While yesterday I might have posted my 136th book review for this year here on my blog; yesterday I posted my 200th review on Amazon.
I've loved reading/reviewing those books as it gives me something constructive to do instead of doing nothing. I've been retired about 5 years and 8 1/2 months now and while second career as an author has slowed down to a crawl; my 2nd second career as a Book Reviewer has become something I couldn't imagine when I began about 14 months ago in earnest. I know I've done a great review when the authors compliment me regarding the review I'd written for their books.
With the holidays coming in less than two months, if you're considering giving a book to your child, a friend, a family member. or even yourself; you're always invited to check my reviews out on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A19QLCLVPLZH0B
THANKS for following my blog.
Have a GREAT DAY !!! :-) :-) :-)
Love
Robin Leigh
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
BOOK REVIEW 2015-136 - MOVING ON
I received a free download of this
book through The Romance Reviews website
[http://www.theromancereviews.com] in
return for my honest opinion
How would you feel if the wonderful
guy you’re about to marry suddenly ups and dies just a week before your wedding
day, then you’ll know precisely how Anna felt when her fiancé, Murray, had
died. Unfortunately since that tragic day, on a daily basis she would receive
an onslaught of condolences, gazing looks of sympathy, etc. from both friends
and strangers alike.
Eventually Anna had taken all she
could bare and decides ditch her current environment and move to the cottage
she’s inherited from her fiancé and his family in Regina Beach.
As a child of the 1950’s I can
remember those autograph books we used to use when we graduated junior high
school [9th grade at the school I went to] where we would say congratulations
to our friends. etc. Sometimes we would write little fun things like:
2 GOOD
2 B
4 GOT TEN
[which was written as an addition
problem] or things like:
“Don’t make love by the garden gate.
Love is blind, but the neighbors ain’t.”
This is the kind of place Regina
Beech is, a place where everyone has to know everyone else’s business; and this
is especially true when it came to someone who’s just moved there.
Along with Anna who’s here to
recover from her drastic loss, we have Nick, a Sergeant in the Canadian Army
who came home to recover from his tragic accident where he lost a limb due to
an IED explosion. Both of these two main characters were there to find some
sort of solace from their own predicaments, and it’s a chance meeting her first
night in Regina Beach which and brought these two “lost” souls together.
I loved how the relaxed dialogue
shortly ensued soon afterwards and then eventually led their relationship to
blossoming into one of a more serious nature. However, this could never grow
into a truly open relationship since she refuses to talk about her past, and he
refuses to talk about his future, especially where it concerns his desire to
return to active duty. Who will be the first one to break the silence and share
their secret? Will their relationship become a happy ever after one? I’m not saying, but I am giving Ms. Bower’s
book 5 STARS !!!
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
STATUS REPORT # 65
About two weeks ago I got something in
the mail which for the lack of any better words, reminded me of old I am. I
received my Medicare card. YES, I’m going to be 65 shortly.
Having worked for the City of New York
it means changing the health insurance my dear OH and I have. There’s a window
of time in which I have to make my decision as to what I should take, otherwise
I’ll have to wait an entire year to make any change.
This is something you can’t go blindly
into, so last week I spent Monday arranging to go to the city to the union I’d
belong to for counseling. Luckily I’ve got the best plan to be able to split
out and calculate the new family insurance plan rates.
On Tuesday, since we go to the nearby
senior center, along with the home attendant my OH has, for lunch; I couldn’t
take the bus until after 1:00 PM. Needless to say, given my luck these days,
when I got to where I needed to be, I found out they close at 3:00 PM for any
new arriving individuals. This meant I wasted an entire afternoon, having to go
back home empty-handed. The next day, I caught AN EARLY bus, and arrived at my
destination to be the first person to be seen.
The day turned out to be to my
advantage since I learned the two of us can have our own individual insurances
because neither of us has any dependent children. Because of this my pension
will increase slightly because it will be offset by having to pay for my Part B
Medicare payments, and the good news is I’m supposed to get most of/if not all
of these payments back the following year around August.
With two days spent taking care of
this, I’d created a huge backlog of things I usually do. Spending every moment
I could I’ve cleaned my backlog of books to read/review - - - only have 1 book
now on my TBReviewed pile.
As for my writing endeavors are
concerned, my two major WIPs are still on the back burner; my short story still
needs some tweaking, and my endeavor to write something outside of my “comfort”
zone needs a total rewrite, mostly because of a lack of any dialogue.
With all this, even with the help of a
home attendant, I still need to look after my love. But at the same time, I’ve
once again making myself available for interviews and guest blog posts.
Monday, October 26, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-135 - TRUSTING JACK
I
don’t know why but I find something special when I read a romance novel where
love is found, lost and found again. While losing a loved one is bad enough
when he/she dies from an illness or having their life snuffed out due to an
accident or even worse at the hand of someone else; having it happen through
divorce results in a devastating, traumatic effect on the individual.
I
loved how Ms. Hale wasted no time in getting to the apparent reason for
emotional split between Emma and Ryan which culminated in their getting a
divorce; both had made a mistake in their rushing to be married.
Naturally,
after this Emma wanted to get her life back to the way it was, and to the job
she once had in the movie industry before she’d entered this dismal period in
her existence. Soon after she rejoined actress Norah Jackson as her personal
assistant, she meets Jack Brandon who’s a sexy, young, inexperienced actor.
Although
each had a kismet-like attraction to each other the moment they first met, each
carries baggage from a previous love affair they once had. Both Emma and Jack
are hesitant in allowing themselves to experience the kind of love they’re both
seeking, which in turn creates them having an almost rollercoaster-like
relationship.
Does
their relationship in the happy ever after? I’m not going to say as I’d like
you to share the emotions I’d experienced in reading this book. The story is
well-developed without any of the sex scenes you might expect, which is why
I’ve given Ms. Hale 5 STARS.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
I'M FINALLY DOING A GUEST POST
After being sort of a recluse for several months due what's been going in my life especially when it comes to my dear OH, today I'm finally doing a guest post in which I tell the story of my transition from writing non-fiction commentaries for a community newspaper for several years to writing my first novel, a MG/YA Paranormal romance entitled "I Kissed a Ghost"
Here's the link to my Guest Post on Kim Cox's Blog - "The Writer's Journey" where I'd love to read your comments, ctc
https://kimwrtr.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/1280
If anyone would like to interview me or have me post my story on their blog/website, please feel free to contact me
Here's the link to my Guest Post on Kim Cox's Blog - "The Writer's Journey" where I'd love to read your comments, ctc
https://kimwrtr.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/1280
If anyone would like to interview me or have me post my story on their blog/website, please feel free to contact me
Saturday, October 24, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-134 - THE BACKYARD BUG HUNTERS
I received a KINDLE
Edition of this book in connection with the first book of this series, “A Kids
in the Tree House Book” which I’d won through a giveaway on LibraryThing, and
the following is my honest opinion.
Ms. Cole has once
again written an early reader children’s book revolving around the activities
of two young boys around six years old, probably due to the inspiration she’s
received from her own two sons and her own experience as a girl their age.
In this story Caleb
and Logan want to go bug hunting. They gather various materials and construct
two nets to use to catch their bugs, and after each has caught one, Logan
suggests they need a natural habitat to place their bugs in. He gets a large
empty pickle jar from the recycling area of their house, punches holes in the
lid so the bugs can have some air to breathe and places leaves and twigs in the
jar to complete the habitat.
They’re now ready
to begin their hunting in their backyards. The bugs they found under a rock
moved too fast for them to catch. Logan, apparently the smart of these two,
knew a butterfly’s wings were too delicate to be caught and that some
caterpillars can be poisonous.
Naturally Caleb’s
young brother wants to join the hunt but is delegated to holding the bug jar
and closing the lid tightly after the bugs are caught. All is well until they
decided to catch bees, and when they realized the jar is full of now angry bees
and decided to open to the jar to let them go. What happens next is exciting
and almost deadly; but somewhat humorous to Caleb’s twin sister Isabella.
Friday, October 23, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-133 - THE OLD MAN AND THE CAT
I
received an ARC [Advanced Reader’s Copy] of this book from the publisher
through a GoodReads giveaway; and the following is my honest opinion.
My
dear OH and I are cat lovers and have at least one cat for over 20 years. And no matter what you might think you might
out, as the author of this book found out, a cat adopts/owns you and not the
other way around.
Shortly
after the author and his wife return from a trip to Namibia in Africa a small
kitten appeared at their bedroom window. The kitten kept on appearing in their
garden before Mr. Uddenberg realized it must have been spending the nights in
the shed he had, sleeping curled up on his gloves. After returning home from a
two-week trip to Stockholm he figure it would no longer be there, and would
have gone back home. However it was still there, and began to increasingly
endearing itself to the author.
Once
he allowed it to enter their home, he began to use his experience as a
psychologist to analyze its behavior. The author never had a pet, and didn’t
expect to have one now, but he did. The author wrote this book to show how
their relationship grew and both developed a need/respect/understanding for
each other. This is endearing book for anyone who loves the relationship they
share with their own cats/dogs.
When
we adopted another cat when our second cat had died, we were taken into one of
the rooms the shelter had their cats in and while there were several beautiful
young cats there, one in particular came over to me and gave me head-butts on
my hand demanding my attention to rub it and to take it home.
In reading/reviewing the ARC copy of
this book several things had to be kept in mind. First and foremost is the fact
that it’s an UNCORRECTED proof copy of the book; meaning errors might be found
throughout the book. Furthermore, since this book is the English translation
from the original Swedish, errors might be found regarding the translation as
well. When I looked at the preview pages of the German translation of this
book, I read the first paragraph, and given the knowledge I still have from my
college days, I found it to be more of what the English translation should look
like.
There’s been no change in the
preview pages for this book from what I have in my ADVANCED UNCORRECTED PROOF copy
so I’ve got to wonder if the necessary changes have been made, which leaves me
to give this book 3 STARS. However, I love the endearing story which has been
presented here I would like to give it 5 STARS. In the end, given the quandary which
has presented itself here, I’m giving this book 4 STARS.
Monday, October 19, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-132 - HOW TO WRITE A SIMPLE REVIEW
I
received a e-book version of this book through a giveaway on LibraryThing from
the author, and the following is my honest opinion.
To
set the record straight I’ve been a Book Reviewer since last August and when I
saw Ms. Abbott’s book being offered as a giveaway I decided to enter it
basically to see if I’ve learning anything through my own experiences writing
reviews. Surprise it to say I’ve not, which means the author has done a
thorough job in presenting the information contained in this book.
I
didn’t start being a Book Reviewer, I started as an author almost three years,
and currently have two books written and self-published. I began
reading/reviewing books as a way of increasing my writing knowledge with books
I’d obtained through giveaways throughout the internet.
Ms.
Abbott is correct is saying authors are always looking for reviewers of their
books which is why many times they use giveaways. The unfortunately thing is
while they hope they get a review for each book they giveaway, they seldom get
it. So if you happen to receive a book
through a giveaway, kindly right a review for the author in return. And if you
do write a review for such a book, there is a FTC regulation which states you
need to disclose this information in the review, just like I have here.
There
are several kinds of reviews prevalent on sites like Amazon, and they run the
gamut from quick one sentence jobs to those are filled with spoilers [giving
away the plotline/detailed information about the book].
The
real function of a review is to whet a potential reader’s interest in the book;
that they wind up buying. One of the things I try to do in my review is to
personalize it or to give a reference to a movie or even a song which someone
reading the review can relate to.
While
the author had mentioned authors being published by traditional publishers have
an advantage over indie authors is the publishers handle promotions of the
books. The fact of the matter is many times these authors at times have to do
quite a bit of the promotions on their own.
How
can you tell if you’ve written a good review? One of the ways is the HELPFUL
votes your review has review. As for myself, it’s when the authors sends a
THANK YOU message telling you how much they’ve enjoyed reading your review.
For
educating others in becoming a book reviewer, I’ve given Ms. Allyson R Abbott 5
STARS.
NOTE:
The author has used the British spelling of certain words and phrases in
writing her book.
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-131 - ST CLAIR'S DEFEAT
I received a mobi.File [KINDLE] copy of this book from the author through a recent giveaway he had on LibraryThing and the following is my honest opinion.
One of my best subjects in high school was history where I had about a 92/93 average, and American History was my favorite of all the history classes I had.
One of the main reasons I can see this defeat has been repeatedly passed over is the lack of flamboyancy General St. Clair had when we compared him to General Custer. This is in spite of the fact that General Custer’s massacre had been only a fraction of the one St. Clair and his army experienced.
Native American history has for too long been swept under the rug and forgotten about. Although the historical documentation exists it has, in my opinion, been tucked away in archives gathering dust. I know how hard it is to research a particular event in history, as I’ve helped someone doing research on such an item, and had gone with this individual to Washington, D.C. where I was given access to the stacks of the Library of the Library of Congress for a given range of the LC classification system for books.
One interesting thing about this event is, if you recall all the history you ever took, while any major event in history has been usually been named for its location, this event was named for the person most responsible for it happening.
It is for this reason I admired the tenacity Mr. Walker had in gathering the information contained in this book and for presenting it in readable form which is so prevalent in most history books. Not only has this author merely given the information pertaining to this tragic event in American History, he has given the readers of this book some insight about the event. This is why I’m giving this book the 5 STARS it so richly deserves.
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B016C7B11G
One of my best subjects in high school was history where I had about a 92/93 average, and American History was my favorite of all the history classes I had.
One of the main reasons I can see this defeat has been repeatedly passed over is the lack of flamboyancy General St. Clair had when we compared him to General Custer. This is in spite of the fact that General Custer’s massacre had been only a fraction of the one St. Clair and his army experienced.
Native American history has for too long been swept under the rug and forgotten about. Although the historical documentation exists it has, in my opinion, been tucked away in archives gathering dust. I know how hard it is to research a particular event in history, as I’ve helped someone doing research on such an item, and had gone with this individual to Washington, D.C. where I was given access to the stacks of the Library of the Library of Congress for a given range of the LC classification system for books.
One interesting thing about this event is, if you recall all the history you ever took, while any major event in history has been usually been named for its location, this event was named for the person most responsible for it happening.
It is for this reason I admired the tenacity Mr. Walker had in gathering the information contained in this book and for presenting it in readable form which is so prevalent in most history books. Not only has this author merely given the information pertaining to this tragic event in American History, he has given the readers of this book some insight about the event. This is why I’m giving this book the 5 STARS it so richly deserves.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-130 - THE SECRET NO-GIRLS CLUB
I
received a mobi.File [KINDLE] copy of this book through a LibraryThing giveaway
held by the author and the following is my honest opinion.
When
I saw the title of this book I immediately got a nostalgic memory of my
childhood, watching episodes of the original Hal Roach’s “Little Rascals” on
the Black/White television we had at home. The particular episode was entitled He-Man
Woman Haters Club and got started because no boy got invited to a certain party
given by a girl. Spanky wanted to elect Alfalfa because . . . no need to go
into any further details here.
While
this story’s plot is not as complex, I loved the innocence portrayed by Logan
and Caleb with their separation of the sexes by wanting to form a secret club
which would allow no girls to join; even their rules excluded them. Boys and
girls of this young age tend to keep apart from each other.
They
ran into problems when it came to selecting their President. Ultimately they
allowed Logan’s sister, Isabella, to join their secret club and somehow she got
elected as their President.
It’s
interesting; this is how the episode of The Little Rascal episode ended, with
Darla Hood, Alfalfa’s “love interest,” getting elected as the President of
their club. I know many grandparents will the connection between these two
items, and will have the same kind of nostalgic memory as I have.
I
found the language used in this book when it came to the dialogue to be
authentic for the ages of its characters, and well suited as a whole for the
audience this book has been written for; and is the reason I’ve given Ms. Cole
5 STARS for her endeavor here.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-129 - PATTY CAKES and the STOLEN BALL
The
best kind of children’s books I love to read/review are the ones which teaches
its young readers important life lesson in an entertaining manner, while at the
same time doesn’t hit its readers over the head with the lesson.
Patricia
Lowry or Patty Cakes as she’s known to her friends is a sweet girl who unfortunately
has the tendency to be blame for things she didn’t do. Being a child of the
1950’s, this became somewhat nostalgic for me as I remembered watch a TV series
segment of the Mickey Mouse Club entitled “Annette” in which Annette Funicello
played a country bumpkin living with her upperclass relatives. She gets picked
on by her classmates and at a party gets accused a stealing an expensive
necklace worn by her school’s most liked and admired girl during a party, which
ruined her existence. At the end of this series, several months later, at
another party, the necklace is finally found when someone is asked to play a
song which had been played at the first party. The girl who had blamed Annette
for the theft apologize, and the two became good friends.
When
Patty’s brother, Thomas, loses his “treasured” lacrosse ball naturally she’s
the one who gets blamed for its disappearance. An interesting thing is, Patty
seems to be able to skillfully reduce serious problems when she’s faced with
them. However, she apparently can’t do the same when it involves him. Needless
to say, at the end of the story the missing lacrosse ball is found in a place
no one seemed to bother to look previously.
Ms.
Carr’s simplistic writing style in this book, reminds me of the Dick and Jane
reader I read in first grade, which lends itself perfectly to the way many
children talk amongst themselves and brings them into the story and the
important lesson it attempts to communicate.
For
the reasons I’ve attempted to address in the above, I’m happy to give this book
5 STARS.
Friday, October 16, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-128 - DONALD GASKIN - The Meanest Man in America
After having three
books written by Jack Rosewood in his “True Crime by Evil Killers” series; when
I found he had added this book to the series, I had requested an e-book copy of
it in return for my honest opinion and which he’d graciously honored my
request.
Donald Gaskins
didn’t earn the title of “The Meanest Man in America” for nothing; just read
the life destiny had “forced” him to live. Try to imagine if you will being
brought my a mother who had totally neglected you in your formable years to
such an extend you didn’t even know your own name until your first appearance
in court when they called your name and someone had to tell you it’s you.
Having no
supervision from his mother he became a wild animal and the fact he received
regular beatings from his various “stepfathers” didn’t help matters either. Given
his relatively small stature he got the nickname of “PeeWee,” which is the
probable cause of his getting repeatedly raped at reform school.
To Gaskins, killing
became a way of life; he killed because of a variety of reasons which even
included getting paid. He even killed a death row inmate for money. In his
autobiography, Final Truth, Gaskins wrote about his having a mind which told
him he had the "permission to kill" certain to kill.
Once again this
author has succeeded in culling out all of the unnecessary information
regarding this infamous serial killer to give his readers a concise biography.
For giving all those who read this book, I’m giving Mr Rosewood’s endeavor here
5 STARS.
Monday, October 12, 2015
STATUS REPORT @ 64
In the past week I’ve read/reviewed a
total of 7 books from four different genres, which for being a Book Reviewer is
quite refreshing experience.
With two WIPs still sitting on the back
burners, why am I looking at releasing the recycled short story I’d mentioned
last week? Perhaps it’s my wanting to have a bigger variety of books of
different genres published under my belt.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
RECYCLING A SECOND TIME
How many of you have written something which you've tossed aside only to go back to it at a later time to revamp it so it could be used for a different purpose than you had previously wanted to use it for.
The same thing is happening to me right now.
In the middle of November of last year, as far as I can recall, I started to write a third W.I.P, see http://www.about.me/rlmorgan51, to see what my other two WIPs are. This endeavor novella would have been a NA [New Adult] Contemporary romance novella entitled "It Had All Been a Game" with a second chance romance as the story line. But after writing several chapters the creativity ceased as a terminal case of Writer's Block took over and needless to say this manuscript soon became R.I.P.
The thing about R.I.P. manuscripts is that sooner or later if the creative spirits will it, a resurrection can occur with a new purpose for its existence. This is what happened to me when I learned that the RWA [Romance Writers of America] wanted to compile a second anthology with submissions from its gifted membership. I revamped the story to fit the submission requirement regarding length and had submitted it towards the end of the submission period. The announcement of the winning submission had been scheduled for the end of May. May came and went as did June, July. August, September; and it wasn't until a few days ago when the announcement emails got sent out. Unfortunately, my submission didn't get selected,
With the death of my endeavor occurring a second time I wasn't going to wait for a new opportunity to arise again. Using the knowledge I've gained since becoming a Book Reviewer, and seeing the length of many of the KINDLE items out there, I've decided to self-publish this endeavor as a Short Story. This is something I hope to release in about 8 - 10 weeks.
Friday, October 9, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-127 - WHOLE LOTTA CREATIVITY GOING ON
As an author with
two books under my belt, and two more in the processing of being written, like
practically all other authors I’ve come down with the dreaded condition fondly
know as WRITER’S BLOCK.
I suffered from
this condition several times as I wrote my first novel and needed to find
something which would stimulate those little cells in my mind. Luckily I found
a site which would supply me with a weekly prompt word for which I had to
respond by a FIVE SENTENCE story. Eventually I compiled the ones I’ve done and
other which I had not into my second.
I currently have
two WIPs which are currently on hold. I’m definitely going to come back to this
book when I return to working on these endeavors. The reason for this is Ms.
Pacelli’s endeavor here gives her readers not one kind of writing exercise to
stimulate their creativity, but 60 of them, and each one can used over and over
again.
Do not let my talking
about this book helping authors get over their writer’s block deter anyone else
from reading this book. This book will be of a great use to anyone who has a
creative mind and wants to have something to stimulate; whether or not the end
results will be published.
For aiding the
creativity all of us have, I’m giving Ms. Pacelli’s book 5 STARS.
I received a KINDLE
Edition of this book from the author through her LibraryThing giveaway, and the
above has been my honest opinion.
Monday, October 5, 2015
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-126 - CINDERELLA'S ENCHANTED NIGHT
I
won an e-book edition of this book written by Amber Daulton through her
giveaway on LibraryThing recently and the following in my honest opinion.
This
story is an updated version of the old folk tale which practically very young
girl has read as a child and since that day has dreamt of finding someone who
would become her own Prince Charming. Have you ever have this dream?
In
her book, Annalise Gallagher is Cinderella and Elijah Burleigh is her Prince
Charming. But unlike her who was beautiful, but wore rags; Annalise had beautiful
clothes looks quite ordinary.
One
night Annalise and her three girlfriends find a magical locket and each make
the same wish to look extremely beautiful and wake up the next morning, their wishes
fulfilled. However, the magic will only last for 24 hours, midnight to
midnight.
When
she wakes up Annalise and see her wish has been granted, goes to him and is totally
surprised when he invites her to be his guest at his friend’s wedding later that
evening. When she meets him later she’s dressed in a haute couture gown
straight from Paris, vowing to make the most of the time she has left to be
with him.
But
with no Fairy Grandmother around her appearance to the way her Prince had seen
her the previously night, but what will happen Annalise awakes and Elijah sees her
the way she normally looks like? Will he
demand to know what happened; or will she wake to find him waiting for her to
wake and ask if he can do anything for her?
Until you read this book, you’ll just have to dream about what happens.
As
I read this book the author’s writing has been such that at times I felt as if
I’d been a shadow watching what’s transpiring in front of me, which is why I’m
giving this book FIVE STARS.
BOOK REVIEW # 2015- 122/123/124/125 - THE GREAT BOOK OF ANIMAL KNOWLEGE
I received a set of four books
[PDF.file] from his author’s The Great Book of Animal Knowledge series
centering on CATS through his giveaway on LibraryThing, and the following is my
honest opinion for it.
Each of these four books
VOLUME 4 – CHEETAHS: The Fastest Cats
on the Planet
VOLUME 5 – TIGERS: Deadly Predators of
the Jungle
VOLUME 6 – LIONS: Powerful Kings of
the Wild
VOLUME 9 – LEOPARDS: Stalkers of the
Wild
while brief in length this book offers
its young readers a clear and concise description for various aspects of this
cat and its life, which is aided by each of the 20+ photographs above each
description. And for this, I’m giving each of these books 4 STARS.
BOOK REVIEW # 2015-121 - FAT CAT ART
I
obtained a copy of this book through a giveaway on GoodReads and the following
is my honest opinion.
My
dear OH and I, having no children, have been cat lovers for years, which is why
I couldn’t resist trying to win a copy of this book.
Ms.
Petrova has done a marvelous job with her book, beginning with the tragic death
of her dear mother and how Zarathustra became her cat and had her come out the
depression she found herself in. The author is quite fortunate to have bonded
with her cat the way she has because of their independence and elusiveness. She
is also fortunate to have had a mother who taught everything she knew, as well
as curiosity and willingness to look at different fields, this ultimately led
her to develop the artistic skills used in creating the art which is displayed
in this book.
However,
this book wouldn’t have been possible if it hadn’t been for her cat, who loved
to be a show-off by posing in different positions on his own so he could be
photographed by Ms. Petrova. The author then sought out the perfect
masterpieces painted by all the famous artists in the world which she get high
resolution images of, and then artistically and painstakingly photoshop the
photos she had of her cat onto.
To
add to the enjoyment of each of her finished pictures the author has combined
the historical points about each one as well as having the cat presence in the
now improved masterpiece explained.
I
believe this book makes for a pleasant reading experience for all cat and art
lovers. Given the pictures in this book and the quality of the paper being
used, this price is quite reasonable when compared to other books out there. I’m
therefore happy to give this book 5 STARS.
WRITING TIP # 1 - CHARACTER NAMES
As promised, I hope to post some sort of writing tip each Monday starting today. I felt the best way to start is to handle the issue or problem regarding names for the characters in our books.
Every author in writing their book(s) has to face the
dilemma of what to name our characters, luckily for us if our story takes place
in the United States, we have a superb tool to help remedy the situation. When
we name our characters, we want their names to be appropriate for the time
period the story is taking place, and of course it would be wonderful if we can
know what the most popular names were for our characters when they were born.
In my debut MG/YA Paranormal Romance novel, "I Kissed a Ghost", I wanted my characters to be around 13
years old which would mean they were born in 1997. And since my story has a
time travel element to it, I would also need to know the most popular names in
1897.
There's a lot more fun stuff there...you can LAO find out
how popular your name has been since you were born. Here's the link to the
site.
STATUS REPORT # 63
Things have finally begun to slow down
in my life as my dear OH is improving every, and hopefully we’ll no longer need
a 24/7 home attendant by the beginner of next year.
My status as a Book Reviewer is
improving on a regular basis. As of today on Amazon my approval rating is 95%
based on 184 reviews and my ranking is 6,408; but some reason there appears to
be no change in anyone’s ranking for the past week.
On August 25th as you know I
got accepted as a Book Reviewer on The Romance Reviews website and I now have 2
reviews posted there, both of which are already proving helpful for visitors to
the site who are interested in these books. If anyone is interested in reading
these reviews you’re welcome to visit me there, here’s my link:
I’ve already myself being interview on
one site in November and I’m looking to do more. If anyone is interest in
either interviewing me or have me do a guest post, please feel free to contact
me.
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