daily schedule of doing things will help facilitate the greater productivity I’d love to have.

Watch for my special promotional offer on my two books coming soon.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

A TOUR HAS STOPPED ON MY BLOG - HARMONY KENT

Hi there! Thanks for joining me on my awesome fourteen-day blog tour with 4Wills Publishing and my fantastic host for today! You can find details of my other stops here: 4Wills Author Page. 


I published my first book, THE BATTLE FOR BRISINGAMEN, in May 2013. I soon followed this up with the award winning mystery/thriller THE GLADE in November 2013, and my first Young Adult fiction book, ELEMENTAL EARTH, in July 2014.

Today, am promoting my latest work, POLISH YOUR PROSE. This is my first non-fiction book, and is a powerful new guide that gives essential editing tips for authors.




Lots of books have been written on the art of writing, and here—at last—is a guide that will teach you the essential techniques of editing your own book. This will help you turn a promising manuscript into a published novel. And, it does this without the jargon. You don’t need to know all the grammatical terms in order to make use of this book. You don’t need to know the definition of a split infinitive, a comma splice, or a ‘to be’ verb, as this manual explains these in detail in easy to understand terms, and a lively and engaging style.
Chapters on Passive Writing, Tense, Point of View, Dialogue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an editor would go through to polish and perfect your manuscript. Good writing is nothing without good editing. Learn the secrets of good editing and writing with this essential author reference, which offers so much more for so much less.

As well as being an award-winning author, I am an accomplished editor and proofreader. My passion is helping Indie Authors to successfully achieve their goals and dreams.

Excerpt from the preface.

“An independent author finds him or herself with many pressures on time and financial resources. Often, any available funds are funnelled toward advertising, rather than hiring a professional editor. Usually, authors who do hire an editor will get a copy edit and overlook the need for a comprehensive line edit. Some won’t even know there is a difference. And finding a good proofreader can seem impossible at times. …
 … It is my aim, in this manual, to highlight and explain the essentials without getting lost in the skies of academia, or drowning in a sea of words that need translating into the common tongue. Whenever I edit for an author, I always attempt to explain the changes I have made, so they can learn for themselves and avoid the same errors the next time around. It is far better to write my comments in plain English, than to confound with obfuscation.
I am all about supporting Indies, and one of the most helpful tools I have found is that of education. If we can do it for ourselves, it is much cheaper and less time consuming than getting someone else to do it for us. And, we do our own work for free!”


You can pick up your copy of POLISH YOUR PROSE here:

Links for my other books:


You will also find me in the soon-to-be-released Rave Reviews Book Club Anthology: RAVE SOUP FOR THE WRITER’S SOUL, and the All Authors Magazine Anthology: CONCORDANT VIBRANCY.

I’m also on twitter: @harmony_kent


Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, December 5, 2014

FIVE SENTENCE FICTION - Trust


Before you read my response to the prompt word of TRUST Lillie has given her readers to respond to this week, I must thank her.

For almost two years now, on almost a weekly basis, I’ve responded to her prompts, which on many occasions have helped me get over an incident of writer’s block I’d been experiencing in one of my writing endeavors. Lillie McFerrin has been the inspiration in my compiling the items in my second book, “Micro Fiction – An Anthology” and I want to thank her now for that.

WHO WILL HE MARRY?


T he time came one day when Prince Michael had to decide which Princess he should marry


umor had it that Princess Michelle had actually slept with a peasant and had a child with him.

U rsula, a princess in a faraway kingdom, is so fat he wouldn’t be able to put his arms around her.

amantha, a princess in another faraway kingdom, had a heart of gold but is as ugly as ugly could be.


he unfortunate thing is that his father, the King, was on death’s door, but with no one he could TRUST to help him to make his decision, he now had to let his heart make the decision for him.


Here is the KINDLE link for my book for the


US :  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QH15K4M

UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00QH15K4M