Required Reading

Life is complicated enough without getting into hotwater with federal agencies so: TAKE NOTE Many things I review I got at no charge in exchange for an honest review. Consider this as informing you that ALL things I review may have been gotten at no charge. Realistically about 60% but in order to keep things above board just assume that I got the stuff free. I do not collect information on my readers. If cookies or other tracking stuff is used on my blogs it is due to BLOGGER not ME. Apparently the European Union's new rules state I need to inform you if cookies are being use. If they are it isn't byu me, consider yourself INFORMED.
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Books I have authored.

Many times I receive books for FREE to give them an honest review. I do not get paid to give a good or bad review. Spotlights are promotional and should be regarded as advertising for the book spotlighted. Regardless of where or how I got a book, my review will be as honest as I can make it.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Top Secret by W.E.B. Griffin

I haven't read any Griffin's for several years.   This one is post WWII and the movement of Germans to Argentina.    It also is involved with the birth of the CIA from the ashes of the OSS.

Jimmy Cronley is the main protagonist for the story.  Jimmy, whose moniker I suspect is used, to emphasize his barely mature 22 years of age.   Jimmy appears to have been introduced in an early book but a back story appears about a quarter into the book.  

Griffin always imbues enough history to make his books feel realistic.   In fact, it is sometimes difficult to separate his flight of fantasy with reality.  Jimmy's youth and naivety contribute a lot to the movement of the plot.  

Another factor that appears common in Griffin's books is the relationship to someone with stupendous wealth willing to go with what ever program is being pursued.   Griffin also never hesitates to kill off characters to promote his story line.


I enjoyed the book.

Site:  http://www.webgriffin.com/home.html

 This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Monday, April 27, 2015

99-CENT SALE OF Zack Love's "ANISSA'S REDEMPTION

 99-CENT SALE OF "ANISSA'S REDEMPTION" heart emoticon Now you can grab this stunning romantic saga, full of surprises, for just 99 cents! "Anissa's Redemption" begins with a detailed summary of book 1, so it can be enjoyed as a standalone, or as the sequel to “The Syrian Virgin”...This is a GRIPPING STORY about a young woman's journey from war in Syria to love in New York. Get it now for just 99 cents on Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Kobo or Scribd. All the links are here: http://zacklove.com/my-books/anissas-redemption/


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Personal by Lee Child


Reacher is drawn into an international conspiracy by his debt of honor to a person from his military past.   Reacher's sniper skills and military service seem to make him the perfect fit to track down an assassin.

Casey Nice is Reacher's sidekick and she reminds him  of another young woman of the same age who Reacher feels he failed in the past.  Casey is an obvious psychological hook to snare Reacher and complicate his mission. 

As all of Child's work, the pace is frantic, the action bold and the results are old testament justice.   There are some twists to this story which will keep you interested to the very end.

Reacher's blunt response to threat or threats to those he cares about is, again, clearly demonstrated.

Once again I enjoyed the book and I recommend the book.

Web Site: http://www.leechild.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Too Smart For Bullies by Deputy Sheriff Robert Kahn and Sharon Chandler



This is a Children's Safety Book.   This book tells children how to deal with bullies.  

The authors clearly describe and define a bully and bullying.  They also address how to address bullying.   Their primary defense is to tell a trusted adult.   They list trusted adults.    They explain what may cause a person to be a bully which will engender some empathy and understanding instead of more negative emotions.  

Bullying is sadly not something out of old sitcoms but a daily problem.   I would have liked to seen some examples of bullying that were not focused on the physical type of bullying.  Emotional and cyber bullying can be just as devastating.    I think the author's use of tests and suggestions for role playing are excellent.   As a former teacher and current kindergarten volunteer and I see how successfully repetition is for the younger child.

I recommend.  

site:
http://fhautism.com/bobby-and-mandees-good-touch-bad-touch.html

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Fog of War by Ethan Jones on Sale for $0.99 April 20--May 21, 2015


FOG OF WAR, the third book in the Justin Hall series, is 
on sale for 99 cents 
from today, April 20, until May 21
InFOG OF WAR, Justin Hall goes rogue as he’s trying to find a traitor in his secret service. 

Here are the links on the major book retailers: AmazoniTunesBarnes and NobleKoboSmashwords and GooglePlay.


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Too Safe For Strangers by Deputy Sheriff Robert Kahn and Sharon Chandler



This is a Children's Safety Book.   This book tells children how to deal with strangers.   The "stranger danger" campaign seems to have disappeared but the problem has not.  

The authors clearly describe and define a stranger.  They are very clear on strategies for behavior if a child is approached by a stranger.   They list the more common methods predators use to approach children.  As in their book on bullies, their primary defense is to tell a trusted adult.   They list trusted adults.    The authors use repetition and illustrations to demonstrate their strategies and their scenarios.  The protective strategies are clear and easy to explain. 

I think the author's use of tests and suggestions for role playing are excellent.   As a former teacher and current kindergarten volunteer and I see how successfully repetition is for the younger child.

I recommend.  

site:
http://fhautism.com/bobby-and-mandees-good-touch-bad-touch.html


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Deep Storm by Lincoln Child




This book is a thriller.   A secret discovery in the North Sea brings a physician to an oil platform that is now controlled by the U. S. Navy.   What lies below the rolling seas is the mystery, what happens is the the thriller.

Peter Crane is a naval doctor charged with discovering the cause of some mysterious ailments on this secret Naval installation.   He is shocked to discover what the secret hidden under the platform is going to mean to his country and to his life. 

The distain that we often exhibit when dealing with other groups and environments in our historic growth makes this story all together too plausible.

I recommend the book.

Site:  http://www.prestonchild.com/books/child/deepstorm/


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Clawed by L. A. Kornetsky



This is another pet's are smart mystery.   Ms. Kornetsky has Georgie, the Sharpei, and Miss Penny, the cat as major characters.   This mystery brings Ginny into conflict with both the police and a mysterious murderer.

Once again I am appreciative of the relationship between Ginny and Teddy as well as the relationship between Georgie and Miss Penny.   There is amusing musing by Miss Penny in this story.  

The relationship growth between the two humans is glacially slow.   However it leads one to believe there will be more volumes to come which is welcome.  

The skill illustrated by the less than dynamic duo are further honed in this story and even appreciated in some law enforcement areas.

Complimentary skills makes for a good couple and it seems that may be the direction the two human protagonists are moving.   Miss Penny on the other hand, doubts that Georgie will ever be able to function without her help.

I enjoyed the book and look forward to sequels.
I am enjoying this series, see my review of Collared

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/L-A-Kornetsky/458067250891357           
Blog:
http://www.lauraannegilman.net/whats-in-print/l-a-kornetsky/


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Spotlight on Black Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn byJon Land




















A Q&A with Jon Land, author of
Black Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn

1.       Can you tell us a bit about Black Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn?  I think it’s the most ambitious book I’ve ever done in terms of character, emotion and story.  I say that not only because of its epic-like structure, but mostly because I’ve never written a book before that challenges its characters in so many ways.  It challenges them with truth and the reality of their own natures contrasted against their fates, testing especially Michael Tiranno’s capacity to exceed his own limitations. He has become a classical, almost mythic hero in terms of the losses he suffers and stunning revelations about his own fate he must accept.  All the while confronting a villain just as powerful as he is with whom he unknowingly shares an indelible bond.  Great villains, they say, make great heroes and that’s truly the case here as Michael confronts an all-powerful criminal organization with a plot to do incredible harm to the country and world in the offing.  To stop them, Michael must become a different man than he is when the book starts out, he must evolve, literally, into something more and accepting that fate comes to define both him as a hero and the story as a whole.

Jon Land
2.       This book takes place 5 years after Book One. As a writer, what was it like to make that time jump?  It wasn’t as hard as it seems because I started with the premise that in those five years, Michael hasn’t changed very much.  He’s still pretty much the same man we left at the end of The Seven Sins, a tyrant consumed by his desire to expand his empire and holdings.  The whole essence of Black Scorpion is watching him evolve into something entirely different—still a tyrant, yes, but a tyrant for good.  A superhero without a mask or cape.  We watch his view of his entire place in the world change, forced upon him by the shattering truths and tragedy he encounters along the way.  And in that respect his quest changes from the pursuit of riches and power to self-fulfillment and self-actualization.

3.       What is your favorite character trait about Michael Tiranno?  That’s the perfect follow-up to the last question, because the answer lies in the essence of his character in both books as defined by witnessing the murder of his parents as a young boy.  He knows what it’s like to feel weak, powerless and vulnerable.  And now, above everything else, Michael Tiranno’s character is defined by his obsession for standing up for those who can’ t stand up for themselves.  Bullies aren’t confined to the schoolyard and he won’t tolerate them under any circumstances.  He’s spent his life trying to find the security he lost that day his parents were murdered and once there he uses the power that comes with it to defend those who need him the most.

4.       I’ve read that Tiranno is based on the character’s owner, Fabrizio Boccardi. How do you work with him to develop each story?  It’s an extremely close relationship since we basically sweat every single plot development, every single scene—hell, every single line!  It can be extremely frustrating at times because I’m used to working alone in a box without interference or micromanaging.  Quite frankly, I don’t enjoy the process at all, but have to admit twice now it’s resulted in far better books than I could have written on my own.  Fabrizio isn’t a writer or a storyteller and he doesn’t grasp all the intricacies of structure.  But he has wonderful instincts that are right more often than not and form the perfect complement to my experience and talents.  Look, Michael Tiranno is his baby.  He turned him over to me to build but he could never be expected to let him go altogether.  Ultimately, I think we work so well together because our passion is balanced by our willingness to compromise toward telling the best story we possibly can.  It may drive me crazy at times, but the ends justify the means.

5.       Without giving too much away—what was your favorite scene or chapter to write in Black Scorpion?  Oh, wow, what a great question!  And the answer occurred to me immediately:  the scene on the farm where Michael was born where he meets the book’s villain Vladirmir Dracu, head of the sinister organization Black Scorpion, for the first time.  It’s a turning point not only in this book, but in Michael’s entire life—his journey, his quest.  A shattering revelation that comes on the heels of an equally shattering discovery about his own past.  What this book does more than any other I’ve ever written is challenge its hero by taking him to the absolute brink.  Force him to rethink everything there is so he has to evolve in order to deal with all he’s being confronted by.  The only way he can survive is to remake himself into something entirely different than how he started out.

6.       Did you have to do any special research to write this book?  Yes, a ton.  It’s always that way with thrillers that involve as much cutting edge technology as this one does.  But so much of it is speculative, based not on what exists now but will eventually, that I’m essentially forced to go back to school on subjects I had very little knowledge of to start out.  And not just pertaining to the villain’s world-threatening plot either.  I had to figure out how to construct Black Scorpion’s lair inside a mountain, needed to concoct a away for a commando team to access from beneath a manmade lake in the climax.  It’s all very James Bond-like and, as with Bond, with every challenge comes up a wonderful opportunity to do something no one’s ever done before.
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7.       What do you hope fans take away from or feel when reading this book?  Oh man, that’s another great question! Wow, it was easy in the first book, The Seven Sins, because that one mostly followed the ultimate rags-to-riches story, so I wanted people to come away believing anything was possible.  In Black Scorpion, the moral dilemmas and the morality itself is more complicated.  Of course, first and foremost I want them to come away feeling they weren’t just entertained, but spirited away into the fabric of the story.  But I want them to take away from that what makes a man a hero.  That a man’s fate isn’t always his to define, as personified in Michael’s case by the mystical relic medallion that’s the one possession he has left from his family.  It’s both his talisman and his curse, as it has been for other men of great power who’ve possessed it through history.  And while that medallion might fuel Michael’s quest, ultimately that quest is about saving a woman he loves and preserving the world he has built he now wants to share with her.  So as broad and ambitious as this book is, like all great stories, it’s ultimately very simple.

8.       What is your favorite piece of feedback you have gotten about Michael Tiranno?  (Laughs)  That’s an easy one:  “He’s an asshole, but I like him!”  Of course, that’s from the first book.  The feedback on the Michael Tiranno of Black Scorpion so far is that he represents the light confronting the ultimate forces of darkness.  That’s exactly what I was striving for, in both cases, so I couldn’t be more happy.

9.       Can you tell us if there is a Book Three in the works?  Hey, here’s a short answer for a change:  No, not yet.  But there’s a whole bunch of happening in film and comic books.  Stay tuned, as they say!

10.   Tell us where we can find your book and more information about you.  To use the cliché, accurate in this case, wherever books are sold or is most convenient for you.  As for me, you can find me on the Web at jonlandbooks.com or follow me on Twitter @jondland.  I promise to keep you entertained there too!

An Excerpt
Part One
BEFORE

ONE
Northern Israel, 950 BC

“They come, oh great King.”
Solomon, weary and weak from going so long without rest, leaned heavily on the shoulder of his son as he emerged from inside his goat- hair tent. Already he and his private guard had fought off two ambushes. Bandits appeared to be to blame, but Solomon sus-
pected otherwise given their weaponry, skill, and the fact that they hadn’t fl ed when confronted.
Now his heart pounded with anticipation, but also with fear, in the night’s heat. He was so close now, so close to fulfilling the destiny shaped by his father, the great King David. And that reality filled him with the awesome scope of the responsibility before him, along with the price of failure.
He could not fail. The fate of his kingdom was at stake.
Solomon cast his gaze down the road to see a single wagon kicking up a dust cloud in its wake. Traveling under cover of darkness greatly lessened the threat of a raid by bandits and, in any event, at first sight the wagon seemed to be carrying nothing more than a farmer’s crops being taken to the open market in Jerusalem.
Solomon peeled back his beggar’s hood to reveal long locks of shiny brown hair and finely etched features that looked chiseled onto his face. He’d just nodded off, dreaming of Jerusalem, imagining the lanterns lighting the city twinkling in the night, when the captain of his private guard alerted him to the wagon’s coming.
Solomon eased his hand from the shoulder of his fifteen-year-old son Rehoboam as the wagon drew closer, so the boy wouldn’t feel him stiffen. “Keep a keen eye, my son, for our enemies are everywhere.”
“Father?” the boy said, sliding a hand to the knife Solomon had presented him on the occasion of his bar mitzvah. He was small for his age and a bit frail. But, as heir to the kingdom of Israel, he needed to be part of such a vital mission, no matter how perilous.
“They would seek to destroy this symbol of our people and the foundation of our future. With our temple complete, we have safe refuge for it at last.”
The Temple of Solomon had taken nearly eight years to build, requiring men and materials the likes of which had never been seen before in the known world. A staggering two hundred thousand workers had ultimately played a part in its construction, milled from vast quantities of local stone and imported cedar wood. It was a sprawling, palatial structure, perhaps the greatest ever erected— and with good reason, since it would be housing the vast stores of priceless treasures amassed by the Jewish people through time. What Solomon had kept secret from all but his most trusted cadre was the construction of a special chamber within the temple called Kodesh Hakodashim, or Holy of Holies. This would house the ark of the covenant, containing the remains of the stone tablets that held the actual Ten Commandments, along with the contents carried in the rear of the simple farmer’s wagon approaching now.
It drew close enough to reveal the snorting of the horses and pounding of their hooves atop the roadbed that was dry and cracking from the long drought Solomon took for God’s impatience. And, as if to reinforce that belief, he felt the first trickle of raindrops and took this as a good omen, until thunder rumbled in the distance and it became something much different.
A warning.


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Havana Daydreamin' by Chip Bell


Jake Sullivan is an attorney who appears to revel in hot water.   This is the third of the Jake Sullivan Trilogy.  It is a action adventure primarily  set in Havana Cuba.

Bell has taken current events and segued into a novel.

Jake and Mike Lang his confidant and backup are embroiled in the old day Mob as relations with Cuba are normalized.   The two are blackmailed by emotion into helping organized crime get a toe hold in the "new" Cuba.

Bell does an excellent job with his plot line and leavens the book with action and violence.   His violence is not graphic and plays a part in the plot as opposed to just being included for the thrill factor.

Bell also does a great job in tying up loose ends and introducing surprising plot twists.  The more I read of Bell, the more I like his books.

I recommend.  

site:
http://www.amazon.com/Chip-Bell/e/B00IIQD3EI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.