April Poet Contributor, Also Children's Author, Paul M. Kramer, Shares Latest--Jenny, Cancer Survivor--to be Published Soon!II

Hi, my name is Jennifer, but most people call me Jenny. I enjoy taking long walks and playing outdoors in the sun. It’s been a while since I’ve been this happy and had so much fun. I love my school where I’ m currently in the 5th grade. I wear my hair in a ponytail and I also wear it in a braid


I’ve learned to realize that we shouldn’t take our lives for granted and to
appreciate each and every day. I was very sick during the entire year that I was nine. Today I am so pleased to say that I am extremely healthy and I feel fine.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story. It’s one of sadness, but also of hope, faith and glory.

~~~

Jenny - Cancer Survivor

By Paul M. Kramer

Illustrated by  Helga Tacke

What individual would not fall in love with Jenny and automatically begin to send up prayers for her. Jenny was just nine when the doctors discovered she had cancer. Isn't it wonderful that advances have been made so that we can now meet and be grateful for those who have become survivors...

Jenny is one of those. This is her story... It's pretty scary to see what she goes through, but I asked the publisher to permit me to share many of the fantastic illustrations showing Jenny's year-long struggle... If I were a doctor who worked with child cancer patients, I would want to give this as a gift to every single child - where there is hope, there is a chance that that child too would become a survivor! Parents and relatives - a must-read for you. But let's not forget children who do not have cancer. Illness can touch each of us; cancer is not the only problem that we all may face. This book, as Jenny says, is not only about sadness of not being well, but is filled with hope, faith and glory! And everybody needs to be filled by such feelings, especially during bad times...

I had cancer but now I am totally cancer free. It’s hard to imagine anyone in your family actually having cancer, especially you. It seems to be other people in other families that bad things happen to. If you’ve never had cancer or another serious illness, I hope you never do. If you have, I hope you, like me, are a survivor too.

~~~

I must commend the illustrator for this book. The selections of colors, the choices of pictures and characters have been brilliantly chosen and created. That alone gives a feeling of joy to those who have the opportunity to read this book! Kudos to Helga Tacke...

The book came as an ebook; however, there was no loss of how the entire layout of the story has been meticulously done to complement the author's--and Jenny's story. Impressive, indeed!

The story is written in first person and all readers will feel her fear as she realizes that there was something wrong and then move forward into the unknown of going to see a doctor, to be in the hospital, and to...be in pain...

Dr. Armstead told my mother he believed I had Leukemia, which is a form of cancer.
To be absolutely sure a bone marrow test that confirmed I did have cancer was taken.
I had hoped it was just a bad dream that would turn out to be a big mistake when I awakened.
If diagnosed early enough curing cancer has an excellent success rate. My parents could not believe or accept this was going to be my fate.

The next couple of weeks I didn’t feel better, I felt worse.I was pale and weak, my hair was falling out, I had a temperature and I wasn’t okay. My joints hurt, I was losing weight and my fever wasn’t going away. My mother and father took care of me and read to me every day. I knew they were worried because sometimes I would see them pray...

The next day my mother and father lovingly told me I was going to get well. I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me, and wow did I cry. What ran through my head was what it would feel like if I were to die.
That evening I was visited by two angels who assured me that I would be alright. I was grateful for their visit and slept soundly the rest of the night.

Although it was never said outright, it was obvious that Jenny and her family were depending upon God to help Jenny through her ordeal. Do you think it is important to share God with your children in the event of illness?

Soon Jenny made a friend whose name was Paige...and they had the same desire...to have their new friend be healed... 

Don't you want to know what happens! I sure did! Consider this a must-read! Do check it out!

GABixlerReviews

Paul M. Kramer lives in Hawaii on the beautiful island of Maui with his wife Cindy and their son Lukas. Paul was born and raised in New York City.

Mr. Kramer's books attempt to reduce stress and anxiety and resolve important issues children face in their everyday lives. His books are often written in rhyme. They are entertaining, inspirational, educational and easy to read. One of his goals is to increase the child's sense of self worth.

He has written books on various subjects such as bullying, divorce, sleep deprivation, worrying, shyness, and weight issues.

Mr. Kramer has appeared on "Good Morning America," "The Doctors," "CNN Live" as well as several other Television Shows in the United States and Canada. He's been interviewed and aired on many radio programs including the British Broadcasting System and has had countless articles written about his work in major newspapers and magazines throughout the world.

Parents for Sale by Dr. Nicole Audet - A Bit Much?

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/goldenretrieverphotos.htm

Pistachio is a beautiful...Golden Retriever. She has lived happily with the Clarks since birth. Pistachio loves biscuits. She often rolls into a ball or jumps very high to get treats. The Clark twins, Luke and Lucy, have her do pirouettes for their friends. The twins also love to pet Pistachio's soft, caramel-red coat.
Pistachio feels sad when the Clark parents shout at the twins because of her. She often hears Mrs. Clark complain, "Luke, Lucy, Pistachio is hungry and thirsty. Fill her bowls!"
Sometimes Mr. Clark screams, and Pistachio hides behind the lounge chair. One rainy day he said loudly. "Kids, it's time to walk the dog, even if it's raining outside!"
"After the show!" reply the twins, engrossed in their favorite TV show.
"Your father and I are walking the dog. We have have a family meeting when we come back, says the mother.
Upon their return, wet from head to toe, dirty, and tired, the Clark parents summoned the twins into the kitchen. The twins approach the table in silence, and Mrs. Clark says dryly. "Luke, Lucy, we know that you like Pistachio. Unfortunately, we do not have the time or resources to keep her. We've decided to sell her. Your father and I are very tired. We work hard and spend long hours in traffic too. Our hands are already full with taking care of both of you."
The twins gasp. "Sell Pistachio? Never!" they say in unison.

~~~

Parents for Sale

By Dr. Nicole Audet

The concept for the story when I accepted it for review was one, I thought, that it would be a learning tool about responsibility of children regarding doing their chores...which it is and I was appreciating the book as it moved into the children deciding that, instead of putting up a sign for their dog, they instead put one up for their parents to be sold...

The twins have children coming quickly to buy their parents, or even trade them, and the children soon realized what kind of issues other children had with their own parents...

I was impressed with the story of the various children's reasons for wanting to have different parents--they were just the kind of reasons that the twins had for wanting to sell their parents rather than their dog...

For some reason, the author chose to move into fantasy at that point and brings in "The fairy of Orphans!" There is a hint to the adult readers, I guess, when Pistachio starts growling. The fairy lies and says that their parents will be taken to care for orphans...

Both children think that is a good idea and go on to ask about the money and they get $300 dollars for their parents...

But then the parents come back and the fairy turns into a wicked witch who, think Hansel and Gretel, plan to eat their parents for dinner...

Excuse me, but, what good is telling a story with a moral to be learned, if you then proceed to make a mockery of the first-half of the story? I was perturbed from then on...

Then I was angry when, again out of the blue, the principal of their school is placed in the same position as the witch now was... Again, I say, what happened to respect for our school leaders being taught rather than to be scorned by children.

Life lessons do not always result in good times and parties for all... This book could have been ended with the children celebrating what great parents they had and become wiser children, for instance... I am sure there were many other options to close with a happy ending and a better understanding between the twins and their parents.

Merging fantasy within this book turned it into a farcical comedy which, in my opinion, was totally inappropriate, given the title and the beginning story. This is one reader who feels children are being propelled into some of the actions that are happening within today's world, such as bullying, with just such slippery slides within books, televisions and movies that ultimately leave them with the understanding, in this case "my principal can be mocked, scorned and ridiculed." Witches are one thing, albeit inappropriate to the story line, in my opinion, but when the author made a mockery of those who are in school leadership roles, we are helping to mold wrong-thinking in our children... Just my personal opinion, of course...

GABixlerReviews

Dr Nicole Audet is a bilingual family medicine teacher at the University of Montreal and best selling author in Quebec (Canada). Her books are widely distributed in bookstores, pharmacy and online. She wrote many medical articles and a health guide (Votre Guide Santé Info/Guy Saint-Jean éditeur (more than 125 000 copies sold).

Parents for Sale is her first self-published English 44 pages color illustrated novel written for 6-8years old readers (Authorhouse).
For more details, visit her website: www.nicoleaudet.com.

One Chance, One Moment by Judith Kohnen - Book One: The Mandy Story - Added to Personal Favorites for the Year!

This novel was dedicated:

 To the man who has graced many with his unique gifts;

Who has quieted my mind and has stilled my spirit.

Thank you, Barry, for inspiring in me 

the words, the music, the vision.

~~~

One Chance, One Moment
Book One - The Mandy Story

By Judith Kohnen

Amanda had a courageous smile on her face when she turned and headed for her new patient's bedroom. However, with her three onlookers moving stealthily on her heels, she had to admit she was a tad bit nervous. As she approached the only room with a closed door, she glanced over her shoulder for reassurance that this was Danzlo's room. Three heads nodded...

For one long moment, she stood with no breath, though her heart beat like the ticks of a thousand clocks; its million vibrations oscillated through her head warning her this new job would be no easy task. Somehow she'd have to get that man to realize that his inability to walk was all in his head--for she and Melissa had gone over his medical records thoroughly in the car. Except for a lack of exercised muscles and bones, there was no indication otherwise...

A stubborn man. She could tell by the square chin and the hard planes of his face. His hair was unruly, a golden wheat color. It was cropped in layers and a bit overgrown. She took in the strong nose, the high cheekbones, the thin top lip. His shoulders were bare and broad; a body well formed, lean and very tense.
Though no words had been uttered by either of them, his glare said it all, those intense blue eyes gazing upon her body fiercely. It wasn't the hot and heavy kind of fierce a woman would normally find in a man's bedroom. It was more like the kind of ferocious fierce a mouse would find in a lion's den.

She swallowed hard, for this lion had filling on his mind. She did the first thing a nurse should never do. She panicked. With her eyes squeezed shut, she began to sing--a habit learned from childhood, effective in warding away unpleasant emotion. "In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight. In the jungle, the quiet--"
"Enough!...I don't know who you are, but you had better get the hell out of my room."

~~~

Judith Kohnen freely admits that her debut novel was inspired by Barry Manilow and his song Mandy, which has always been my favorite song of this fantastic singer. Ok, she used the name Garry Danzlo, which is a good, though rhyming, name of our male star, so I had to include him during my review, even though there is a quite handsome man on the front cover of the book...

I added this book to my personal favorites list simply because it has so many references of beautiful music or fun use of tunes, because of the storyline itself, as well as the humor combined with a different form of romantic suspense--that of whether or not the power of love can result in overcoming all obstacles...

The female character Amanda is so creatively imagined that readers will immediately fall in love with her and will want nothing more than to see she fulfills every desire in her heart! Let's just say that the man who perhaps can fill one of her dreams is not so lovable... at least at first... Garry Danzlo was once a superstar--a singer and musician, on piano, who was seriously hurt in a car accident. Was he out to commit suicide as his father had recently? He now kept remembering things that had occurred, even that his father who had deserted them when he was very young, had come to visit him, under an assumed name, and they had become friends. Garry couldn't forgive the second betrayal of this man. But since he had lived through the accident, he wanted nothing more than to be left alone. He moved far away, into a log cabin, with only a butler to help him...

There is a small group of characters some all within the family that add to the turmoil when Amanda arrives! Melissa, Garry's sister causes the most

problems when she hired Amanda without consulting Garry and then asks Amanda to change her appearance. Let's face it Amanda is beautiful and is bound to cause problems when Garry's lover sees her. In fact, there is probably a toss-up for head villain between her and the men following Amanda! And then there is Garry's mother who has been told Amanda is Jewish... So before Melissa is through, Amanda is wearing weird, too-large clothes to hide her figure, glasses which are too large and which she doesn't need, and using makeup to detract rather than add to her appearance! Melissa's husband is Garry's friend and business manager so he tries to stay out of things since he's not always around. But then there is Garry's butler and friend, Nicholas, but he so enjoys Amanda and what she's trying to do, that they become close--to Garry's annoyance... And a wonderful little boy who will win your heart, as well as all who meet him in this fantastic book!

But Amanda doesn't need anybody else to frustrate Garry! Just being herself as an efficient bright sunny nurse irritates Garry tremendously. Things like coming in and throwing open the bright curtains, letting that infernal sun in--and singing! 

"RISE AND SHINE. Up-up-up!"

Amanda flung back the royal blue drapes, great shafts of sunshine blinding Garry, whose eyes sprang wide-open. Bagel, leaping on her master's full bladder had Garry yelling his discomfort while the dog's tongue licked, her floppy ears tickled, and Amanda's lively voice rang merrily in song.

"O-Oh, what a beautiful MORNing. OH, what a beautiful DAY. I"VE got this beautiful FEEL-ing.

EV-'ry-thng's GO-ing MY WA-A-AY!

~~~

Garry stared horrified at the woman bowing

several times before him. He hauled the

covers over his head, and cried in agony, 

"God, help me, I've died and gone to hell."

"No, no, Mr. Danzlo. You haven't died,"

Amanda told him. "Though, if you don't

 change your ways you never know where

you might end up. I recommend a

happier, cooler place."

It wasn't easy holding back the smile

threatening to break his stern face. The

woman was a clown. Out from the covers,

his eyes pierced hers. Amanda's smile

never wavered. He released his slightly,

and then remembered the night before.

He turned away.

"I suppose I owe you an apology," he said.

"I acted a bit lewd and, well, disrespectful

yesterday evening...

"So, Mr. Danzlo! I'm ready when you are."

Garry jolted at her voice. "Ready?" he asked, his stomach starting to churn with apprehension. "For what, Ms. Fields?"

"For your bath and shave, of course. And your breakfast and all the other fun stuff I've got planned for you today."

Garry's heart t

humped hard in his chest. "Nicolas!" he cried out!

~~~

Now, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that things between the two do get closer, especially, as Amanda begins to work her magical healing powers and he begins to get better and better...

But this story goes well beyond the relationship developing between Garry and Amanda. Because Amanda has a background--a very dangerous one... Her childhood had been the start and then her husband, now dead, with criminals searching for her... And a man who is obsessed protecting and caring for her, whether she wants it or not...

And I just have to give you a hint of some of what's coming! Musically, that is...

You know I loved this, right? There romance, danger, heartwarming scenes, wonderful characters, one of whom you will automatically hate, a mother who refuses to consider her son's feelings over her own, a child who excitedly looks to have a family and, most of all, a couple who, through all the fighting and screaming while she nurses her patient back to health, fall deeply in love... All wrapped up in scarlet ribbons for her hair and music, music, music! What more could you possibly want to have in a book that will keep you totally involved from cover to cover?! Some will consider this a must-read; I know I would have greatly missed having the opportunity to read and share this with each of you! Do check it out! By the way, Chapter titles are names of songs by Manilow...I've included a few...just because I thought it was a cool idea! 

OK... you don't have to listen to allll the music...but, well, I couldn't resist...

And, by the way, thanks to the author who created most of the pictures I gathered from across the Web... for your enjoyment! 

GABixlerReviews

Judith has always been a romantic at heart. She adores writing, poetry, music, singing, dancing, teaching, education, and caring for others. It is her hope that through her imaginative talents that she might become a source of inspiration for her readers. Part of her life's path is empowering others toward healing and teaching them how to use their own imagination and intuitive abilities.

She's written over 200 pages of poetry, numerous songs and short stories, a couple of children's plays that were performed on stage, and has begun a screenplay. She served as newsletter editor for Virginia Romance Writers for four years and has coordinated and judged VRW's HOLT Medallion Contest and their FOOL FOR LOVE Contest several times. She has also freelanced for various non-profit organizational newsletters, most of which were entertainment reviews, inspirational articles, and articles on writing.

A teacher of mediumship & intuitive development with a professional background in registered nursing, hypnotherapy and natural healing arts, Judith is doing what she's most passionate about - writing! She encourages you to do what you're passionate about too. "Live for the moment," she says, "for this moment is the most important of all moments."

Judith lives in Chesterfield, Virginia with her husband, extended family, two dogs, one cat, and a bearded dragon named Victor.

Review of Love Sayings: Wit and Wisdom of Romance, Courtship and Marriage by Bradford G. Wheler - A Book Collaborative Series

Book Readers Heaven has been authorized by the author, Bradford G. Wheler, to use as much of the book as I am able to provide the time and space... Cool, right? The reason we talked about this was because of the unique collection provided. Here's part of the book's introductiion:

This book features 48 artists from 14 different countries. Many of the artists in this book are full-time professional artists or photographers. Others love painting and photographing as a hobby. They exhibit a wonderful range of artistic styles.

I established BookCollaborative.com to publish books based on the content provided by artists. The goal is to create a collaborative community to promote art in general. At the same time, artists have the opportunity to promote their own artwork in books...to be interesting and fun...

Love Sayings:
wit and wisdom of romance, courtship and marriage

By Bradford G. Wheler

There is no better way to say it than to acknowledge that Bradford Wheler has certainly succeeded in his goal for this book: to promote artwork from individual artists and photographers, and to make it fun and interesting at the same time!

From the front cover to the back, there is an emphasis on accenting the content as well as the individual contributions! The series has a standard cover, which certainly creates a notable marketing tool! The insert on the front cover is the only thing that changes. For instance, I loved his novel, Inca's Death Cave, and also Cat Sayings! (Click over to read my reviews! Hmmm, wonder why I didn't think to negotiate using the beautiful works on cats...you may see more of those pics in the future! LOL)

To complement the book's art, the author has researched and collected an amazing number of "love sayings" and placed then in categories. Sometimes there even seems to be a correlation between the art and the saying which can add more fun! 

I must add a little about the inside layout. There has been every attempt to capture the eye as each page is turned...from the multi-color heart design at an upper corner of each page, into the color-change of print for each saying and author, on to the delightful display of each art centerpiece for the page, down to a heart-enclosed page number! For me, this attention to detail illustrates the type of overall attention to quality which has been made to the book. Even though the size is smaller than usual, this could very well be considered of coffee-table quality material that can be proudly displayed for visitors anywhere. It is guaranteed to capture attention and bring smiles, laughter, or sometimes provide thought-provoking words for each reader's attention...

Here's today's offering from Love Sayings for women:

 Adri Barnard

Women want mediocre men, and men are working

hard to become as mediocre as possible.

--Margaret Mead

If women are expected to do the same work as men,

we must teach them the same things.

--Plato

The thing women have yet to learn is

nobody gives you power. You just take it.

--Roseanne Barr

Yalily Mejia

This book is highly recommend for your consideration!

GABixlerReviews

BRADFORD G. WHELER is the former CEO, President and Co-owner of Allan Electric Company. He sold Allan Electric to a New York Stock Exchange listed company. After staying on as President during the transition, Brad retired.
Brad's lifelong love of history, art, books, and the inherent humor in man's nature led to the founding of BookCollaborative.com and the authoring and publishing of Inca's Death Cave as well as GOLF SAYINGS: wit & wisdom of a good walk spoiled, "CAT SAYINGS: wit & wisdom from the whiskered ones, HORSE SAYINGS: wit & wisdom straight from the horse's mouth, DOG SAYINGS: wit & wisdom from man's best friend, and SNAPPY SAYINGS: wit & wisdom from the world's greatest minds.
His community involvements include being a Trustee of Community General Hospital in Hamilton, NY, and chairing their Finance Committee. He is the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cazenovia College, and former Chairman and member of the Board of Directors and Alumni Association and President of the Sigma Phi Society at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce and several other boards.
Brad played polo on the Cornell University men's polo team for four years and was a member of the Cazenovia Polo Club. In 2012 he was inducted into the Manlius Pebble Hill Athletic Hall of Fame.
He holds a BS and ME in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY as well as an MBA degree from Fordham University in New York, NY.
Brad, his wife, Julie, and their golden retriever Quincy live in Cazenovia, NY and Fort Pierce, FL.

Guess Blogger Jan Christensen, Author Shares Thoughts on Time Management--with info on her latest novel!

TIME MANAGEMENT BASICS

By Jan Christensen

There are a few truisms about time management that are good to learn, and if we’ve already heard of them, to re-visit every so often to see what we might do to make better use of our time.

The first step is to find out how we are using time. It helps to keep track of every chunk for two weeks. Ten minutes to wipe down the bathroom sink and clean the toilet. An hour to work on a pet project. Forty-five minutes to start dinner and get it on the table. And half an hour to eat it, then how long to clean up afterward? You get the idea. If you don’t know precisely where the time is going, it will be very difficult to manage it.

Next list all the things you have to do every day. Now that you know how long they take, is there any way you can cut back on some and eliminate others? If so, try to do that.

How many hours do you sleep every night? (You kept track of that, too, right?) Add up all hours sleeping and on the things you have to do every day and subtract from twenty-four hours.

How much time is left? That’s your discretionary time. Just like a discretionary amount of money, how you spend that time will impact your life in many ways.

 Are you spending two or three hours a day watching TV or streaming movies? Are you on the computer for hours answering emails, chatting with friends, watching cute cats on Facebook? Frittering away time Tweeting? Playing video games?

You get to decide if anything you do, from cooking gourmet dinners to watching two movies every night, is the best use of your time. You get to decide if you
 want to cut the time you do certain things—maybe watch only one movie a night and only make gourmet dinners three times a week instead of seven.

What would be your perfect life? Only you can get it near perfect. (I don’t think anyone has a perfect life, do you?) Want to write a novel? Give up anything that’s taking one hour of your time every day and work on that novel. Want to get all your photographs sorted and put into albums? Find an hour a day to work on that. Want to get organized—your closets, your kitchen, your bureau drawers? Think about how quickly you could get all that done if you spent just one hour a day doing it. Or half an hour. Or even just ten minutes.

There’s a reason we call it spending time—just like spending money. There’s only a limited amount of each. Managing both is helped by jotting down numbers and figuring the best way to use either money or time.

Just be aware that life is going to throw stuff at you that needs your immediate attention, and those goals will have to be put on hold for a while. And as soon as you can after the crisis or even wonderful event is over, get back on track to making your day-to-day life as perfect as you can.

~~~

Jan Christensen grew up in New Jersey. She bounced around the world as an Army wife, and in Texas when her husband retired. After traveling for eleven years in a motorhome, she settled down in the Texas Coastal Bend.

Published novels are: Sara’s Search, Revelations, Organized to Death, Perfect Victim, Blackout, Buried Under Clutter and most recently, A Broken Life. She's had over sixty short stories appear in various places over the last dozen years. She also writes a series of short stories about Artie, a NY burglar who gets into some very strange situations while on the job. 

Learn more at her website: www.janchristensen.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jan.christensen.9275?fref=ts

Twitter @JanSChristensen

Buy links for Latest Book:  A Broken Life:

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-broken-life-jan-christensen/1120729427?ean=9781502974624

Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Life-Paula-Mitchell-P-I-ebook/dp/B00PG0ZO9Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424973205&sr=8-1&keywords=a+broken+life+christensen