Thomas Kemp's Book is Out!

Yep, the second book by Thomas T. Kemp, popularly known as Your Poet Is is available at Amazon.  First, take a look at my review and then, hopefully, you'll want to go on out and buy it! http://www.bookreviewers.org/your_poet_is.htm
We continue to be very busy and our authors are now coming back for additional services... 
I've just finished reading The Gifts by Linda S. Prather and The Van Laven Oath by J. Nelson-Owens.  Both of these were wonderful and reviews will be posted shortly.
Hey, guess what, I even had a chance to review a dictionary...you'd be surprised what you can tell about this kind of resource guide! If you are interested in learning Italian, this book is for you!  http://www.bookreviewers.org/kaso_english_to_italian_dictionary.htm
Next on the list for my friend Adolph Caso is We The People: Formative Documents of America's Democracy. I think I've learned more American History through my reviews than I ever did in school!
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J. D. Robb, put out a short story, Midnight in Death, during the Christmas holidays.  In the midst of holiday preparation, Eve Dallas has to find a serial killer who has escaped prison and is out to eliminate all of those who put him behind bars!  If you haven't started reading the Death series, you are missing a lot of good reading!
Meryl Sawyer in Half Past Dead provides a taunt, exciting suspense.  Kaitlin Wells is falsely accused of robbery and then is let out on a work furlough when the feds find out that she really wasn't guilty...on the condition that she helps capture the real culprit(s). Bummer!  But she agrees to release and to assist in the apprehension...and just happens to get involved with the local handsome, daring lawman, along the way!  Hey, nothing like a little romance to help expedite and move things forward...
Both of these are great reads!  So, enjoy!

An email circulating poem...

Sometimes you get to read special things that are circulated through email.  My sister sent me this one and I am pleased to share this fine lady's poem!  May we all remember and learn from it!

When an old lady died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital it was believed  that she had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through her meager possessions, they found this poem.  Its quality and content so impressed  the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

The old Scottish lady, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author
of this "anonymous"  poem winging across the Internet:

Crabby Old Woman

What do you see, nurses?

What do you see?

What are you thinking

When you're looking at me?

A crabby old woman,

Not very wise,

Uncertain of habit,

With faraway eyes?

Who dribbles her food

And makes no reply

When you say in a loud voice,

"I do wish you'd try!"

Who seems not to notice

The things that you do,

And forever is losing

A stocking or shoe?

Who, resisting or not,

Lets you do as you will,

With bathing and feeding,

The long day to fill?

Is that what you're thinking?

Is that what you see?

Then open your eyes, nurse,

You're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am

As I sit here so still,

As I do at your bidding,

As I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten

With a father and mother,

Brothers and sisters,

Who love one another.

A young girl of sixteen

With wings on her feet

Dreaming that soon now

A lover she'll meet.

A bride soon at twenty,

My heart gives a leap,

Remembering the vows

That I promised to keep.

At twenty-five now,

I have young of my own,

Who need me to guide

And a secure happy home.

A woman of thirty,

My young now grown fast,

Bound to each other

With ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons

Have grown and are gone,

But my man's beside me

To see I don't mourn.

At fifty once more,

Babies play round my knee,

Again we know children,

My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me,

My husband is dead,

I look at the future,

I shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing

Young of their own,

And I think of the years

And the love that I've known.

I'm no w an old woman

And nature is cruel;

'Tis jest to make old age

Look like a fool.

The body, it crumbles,

Grace and vigor depart,

There is now a stone

Where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass

A young girl still dwells,

And now and again,

My battered heart swells.

I remember the joys,

I remember the pain,

And I'm loving and living

Life over again.

I think of the years

All too few, gone too fast,

And accept the stark fact

That nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people,

Open and see,

Not a crabby old woman;

Look closer . . see ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an old person who you might brush
aside without looking at the young soul within . ..   we will all, one day,
be there, too!

Up to Date...Reading...and Sharing

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
And the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When funds are low and debts are high,
And you have to smile, but you want to cry,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if your must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow,
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

– Author Unknown

 

I got the above in one of the many newsletters I received daily and thought it had a message for all of us!

My reading for work versus my reading for pleasure are two parts of the day. I figure if I am retired, then I decide what to do with the day…right? Well, I admit the last few weeks have been busier than usual. But I can’t say I didn’t enjoy my work!

My favorite personal time reading was Death Benefits by Thomas Perry. I’ve enjoyed Perry’s Jane Whitefield novels, so I naturally picked up Death Benefits, thinking it would be similar. Published in 2001, this was an interesting twist…a fictional book on insurance! Hey, it is a great book and, because I’d never seen one on insurance, I enjoyed it all the more since it brought a level of learning along with it. Highly recommended!

While I was in the midst of Noonan’s Trilogy, I happened to pick up Wings of a Dove by Elaine Barbieri. When I say picked up, I mean that literally, since it had been knocked off my bookshelf by one of my cats. As I bent over to pick it up, I noticed "Orphan Train" on the back cover! This writer also used the historical trains to bring together two young people who formed a bond through their chance encounter while trying to be adopted. This was a wonderful romance story and made my expanded knowledge of these historical rides even more enjoyable!

I finished the Truth series by Mariah Stewart…highly recommended books from this well-known author!

Iron Orchid by Stuart Woods was part of my holiday reading…This was good, but not up to par in my opinion.

Four more mysteries rounded out my personal reading: Alone by Lisa Gardner; While Angels Sleep by Judith Kelman, Dark House by Theresa Monsour, and Mists of Fernhaven by Amanda Stevens, the latter was a bit of a gothic which I especially enjoyed! Yes…I can wholeheartedly recommend all of these for those who enjoy suspense and mysteries!

Jeanie London, In the Cold, was probably my second favorite! The main character, Claire de Beaupre had been captured, tortured and hung (and lost her memory) by the enemy during a covert mission. And then Claire, a new author, begins to write stories that are rapidly becoming best sellers, but which are dangerously close to revealing what was happening on missions in which she participated. A major search to find this woman, determine who she is, and what actually occurred to the supposed dead agent is undertaken by the leader of Excelsior. Highly recommended!

Sandra Brown, one of my favorite authors, came through again with Chill Factor! In the midst of four women’s disappearance, a young woman is caught in her cabin in a snowstorm…Could he be the man who has been abducting women? This page-turner was one I didn’t read at night! LOL, just kidding…but the snowed-in cabin did hit a little too close to home!

And what have you been reading?!

More...

Ok...so I reviewed a CD of poetry and photography...and Adolfo liked it so much that he promptly sent me another book to review!  Would you believe a dictionary?!  Look for that one coming soon!

In the meantime, I reviewed a self-help by Jana Adams, The Colors Within: One Rainbow Reclaimed.  This book is geared toward those that have faced abuse as a child.  Please recommend it to anyone who has this need. It can be helpful to both children and adults.  http://www.bookreviewers.org/the_colors_within__one_rainbow_reclaimed.htm

Another self-help is a Must for everyone!  It is a sometimes delightful, sometimes traumatic tale of childhood abuse which was overcome partially through lessons learned from a special television program.  Although it was fictionalized for the book More Than Angels, I was thrilled to realize I knew the program and since then Ruby Moon-Houldson has provided me with pictures of her with her real-life heroes!  My best friend will know who it is because she bought me the entire series for Christmas several years ago...and I still enjoy watching the reruns and later versions! This book will be available soon.  Check back often! Ruby has promised that I'll get to review the sequel...I love it!  http://www.bookreviewers.org/more_than_angels.htm 

Could that possibly be all of my "work,"  No, I edited a book that was being ghostwritten...  That was a major job that was shared by members of http://www.bookreviewers.org/ and was a major task for all of us as we contributed our own special talents.

I just finished reading The TurnKey Investor'sEssential Lease-Option Lessons by Matthew Chan.  If you have an interest in property management, check back soon for my review.

More...

Ok...I've lost entries twice so far...electricity must not like the snow stuck on the wires, so decided to try this in multiple entries!

Historical fiction was also my next request for review by another new author--Robert Noonan.  http://www.bookreviewers.org/wildflowers.htm  I started out reading his first novel, Wildflowers, but before I knew it, I had his next two books in his trilogy and was writing about all three books...each book about 300 pages!  Now, these books have not yet been published so Bob and I have become e-mail friends as we explore options for his moving on to the next step to get these books published!  I had never heard of the orphan trains and was interested in learning about this piece of our early history that was not always successful and oftentimes totally ignored by history books!  Keep watching for more news on Wildflowers. Bridie's Daughter, and Secrets!

http://www.bookreviewers.org/icon__the_road_to_amsterdam.htm, a new novel, over 500 pages, came from a screenwriter trying his hand at a full-blown novel...all I can say is Wow...this is a doozy!  I still have a short list to go to him and then he'll start to submit this manuscript...so keep watching for updates on this one!

By the way, I finished the editing for Your Poet Is and Thomas Kemp's second book is being printed as I write!  So I did a review of his book as well...might as well help market it a little since I've worked on it...right? http://www.bookreviewers.org/your_poet_is.htm

And speaking of poetry...I also had a beautiful CD to review!  Wow, this one was fun! http://www.bookreviewers.org/observations_in_poetry_and_pictures.htm

Ok...I'm still not done!  More coming!

 

 

A Busy Season!

Moon and Back Graphics Take a look at several similar pictures of where I live!

Well, I knew it had been too long since I had written in my journal; however, when I got a note from my sister asking what had happened, then I knew I had to get busy!

It's cold and snowed in for me today! But it is always so beautiful, I never mind. Rebecca and David, http://www.rebeccasreads.com./, had major damage to their cabin when they came home from trip to VA Hospital...Bummer! Hope you two can get your neighbors in and help you ASAP...Many of you will recall that David is the author of a new series and Rebecca has her own major web site... I know you are having a rough time now; but Thank God that you weren't there when those trees fell!
http://www.bookreviewers.org/honor_due.htm

I've had lots of tree damage this year as well, fortunately not too near the cabin...did have my roadway blocked by a limb and it broke my flag pole from the corner of my cabin...but that was as close as it got!

So, why no entries to the journal? Yes! I've been so busy reading, that I didn't have time! Let me tell you about my latest:

First the bad one...to get it out of the way! This book was so bad that the director of our site asked me to read it a second time to ensure we were being as objective as we could...Sorry, this book was just bad...and the truth had to be told!  Don't buy it!  http://www.bookreviewers.org/power_of_lust.htm. 

Please take the time to read the entire review of the next book.  It too was a first book for the author; however, it was so completely different...telling an extremely sad tale in such a beautiful way... http://www.bookreviewers.org/lavina_the_saga_of_an_african_princess.htm . I do encourage you on this one...read the book; it is a wonderful historical saga!

More coming soon!