The Trouble With Max by Lisa A. Maddock

Teddy and Pip are back. Teddy and Pip are guinea pigs who talk. Max is a college student who agrees to house sit Teddy and Pip and the tale is how they make him miserable.

I remember liking Teddy and Pip in Lisa’s earlier stories. Maybe it was my mood but I didn’t find them likeable this time. My sentiments were with Max who as far as Teddy and Pip were concerned was the villain of the story.

Teddy and Pip illustrate how verbal infants might behave. Their totally self centered behavior was annoying. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t funny. There were episodes of the Stooges I found annoying but they were always funny.

The guinea pigs’ antics were secondary to a very nice coming of age story for Max. The little “dudes” helped Max to find himself and meet his goals.

I enjoyed the book and sadly I have known people as demanding as Teddy and Pip. At least they have the excuse that they are guinea pigs.

I recommend the book.

Body of work of Lisa A. Maddock</a>

Web site: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?authorid=115906

Legacy of the Dragon by J. Gregory Smith

A Noble Cause was an improvement over Greg’s first book Final Price . I enjoyed both but Noble was better. Now this third book really vaults J. Gregory Smith into the professional arena. Dragon is a page turner than truly establishes Greg as a contender!

Paul Chang, the huge Chinese American detective is back but in the private sector. He and his quirky partner Nelson are running a private detective business that is floundering. Chang’s old boss and the commander of the Delaware State Police are making his life miserable. Paul never intentionally went out of his way to harm them but that isn’t stopping them from persecuting him. This book details that persecution and an unrelated but dark and life changing event in Paul’s past.

Greg did a masterful job in truly giving Paul Chang full, three dimensional characterization. The back story is well done and having read Final Price, some pieces that were missing are now put into play.

The twin prongs of a diabolically clever plot intermesh enough to provide questions but not confusion. The characters, overall, are well written and colorful. Action in a Smith novel is a given and is in abundance here.

I highly recommend this book!

Body of work of J. Gregory Price

Web Site: http://www.jgregorysmithbooks.com/bio-personal.html

Kristen Hubbard's Wanderlove Photo Contest

WANDERLOVE places & tumblr launch!

by Kirsten Hubbard

Kirsten Hubbard’s new book, Wanderlove, is set in Central America. But not just in one location -- in over a dozen! Wanderlove settings range from bustling capital cities to dense rainforest to tiny Mayan villages to idyllic Caribbean islands, and each is special in its own way.

Most exist in real life; all are based on real life. We’re very excited to share these amazing places with you in the novel -- and on the brand new Wanderlove-themed Tumblr site.

www.wanderlove.com

The site is all about favorite places: in Wanderlove and beyond, Kirsten’s places and YOUR places. That's right. We want you to participate!

From the submit page:

wanderlove is about celebrating our favorite places, and experiencing each other's. take a photo, or find a photo (one you’ve taken yourself & have the rights to) of your favorite place. it could be a place you’ve traveled to, long ago or recently; a special spot in your neighborhood, city or town; or even in your house or backyard. be as creative as you want. include a few sentences about why the place is special to you – why you *get* it, why it sticks in your heart. thank you!

You can also submit via email at wanderbooks (at) gmail (dot) com.

Everyone who submits an image and response between now and March 5th (the day she gets back from Central America) will be entered to win one of three signed, annotated and butterfly-doodled hardcovers of Wanderlove. They'll be super-special, even if you've already pre-ordered the book (and I so so so hope you have)! The giveaway will be open to anyone, anywhere in the world.

If you participate, make sure you include your name and email address (don't worry, the latter is confidential and only for use if you win).

(Kirsten will host another HUGE giveaway March 13th, at http://kirstenhubbard.blogspot.com/ and YA Highway -- with prizes including Wanderlove art prints, bookmarks, and bracelets just like Rowan's.)

Kirsten will also be featuring all the destinations in Wanderlove, with photos she took herself over the years. She’ll cross-post her personal Wanderlove posts here as well as Tumblr, so you can follow along on Bria's journey in either spot.

You can also ask her questions about Wanderlove, backpacking, or writing, and she’ll do her best to answer them on the site -- or in video form from Central America, where she’s currently backpacking through Central America!

Follow! Reblog! Join in! And enjoy :)

Winner of W. Michael and Kathleen O'Neal Gears' Battle For America Series

Winner of the Three Book Series is Cameron
from California

Come back often and to my other blogs as well. There is usually a GiveAway going on at either Azure Dwarf or Pick Of the Literate.

For Love & Liberty by Stephen Grimble

Calling our Founding Fathers

Author looks to the past to save our

future in latest work.

ALBUQUERQUE- In his second book and first fiction piece, For Love & Liberty (Wasteland Press, September 2011), Stephen Grimble, author, veteran, and history buff, asks, “What can we learn from our founding fathers to solve the crisis we're in today?”

Inspired by the United States' current political and fiscal troubles, Grimble penned the novel with the belief in mind that the U.S. is long overdue for a renewed examination and application of the original constitutional principles. For Love & Liberty captures the spirit of the American Revolution and re-thinks the modern function of the American Constitution and Bill of Rights, combining both historical and futuristic perspectives...and a little romance, too.

"It's a distinct probability that we will not pass on the blessings of liberty to future generations if America is not restored to fiscal solvency and limited government," says Grimble.

Posing the questions "what will be the epitaph for the current American generation?" "will it be the first in the country's history to fail to answer the call to honor liberty?", For Love & Liberty is a cautionary tale that offers a possible solution to restoring limited constitutional government, individual liberty, and fiscal solvency, and what might happen if that solution is rejected. Grimble hopes this will inspire other concerned citizens to join him in his call for new action.

STEPHEN GRIMBLE is a retired executive and a member of SouthWest Writers. He currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he continues to call fellow patriots to the founding ideals of the United States Constitution.