~Review: Wind Down by Mark Ewig~

Wind Down by Mark Ewig

Aaron Starks survived a near death experience when he was stabbed by an unknown assailant. All of his college roommates were suspects. However, investigators could turn up nothing to catch the attempted murderer. Fifteen years later, Aaron is all grown up with a family. Things are going great until he starts experiencing strange blackouts and other paranormal visions. During the blackouts he still interacts with others, but he cannot remember anything he said or did. Doctors are unable to provide an answer. It is not until Aaron has an encounter with Ju'van, a local shaman, that he realizes what he needs to do. He is sent on a journey to meet up with all his old roommates to discover the truth on what really happened the night he was stabbed in the back.

My Review:  4 Stars!

Although this book had some editing issues, I absolutely loved the story line and conflicts contained within it!  This is a novel about a man journeying through his unconscious, attempting to find answers to the mysteries that happened in his life.  Unsure as to whether he is really alive or dead, the story follows him as he revisits old friends and tries to gather an ending to his paranormal trial.

This book will keep you guessing!  It will also make you think about your own life and actions. This is a perfect book for those of us who love to examine life and attempt to better ourselves through those self examinations.

To any paranormal buffs out there...give this book a try!  It's hard to put down and a very interesting and introspective story!

Where you can find Wind Down:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Down-Mark-Ewig-ebook/dp/B00O6P2OUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455590434&sr=8-1&keywords=wind+down+mark+ewig

Where you can find Mark:

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9812829.Mark_Ewig?from_search=true&search_version=service

Review: Getting A Handle On Happy by Teri J. Dluznieski

gettinghandlehappy

We all want to have successful happy relationships. We all know that amazing feeling when we connect with someone and things just click. Things go smoothly and just flow. Before we can have those really great relationships, we need to learn what it means to be happy. And we need to resolve the things that sabotage our happiness. A whole lot of experiences and factors make up who you are. What you do, what you eat, beliefs and perceptions.

Getting a Handle on Happy guides you through all of this, easily and smoothly. One or more of these areas just MIGHT be causing the problems you are experiencing. You will learn exercises that resolve past emotional issues- so that your future relationships are positive and exciting. You will improve your happiness tremendously- just by adding certain vitamins and supplements to your diet. And there are tons of natural remedies you can use. All of these areas will create new insights and perspectives. You will be amazed at how these shifts open new possibilities and resolve past and present problems.

This book will support and guide you through making changes in your life and environment. You will build awareness and feel the ease that follows when you shift your perceptions and perspectives. Suddenly life will feel lighter, brighter, and fuller. You will notice the change, as amazing people begin to enter your life! You are starting to attract the Awesome toward you. You world will begin to flow in new directions that are full of potential and possibility.

My Rating:  4 Stars!

This is a delightful and informative book about spiritual, mental and physical health.  It is a wonderful depiction of how all three work together to make us who we are- and to explain our level of "happy" in which we find ourselves currently residing.

Teri does an excellent job of explaining the spiritual aspect of the human condition through her own Andean-Peruvian spiritual training.  She also does an excellent job of explaining the importance of health and healthy eating and how it contributes to our overall well being.  Teri also explains how our psyche contributes to how we feel and act.  These three elements create an important synchronism of the "human condition".

This book is well written.  The only criticism that I have is the fact that it has some editing issues. (Hence the 4 star rating).  Otherwise, the information Teri passes along is extremely valuable and well presented.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to find more meaning in life!  This book is also ideal in creating a framework to build more happiness into one's perspective!

Where you can find Getting A Handle On Happy:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U8EXHXA

Where you can find Teri:

http://beingherd.com/

Twitter:   @horsewisevt

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3439900.Teri_J_Dluznieski

 

 

Review of Hashtagged by Kimberly Hix Trant

hashtagged

One by one, we substitute tweets and Instagrams for human contact while something watches, guiding us deeper into isolation while it shapes a new future for humanity with each new hashtag.

To Maddy Smith, a strange box offers one last puzzle from her father. What lies within is a mystery. Try as Maddy might, the box will not open.

Seeking the help of her father’s friends, the enigmatic Dinner Club, Maddy travels across the United States, receiving new clues with each meeting. As she draws closer to solving the puzzle, she discovers that her father had a secret plan for her—training her to fight against artificial intelligence.  

Together with Jagger, her occasional lover, Maddy follows the clues to a campground just
outside of Roswell, New Mexico.  What awaits her will determine whether humans control
artificial intelligence or IT controls us.
My Rating:  4 stars!

Hashtagged is a novel about artificial intelligence and the possibilities of how it could end up affecting the future. This is a story about Maddy, the daughter of a "computer whiz" who finds herself in a mystery regarding the work her father was consumed in his entire life. When he is found dead, she is forced into finding the answers to what happened....and finds herself in a situation much more involved than she had ever bargained for!

This book is the first in a series. It starts out a bit slowly, which is necessary for background information. By the middle of the book, the story line picks up its pace and you are soon swept away by the intrigue that Maddy is involved in. Time travel, robots that are much too human and villains that strive to take over the world are just a handful of problems Maddy, her father and their lifetime friends must tackle.  What makes it interesting is that Maddy's father and friends were the main players in creating the artificial intelligence in the first place!  By the end of the book, they are greatly regretting what they've done and trying to take preventative future measures!

This book does keep the reader interested. If you are into computers and technology, you'll love this book. The characters are well developed and the plot is too. You will probably find yourself wondering if this could really happen some day. It is definitely a scary possibility.......

Hashtagged is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Where you can find Kim:

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/khixtrant

Twitter:  @khtrant

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=5292926&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Review: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton

  rarity from the hollo

Synopsis:  Lacy Dawn is a true daughter of Appalachia , and then some. She lives in a hollow with her worn-out mom, her Iraq War disabled dad, and her mutt Brownie, a dog who's very skilled at laying fiber optic cable. Lacy Dawn's android boyfriend has come to the hollow with a mission. His equipment includes infomercial videos of Earth's earliest proto-humans from millennia ago. He was sent by the Manager of the Mall on planet Shptiludrp (Shop 'till You Drop): he must recruit Lacy Dawn to save the Universe in exchange for the designation of Earth as a planet which is eligible for continued existence within a universal economic structure that exploits underdeveloped planets for their mineral content. Lacy Dawn’s magic enables her to save the universe, Earth, and, most importantly, her own family.

My Review:

Rarity from the Hollow dives into the trenches of the human condition and explores dark societal issues such as sexual abuse and psychological problems.

While not for the faint of heart, Rarity from the Hollow is peppered with satire to lighten the tone of the story. This story is intended for adult reading as it has frequent reference to sexual situations. However, the author of this book has written with a tone of sarcasm and wit that will appeal to those who have dealt with the “trenches” in society...those who can relate to the hardships of the human condition and accept them for their true nature.

Rarity from the Hollow is well written. The author has truly come to understand and reference many problems found in society. If one reads this book with a semi serious nature, one will come to understand the mindset of those who have suffered greatly from the addressed societal traumas in the storyline. Abuse in the life of those who have suffered almost becomes an accepted, every day way of living. Rarity from the Hollow expounds on this fact.

Rarity from the Hollow was written to help children who have been abused. I commend the author and wish him all the best in his endeavors. His book is interesting with its mix of science fiction, fantasy and satire.

Interview with Robert:

1. What prompted you to write your book? In the 8th grade, I won the school’s short story contest. “God Sent” was about a semi truck driver so consumed with theological debate that he caused a terrible accident. I began to dream of becoming a rich and famous author. As it often does, life got in the way. I worked and went to school, never finishing any more stories that I’d started, until recently when I incorporated some of those unfinished stories into Rarity from the Hollow.

I recently retired as a children’s psychotherapist for our local mental health center. It was an intensive day program Most of the kids in the program, like myself as a child, had been traumatized, some having experienced extreme sexual abuse. One day at work in 2006 it all clicked together and the Lacy Dawn Adventures project was born – an empowered female protagonist beating the evil forces that victimize and exploit others to get anything and everything that they want. Rarity from the Hollow is the first full-length adventure in a prospective series.

While my protagonist is a composite character based on real-life kids that I’ve met over the years while working in children’s services, one little girl was especially inspiring. Her name is Lacy Dawn. Rather than focusing on her victimization, she spoke of dreams – finding a loving family that respected her physically and spiritually. She inspired me to make my own dream come true -- to write fiction -- and I haven’t stopped writing since I first met her that day during a group therapy session. That little girl, unknowingly, prompted me to write Rarity from the Hollow.

2. What message do you hope to get across to the reader?

There are many messages in Rarity from the Hollow, everything that I have ever written and will write. That’s why I think of my writing as social science fiction – that’s what it’s all about. But that doesn’t mean the messages will be interpreted by one reader the same as interpreted by another. I don’t write or want to read anything that is “preachy.” Heck, I don’t even think that religious literature, like the pamphlets that one finds on the floors of public toilet stalls, should be so preachy. I wouldn’t want to touch such content, even if it would have been delivered under more sanitary conditions. I want to write about important issues that one person may think support a particular position but the next reader finds the opposite. I don’t have the answers to the most important questions and challenges that humans face.

The narrative of Rarity from the Hollow addressed social issues: poverty, domestic violence, child maltreatment, local and intergalactic economics, mental health concerns – including PTSD experienced by Veterans and the medicinal use of marijuana for treatment of Bipolar Disorder, Capitalism, and touched on the role of Jesus: “Jesus is everybody’s friend, not just humans.” These messages do not advocate for anything specific. In my opinion, it is critical that such messages be in every piece of literature, even comics and erotica, but each of us have to find truths within our own hearts and minds.

One of my personal truths is that enough is not being done to prevent child abuse / exploitation in the world. Author proceeds from the Lacy Dawn Adventures project, from sales of Rarity from the Hollow, have been donated to Children’s Home Society of West Virginia: http://www.childhswv.org/

3. What are your favorite things to do in your spare time?

Since I don’t have very much money in the personal budget for recreation, I’m so fortunate that my favorite things to do in my spare time are very cheap. I enjoy writing. I enjoy reading. I read and write in all genres, except extremely technical nonfiction. Every scene that I closed when writing Rarity from the Hollow was a thrill, and, all in all, that adds up to one heck of a lot of fun times that were shared with friends and family.

I enjoy video games, but I try to stay away from them because I’m easily addicted, and I hate that feeling – addiction. I enjoy vegetable gardening, but I never could get into flower gardening, probably because flowers don’t taste good – after all that work, they just wilt. I enjoy a good movie, but it has gotten so expensive that I get bummed out if the movie sucks. “Lacy Dawn Goes to the Movies” was the name of one of the chapters in Rarity from the Hollow. It was a documentary about her role during human evolution toward development of savior attributes, but she really wanted to go to the movies to see her first Harry Potter film, like the other kids at her school were talking about.

In a nutshell, and I could go on, I enjoy life and will be disappointed when mine runs out, unless there is something better on the other side.

4. Do you have any other works in progress?

I always have several works in progress at the same time. Since I’ve recently retired, the difference is that I’ve become productive. Instead of ideas, partially developed and then abandoned because life has always seemed so complicated, I’m reaching closure on a ton of older half-baked stories. A new short story just got rejected by a major science fiction magazine, so I’ve got some work to do on it, especially since I agree that it was prematurely submitted.

Ivy, my next novel, is almost ready for professional editing. I’m holding off, trying to build name recognition before I submit it to the publisher for consideration. My dream with respect to writing fiction is to get to the place where I no longer need to request book reviews, but instead book reviewers ask the publisher for a copy of my work to review. I’m hopeful that I’ll get to that place with Rarity from the Hollow and then have the release of Ivy perfectly timed so that I can concentrate on writing instead of promotions.

5. What would you like your readers to know about you?

The main thing that I want readers to know about me is that I’m giving this writing gig my best shot. I’ve worked very long hours, sometimes with little sleep, to tell people about the existence of Rarity from the Hollow. The actual writing part about being a Writer is a piece of cake. It’s the self-promotion that is a killer.

6. If you could give one piece of advice about life in general, what would it be?

My one piece of advice about life is general is to always do the right thing because in the end, one way or another, I believe that it will always turn out alright. Of course, each of us has to determine in our own hearts what the “right thing” means.

Where you can find Robert:

http://www.lacydawnadventures.com https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13603677-rarity-from-the-hollow https://www.facebook.com/robert.eggleton2 https://twitter.com/roberteggleton2

Where you can purchase Rarity from the Hollow:

http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B007JDI508

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B007JDI508

http://www.doghornpublishing.com/wordpress/books/rarity-from-the-hollow 

My Review Of 'The Bird With The Broken Wing' by DL Richardson

The Bird With A Broken Wing Cover (DL Richardson)

Guardian angel Rachael finds herself trapped in Purgatory with Ben Taylor, a young soldier with a secret that's driving him insane. Desperate to see him ascend into Heaven she breaks the rules about becoming involved and keeping her identity a secret. Her risky decision to stay in Purgatory to help Ben seems a good plan. Except they've been stuck for ten years already and Ben is no closer to ascending. The unexpected appearance of a feisty teenager, Jet Jones, throws Rachael's wings into a tailspin. The instant attraction between Jet and Ben means the angel's work is getting ignored. And without her help, Ben's soul will be trapped and she will have failed in her mission. But Jet's appearance also brings a chilling revelation. Maybe Ben's soul isn't the only one that needs saving.

We all love a good book. A good book takes us on a journey to another realm...and this is the case with DL Richardson's book The Bird With The Broken Wing.

Although the plot line of this book takes place in purgatory, DL Richardson makes the plot and characters easy to believe and credible. The reader finds themselves looking in on the main characters of the story as they reason out why they have been put in a strange place and where they happen to be. It is a story that will build up empathy about life and its meaning.

The Bird With The Broken Wing is an engaging story about the possibilities of the after life--about love and forgiveness and coming to terms with the things that happen within the fabric of life's journey.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading paranormal or spiritual material.

Interview with DL:

1.  How did you become interested in writing?

I used to be a singer/songwriter/musician so I've always loved music, art, reading, creative writing, all forms of art and literature really. I was playing in a band when I realized that while I loved music, it wasn't what I wanted to do forever. I sat down and thought about what it was I wanted to do forever and the idea to write novels came to me. I was reading Dean Koontz and Stephen King novels at the time and I was impressed with the number of books they had published and I decided that I wanted to write many, many,  many books. I've never given up on this idea so it must have been the right decision for me.

2.  What genre(s) do you write and what do you like about writing that genre(s)?

I write fantasy. I guess my influences, Dean Koontz, Stephen King and Anne Rice, have really impacted the genres I write. The strange thing is that I read a lot of contemporary fiction too, and that's why I like to blend the two styles, and not just write about paranormal creatures. My books feature true life characters in true life situations and I use fantasy settings to explore the issues of teen suicide, post traumatic stress disorder, teen pregnancy, organ donations, video game addiction etc.

3.  What is your favorite book and why?

I'd have to say The Outsiders by S E Hinton because I read it in school and it blew me away. As a teenager I thought (as most teenagers do) that I was alone in the world and nobody understood me. And then I read this book, which was written by a young writer who just said all the right things in a book. It kick started my love of reading which eventually turned to a love of writing as well, because I too wanted to write young adult fiction novels that connected with the reader and left them thinking they weren't alone in the world.

4.  Some more favorites:  colors, foods, places, activities?

COLOR - My favorite color is mid tone grey, don't ask me why!   I just love the harmony it represents when I see it. Perhaps because it sits in the middle.   Who knows?

FOODS - My favorite foods would be pastries. I can't walk into a bakery and NOT buy something yummy to eat.

PLACES - My favorite place to be, chill out,  is home!  Dorothy got it right when she said "There's no place like home!"  My favorite place to feel loved is with my family. My favorite place to sit and contemplate life is on a quiet beach or in an empty field. My favorite place to have a laugh is with friends in a restaurant or bar. My favorite place to get a good night's sleep is camping. My favorite place to connect with other people is at writer's events.

ACTIVITIES - I like to play my piano and guitar, walk the dog, go camping, write and read!  (Of course)!  I love to go skiing and I'm booked to ski in Canada next February so I'm super excited about that.

5.  What inspires you to write and why?

I don't know that anything inspires me, but I know I have this burning need to write and if it were banned I would find a way to write under a blanket with a flashlight and paper and notepad. It's just something I have to do. And I'll see this journey through until the end.

6.  What do you want your readers to remember about you?

That I told them a great and beautiful story and maybe I brightened their world and gave them the courage to keep going.

7.  If you could give me one piece of advice, what would it be?

The piece of advice I give to everyone who goes out there are chases dreams is, "Do it, but remember that nobody asked you to."  The reason I say this is people can get quite negative when they don't get the validation they expect when they do something. I see it on Facebook, I hear it in their voices. You should do it because you have a burning desire to do it, not to seek fame and glory. Be happy, be at peace, and everything will fall into place. And if nobody stands up and cheers you on, why should you expect them to?   You're doing what you want to do, not what they asked you to do.

Where you can find DL:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Blog