The Truth About Being Single

Even as a married woman (17 years) I found this book to be very insightful and encouraging. As a woman with single friends, I hear their stories of dating and the worry that they'll never find "the one." Yes, some people have actually told them that maybe marriage isn't in their "cards." But if it's something you want in your life, how can it not be in your "cards?"

From the perspective of a married woman, I found the book to be helpful in my own life. Being married is one thing - being happily married is another, as well as staying happily married "until death do you part." Every day takes work - understanding, patience, forgiveness and the most important part of all - that love is not something we can honestly give "unconditionally" day in and day out. As any human being knows, there are just some days when it's hard to love someone!

The best part about this book is that it's not the only thing these authors offer. Pared with their fabulous coaching sessions, this is a complete package that helps women discover their own truths about where they are in their life journey - and how to get to where they want to be.

Fantasy Author Hank Quense shares novella on Red Room

One of my favorite fantasy authors has posted his novella at Red Room, a wonderful networking place for authors. Here's the link to Hank's post. Enjoy!

Chasing Dreams: a novella | Hank Quense | Blog Post | Red Room

And to all my wonderful guests of Page Readers - all you readers, writers and fans, stick around! Things are evolving once again with Page Readers and me :)

Thank you all for your continued support! Keep reading, keep writing and have a great day!

Shalini Boland, author of "Hidden"

Shalini Boland delivers a fantastic paranormal romance in Hidden, with vivid characters and a story that delivers you to the past and the present.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I’m not usually a fan of the vampire genre, but Hidden is not your typical vampire story. Her ability to tell two stories that are at first separate, then come together through the passage of time had me hooked. I couldn’t put it down.

Boland creates her own mythology in a far away land, then brings us to the present in vivid detail. At first I had trouble with the slang used by the present day characters, then I realized how important this was to her character development. Fantastic. And her ability to capture the dialect of the characters from long ago was perfect. She brought them together in a way that meshed both stories together, keeping it interesting to the very last.

In the end, she leaves the reader wanting more, and the door open to a sequel. Personally, I can’t wait!

Shalini was able to share more with me in this interview:

First, a little about Shalini Boland

Before kids, I was a singer songwriter signed to Universal Music. But writing fiction has taken over my life and now I’m a mother of two noisy boys and an author of teen novels. I write the kinds of books I love to read - gripping adventures with a sprinkling of romance and a spattering of horror.

Where did the idea for Hidden come from (what inspired you?)

I’ve loved vampire novels ever since I read the Anne Rice books in the early nineties. The inspiration for Hidden came from a newspaper article about a family who had to leave their house due to a bat infestation. There was a local outcry as the bats were protected by law and the family could no longer live there. I thought: Hmm, bats in the attic … how about vampires in the basement.

I used to live in a very old house in London which had a large basement, very much like the one in my novel. I was always terrified of going down there and I can still remember the musty smell and the grey stone walls. It wasn't hard to imagine all kinds of terrible things lurking down there - awful creatures, ghosts, things bricked up in the wall...

Is this your first (second,third) vampire genre novel?

This is my first vampire novel, but I have books two and three 

planned out and partly written.

What other books have you written?

My latest teen novel, Outside, is a post-apocalyptic romance thriller set in the near future where everyone lives in closed-off communities behind perimeter fences. When Riley’s sister is murdered, she swears to track down the killer and goes out beyond the perimeter where the UK is lawless and dangerous.

How/when do you write?  Do you have a schedule, routine?

I never have enough time. I don’t know what’s going on in my life, but I seem to be getting busier and busier doing nothing. I need to get back to a proper schedule. Once my youngest son starts school later this year, I should be able to devote my mornings to writing. 

At the moment, I just grab a few minutes here and there.

When I am lucky enough to get a few hours to myself, there’s no set-in-stone process. I usually just sit down and start typing. I like to get the whole story down and then, once I have the bones, I’ll go back over it a gazillion times to edit.

Do you write on a computer? Tablet?  Pen and Paper?

I like to write on an A4 pad and then transfer it to my laptop. There’s something more friendly and less business-like about writing on paper - the pressure’s off!

Do you have a day job - what is it? 

I’m a mother of two young boys and I try to grab rare moments of peace to write. Otherwise, I scribble with the madness going on around me.

Tell us about your family life - where you live, what you all do for fun.

The boys go stir crazy indoors and the noise levels are ridiculous, so we try to get out as much as possible. Luckily we live ten minutes from the coast and twenty minutes from the forest, so there are plenty of opportunities to let them loose! (I usually stick a notebook in my bag for while they’re climbing trees or building wigwams).

Are you working on something new?

I’m writing Thicker Than Blood book two in the Marchwood Vampire Series. People are emailing and messaging me daily to ask when it will be published. I don’t have a date yet, but I’m hoping it will be later this year.

Do you have an author who inspired you to write?

There is no one author who inspired me. I’m in awe of those authors who can weave multiple plot lines with ease, whose characters evoke strong emotions and who can keep you guessing till the end. A few of my favourites are Carlos Ruis Zafon, Douglas Kennedy, Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins and Paullina Simons.

Do you have a favorite author to read?  Favorite book?

Paullina Simons’ Bronze Horseman trilogy and Jean M Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear series. I’ve read them more than once and I’m sure I’ll read them again – it feels like chatting with old friends

Where is your favorite place to visit/vacation?

The Amalfi Coast in Italy. Ravello is heaven on earth and Positano is divine. Everywhere you look you see beauty – lemon groves, wrought iron balconies, blue green mountains. Just gorgeous. I want to be there now.

Favorite way to blow off steam/exercise/have fun?

I’d love to say something really adventurous and extreme here, but it’s probably just spending time out and about with my family and friends. And I like a game of tennis.


Visit Shalini online at http://www.shaliniboland.co.uk/

Thank you Shalini for sharing Hidden with Page Readers

All The Wrong Places, review by Sandra Sanchez

All The Wrong Places

By Rebecca Fisher

rebeccafisherbooks.com

ISBN #9780615418292

To call a  semi autobiographical novel about escape from an abusive relationship  a “fun” read will probably sound irreverent but All The Wrong Places truly is a lot of fun to read.  The narrator, Casey, is vulnerable but proud and determined, the bad guy, Jerry, is really bad but not unrealistically so, the good guys (in the mortuary) are caring, smart and often absolutely hilarious. The plot is just bizarre enough to be real, in fact some of it is based on the author’s own experience.  The structure is easy to follow and all questions are answered  in good time. I can’t think of a better book to make a reader feel good about the possibilities in life.

The promo materials say that the book is a “courageous, emotive account of the struggles that so many American women encounter” and I’d have to say that most American women who find themselves in abusive relationships are not so lucky as to crash their cars on the grounds of a mortuary with a resident savior, but it is more than heartwarming to follow this protagonist’s unlikely, bizarre but believable rescue. I did myself work in a shelter  for battered women thinking I’d pursue an MSW to do counseling, when it occurred to me that most victims of domestic violence were in greater need of legal assistance and I made a  last minute decision to apply to law school instead.  So I can say from years of experience that the courtroom scenes and the scenes with the court appointed G.A.L were spot on accurate and could certainly have transpired just as the author described them.  Also completely authentic and insightful was how Casey reacted to winning her custody and property battles in court: she knew that, with nothing to lose, Jerry would be that much more determined to take vengeance so she was not being over dramatic to fear for her life.  I realize I have just revealed quite a bit of the plot but it doesn’t matter because it is not so much suspense that keeps a reader turning the pages, as the absolute joy of hanging out with the Golden Oaks mortuary gang.  You definitely want to meet these fine folks.

Rebecca Fisher is clearly up to turning any kind of real life circumstances into literature that combines seriousness with the out loud laughter that so often saves us from despair, gritty realism with the magic of dreams and psychic insights.  And if  happy endings after these kinds of opening circumstances might seem a stretch, well she makes this happy ending not only plausible but a true celebration.  Read and rejoice!

Sandra Shwayder Sanchez

author of Stillbird, Three Novellas, A Mile In These Shoes

www.thewessexcollective.com

https://secure.digitalcontentcenter.com/shop/627321/products

Sandra Sanchez Review of Shadow of Schizophrenia

Shadow of Schizophrenia

by Francin Pinto

Body and Soul Books

ISBN 9789381115008

This slim but courageous 86 page book is a multi layered look at economic and social decline in Mumbai. The introduction lists all the technical advances of 21st century life before pointing out that 70% of the 1.3 billion people living in India live on an average of 20 CENTS per day, 7 out of 10 children under the age of 14 years do not finish school but must go out to work to help support their families. At the same time 1,3% of the population forms the "iconic super rich billionaire class", 10% are millionaires and 33.7 form the country's middle class. the other 55% have no idea where tomorrow's meal will come from.

She raises the question: "Do material comforts such as cars, laptops, jet planes, close circuit cameras, malls, national ID programmers, computerizations of every necessary system from railway booking to banking, internet, emails, SMS', maids at our beck and call, best designer brands, 7 star hotels with excellent ambiance, IGSE, ICSE, MBA degrees, etc. make us better human beings?"  She then points out that India still has 1200 tribes who live "as their ancestors lived without bank balance, without any clue about the future, without stress. . . " and describes how living on the barter system, conserving natural resources and respecting their elders is how they teach their younger generations to live in harmony with nature (i.e social sanity). She laments the loss of times when children had a childhood with the freedom to fly kites, climb trees and people shared with one another.  When writing about the loss of better times and lamenting the ills that have come with so called "progress" the author falls into a rthymic pattern of speech that is like a chant, a pure cry to the heavens to hear her plea.

In the midst of all this, her character, Jessica, a young suburban woman with an interest in scientific study moves into the field of management in order to reap the rewards of more prevalent livelihood opportunities but is still obsessed with her interest in scientific study. Jessica decides to make a study of the effects of mental illness on productivity (as a management tool) and takes a look at three families: the "control"family and two familes who respond differently to the influence of having among them a family member who suffers from schizophrenia. 

It appears to be the author's intent to draw an analogy from an individual's insanity to an entire society's insanity. Certainly the statistics in the introduction point out a society that is not functioning in a sane manner. Jessica seeks to make comparisons from animal behavior (which was her field of study initially as a scientist)  and human evolution to the evolution of mental disorders in individuals, what is it that goes wrong and detours the individual (or the society) onto the path leading to extreme dysfunction? And how do individuals and societies find happiness despite the presence of insanity? 

The author is a social worker dedicated to working toward social improvement and this book is the first of what may be several books raising questions about how best to do that and including the answers she discovers along the way. 

Sandra Shwayder Sanchez

www.thewessexcollective.com

Dino's Story, Review by Sandra Sanchez

Dino’s Story, A Novel of 1960s Tuscany

By Paul Salsini

iUniverse, Inc.

978-1-4502-1080-5

Having lived in Tuscany (although not in Florence) the summer & early fall of 1966  and having fond memories of harvesting grapes during the day and sitting around the dinner table at Il Mullinaccio Della Strega trying to follow several conversations in Italian and two kinds of English (British and American) I looked forward to this book with eager anticipation and it did not disappoint.  I was, as I had hoped to be, transported to Italy in the sixties.

The book opens with the leisurely pace and cadence of the small Tuscan village of Sant Antonio and lays the foundation for Dino’s journey from boyhood to manhood. The pace picks up when he moves to Florence to study art and at the end moves along at the same fast and furious pace as the torrential rains and flooding Arno River. In this way the story builds in intensity like a symphony.

Dino (short for Aldebrandino) is at the hub of several heartwrenching stories. It is his task to find a long missing uncle but when he does he wants to shelter his mother from the sad truth of the man’s alcoholic and impoverished life. He meets an urban priest who does his best to help the poor of the city, working at a soup kitchen and providing shelter and inspiring Dino to want to do the same. Dino can’t decide whether or not to mail letters he writes to a young girl back home who also writes and hides letters to him. He tries to understand other young women he meets in Florence. He discovers that in addition to his talent for painting he has a talent for music.  He works various jobs and thereby meets a future friend and mentor with his own mysterious story, a gentle giant of a football player who is the beloved of a wealthy, oft married and widowed  principessa who hosts “salons” for working people as well as sophisticated art collectors in her palazzo promptly at 7:38pm (a reason is rumored).  

All the characters, no matter how brief  their sojourn in these pages,  have complex background stories that explain so much about them. This is masterful writing. And even better the book serves an important social function in its graphic description of how the poorest of the city are affected by natural disaster. It is very timely given the recent floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes that have similarly destroyed the lives of the poorest residents where these disasters have occurred.  In the wake of the flood, Dino and his friend Tomasso Nozzoli come up with a plan that will help a lot of people in a lot of ways.  Were Paul Salsini to run for a place in city gov’t I’d want to vote for him.   Meantime, I recommend  Dino’s Story  to lots of readers whether you are interested in Italy, the 60s, music, art, love, politics or all of the above.




Sandra Shwayder Sanchez

author of Stillbird and Three Novellas, A Mile in These Shoes

www.thewessexcollective.com

TurboCharged by Dien Griesel, Ph.D. and Tom Griesel

TurboCharged

Dian Griesel, Ph.D. & Tom Griesel

As a reviewer, I get certain genre(s) in cycles.  Right now I am in the Health/Weight Loss genre cycle.

In the past 4 months, I’ve read 4 books on these subjects.  One was actually more about mental health but physical health plays a role in that area, so the book reached out in that directions too.

But TurboCharged by siblings Dian Griesel, Ph.D. and Tom Griesel is one I would call a stand out.  In the introduction, the first statement is very bold, “The TurboCharged steps as presented in this book will out-perform any other diet or exercise program you may have tried in the past.”  I like bold statements like that. 

Every paragraph provides another piece to the puzzle, without overwhelming you with facts.  As explained, all of the information makes perfect sense.  The only “trick”?  You have to work the steps.

One point discussed focused on water consumption.  I’ve always been a sipper.  I carry my glass and plastic straw around all day, sipping.  TurboCharged explains why this is not enough to handle how much water my body really needs.  It took me a few days to get into the habit of drinking more each time I picked up my glass and after having tried the TurboCharged way for one week; I experienced quite a few changes.

Two other chapters I found to be worthy of a book alone, were #6 Muscle Power in 5…Minutes a Day! and the 100 calorie and under list in chapter #7.  I’m thinking a poster of each of these chapters would be great.  Lots of information at one glance. 

Another great chapter, #8 “See” the Prize.  I am a firm believer in visualization and meditation.  Here Dian and Tom discuss the importance of relaxing our minds and how doing so positively affects the body and our quest to be healthy.

I think that’s the main point here.  If we want to be healthy, it takes effort.  Start by making the effort to read this book. 

Sandra Sanchez review of Sherry and Narcotics by Nina Marie Gardener

Sherry and Narcotics

By Nina Marie Gardener

Future Fiction London

www.futurefiction.co.uk

ISBN# 978-0-9827928-2-7

As the mother of women roughly the same age as the protagonist  Mary, I found this novel both a compelling and a heartrending read.  It opens with  graphic narrative scenes of Mary, drunk and drugged,  participating in sexual acts with random partners. Later there is a flashback to an actual rape and beating. Throughout I wondered what was the childhood history that propelled this young woman to put herself in such danger.   

The novel soon moves into a pattern of dialogue carried on via emails and texts between Mary and  her new, sweet love, Jake. Mary is a playwright so carrying the story forward this way makes sense and the author is extremely good at it. The emails and texts between Mary and Jake bring a smile to the face and a flutter to the heart.  The time spent waiting for those emails and texts inspires anxiety.  The reader feels each moment along with the character. There is also the undercurrent of tension between Mary and her mother.  A brief telephone conversation between them is particularly poignant, giving the reader a hint of a painful and complex history in very few words. In fact, the entire book moved along like a film in my mindâ•˙s eye and  I think it could be easily  transformed into an excellent film.  

Jake, not a bad guy but an indecisive one, ultimately lets Mary down and I donâ•˙t think Iâ•˙m spoiling the story by disclosing that since the end of their sweet affair is skillfully foreshadowed throughout.  Then, when it seems Mary has hit bottom, two miracles occur at the very end: she rescues a dog from a cruel and  brutal death and two strangers turn out to be kind and help her in this endeavor. Of course she is overwhelmed in a good way by this kindness from strangers who in the past she had learned to fear, so the book ends on an upbeat note that begs for a sequel.  In fact, since the details of  Maryâ•˙s family and childhood history are never explained and given the enticing nature of this book,  I would like to see both a prequel and a sequel because the author made me care deeply about what past moved Mary into this particularly painful present,  as well as what her future holds: hopefully sobriety, self awareness and appreciation, and the unconditional love of dogs. I recommend this book be read when the reader has time to read it start to finish, you wonâ•˙t want to put it down.

 

Sandra Shwayder Sanchez, reviewer

http://www.thewessexcollective.com

https:secure.digitalcontentcenter.com/shop/627321/products

My Sisters Made Of Light review by Sandra Sanchez

My Sisters Made Of Light

By Jacqueline St. Joan

Press 53

PO Box 30314

Winston-Salem , NC 27130

www.Press53.com

9781935708063 $19.95

My Sisters Made of Light is a brilliant book made of beauty and an honest look at brutality, deep insights and soaring lyricism. It is fiction based on the harsh realities of the culturally and socially accepted  honor crimes against women in Pakistan .  We watch in horror as a father lights a disobedient daughter on fire. We read in disbelief as a mother escorts a hired assassin to a meeting with her daughter and watches as he shoots her child dead. We hold our breath as a Muslim woman escapes her family to marry a Sikh man whom she adores. Theirs is a love of historic significance.  The author encapsulates a long and bloody history into unforgettable images:

        In 1958 the air was still sour with the stench of the slaughters that had occurred eleven years earlier when the British ran like dogs and India cracked. The blade that slashed the map also partitioned the bodies of the people, etching fear in their bellies and revenge in their hearts. . . . . . If a trainful of Hindus was murdered by Muslims from Lahore (and they were), then a trainful of Muslims would be murdered by Sikhs and Hindus from Amritstar (and they were).  Entire families were butchered and their body parts were delivered by horseback to their villages. The people emptied baskets of breasts and pails of penises onto the ground  - even the stubs of baby penises with scrotums like tiny figs. The soil was soaked with all the lost futures and when it was done, when the trauma finally subsided to abide in the bodies of the people, they had to plant seeds in and eat the fruit of that same earth. Sikhs and Muslims alike knew the taste of each other’s blood well and they kept to their own.

        Kulrag and Nafeesa in London . Romeo and Juliet in Verona . A Muslim and a Sikh in Pakistan .  All of history conspired against them, but no matter. They would find a new way.

This book is about the courageous women who risk their lives to teach a new way to the young women of Pakistan .  Interspersed in the rich mix of their stories are passages of pure poetry:

I knelt before the shrine for long periods. I read no textbooks. Poured no oil on the doorstep. Took no milk in my tea. No tea. No dusty sandals. No laundry. No letters. No toothbrush. No prayers. No songs. No memories. No soft sisters. No tough sisters. No purpose. No me. For days and days I faded away.

The author has sought and achieved recognition and success in the fields of law and literature in order to further her agenda of making the world safer for women. She donates half the proceeds from sales of the book to a grassroots organization building a safe shelter for women and children escaping abuse. Even if it were not a great read, buying this book helps people in need. The bonus to you is that it IS a great read.

  

Sandra Shwayder Sanchez, reviewer

http://www.thewessexcollective.com

29 Days to...

Richard Fast has created a series of book, all designed to help you make changes in your life over the course of 29 days.

I had to opportunity to review two books from the series:  29 days ... to save money and achieve financial independence, and 29 days.. to your perfect weight, which he wrote with his wife, Stephanie Bertolin.

Both are excellent. The first part of both books are the same, going over the importance of creating a new habit, how long that takes, and how to create that new habit by being aware.

The second part of each book pertains to the individual subject, which gives the reader things to do for each of the 29 days as they become aware of their own habits and start to form newer, healthier habits.  And by healthier, I don't mean just for weight loss.  It takes a healthy habit to create financial independence.

An added bonus of the books is their interactive website that gives the reader the opportunity to participate in online forums and receive daily emails that help keep you on track towards your goals.  Even though the information you are receiving via email is a repeat of the info in the book, it's still good stuff.  I recommend signing up for the online part of the course after your first 29 days of following the book.  This will give you an extra month to develop all those new habits.

Now you are probably wondering what my results have been after 29 days.  As far as eight goes, I've lost 4 pounds, which I know isn't going to make me a winner on The Biggest Loser, but to me, this is fantastic.  I've been struggling with weight loss for awhile now and was happy to see the scale move (down).  All because I'm taking the time to be aware of what I eat.

Money wise - things are good.  I included my family in the 29 days approach and we're all keeping track of what we spend, and what we don't spend.  And, while we haven't quit our jobs yet, we have seen an improvement in our finances.  All steps in the right direction.

Page Readers continues to grow

For those of you who have following this blog, first let me say THANK YOU!

When I first started Page Readers, I did it because as an author I know how hard it is to find someone to review your work and then post that review around the web.  For free.

Then I added in the Page Readers Show on Blog Talk Radio and started doing live interviews with authors so they could talk about their work.  I felt this made Page Readers unique in the world or reviews and interviews by offering both services.

By 2010 Page Readers had grown in popularity so much that I regretfully had to start limiting the number of books I would accept for review and even turn away authors who wanted to be a guest on the show.  Imagine!  On one hand I was sorry to have to do that, on the other I was amazed that I had to do that!

Also in 2010 I joined forces with Aggie Villanueva to create Promotion a la Carte.  At PAC we offer author promotion services that help authors build their audience - which we all know is something that must be done otherwise how will people know who you are or even that your book exists?

Since opening our doors in July 2010 we've had a steady stream of clients, all of whom have been a pleasure to work with.  We even started partnering with other promotional companies to package our services in a way that boost the authors exposure, again working to build that all important audience.

With such a steady stream of work, I had to put Page Readers on the back burner.  Now that I've had time to get PAC running smoothly, it's time to bring Page Readers back.

But not just with the reviews and interviews.  Because of all I've learned working with Aggie, I want to use some of that new knowledge at Page Readers.  I'll be adding audio and video reviews of authors work using services such as UStream and Cinch Cast.  I will also be writing review articles for more than just this blog, Amazon and Good Reads.  There are so many great article sites that will not only let me share my guests books and my reviews of them, but will also bring more exposure to Page Readers and my guests!

I hope you continue to follow along as Page Readers grows.  Please subscribe via the RSS feeder - it will send you an email when new items are posted to the blog.

And, if you want to receive great information about using the web to promote your work, be sure to subscribe to the Promotion a la Carte blog.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Carolyn Moncel, Encounters in Paris Review

Carolyn Moncel shares several wonderfully written short stories about a life in Paris. While I'm sure many of these stories mirror that of the author, I think she does a wonderful job of adding enough drama to make it interesting without taking it overboard.

Each story is about her main character, Ellery, and her life as an American in Paris. With two young daughters an and faithful husband, the loss of her job and the death of her mother back in the states, Ellery deals with her fears and life the best she can without going completely crazy. One story tells of her ending a long term romantic relationship that she knew had to finally end, another tells of her fear of flying and her fears of facing the ghosts of her parents.


Her stories were so good, that I found myself wanting to know more about her main character and her life. Giving us just a small glimpse into the world she has created wasn't enough. I hope Carolyn has plans to develop this into a longer novel, because there is definitely room for this character to grow.

She was also featured here in a Page Readers Interview.  I hope you take the time to get to know this wonderful author!

"After All These Years" is a story of Faith and Fate

If you like stories that explore the workings of fate, you'll love "After All These Years."

Trish Edmisten gives us characters with issues, past and present, and without losing us in too much detail still gives readers insight into why her characters do what they do.

She also reveals to us the working of fate in her characters lives, how their first meeting set the stage for so many events still to come.  Even though life took them down different paths, they needed to go in those opposite directions to become the person the other would fall in love with.

Another book I couldn't put down.  The story was engaging, that characters real, their story heartfelt. 

This is one of four books Trish has published.  I haven't read the others - YET.  But I can say that "After All These Years" has made me a fan of Trish Edmisten.

Visit Trish online at www.trishedmisten.com

Nancy Lee Canfield shares her troubled life in "A Rose for My Mother"

I really enjoyed "A Rose for My Mother," by Nancy Lee Canfield.

First, was her style of writing.  To the point, without a lot of fluff - or over use of words.  Period. 

Second, was the story itself.  Even though most of the events of this book took place in the early half of the last century, it's something we can all relate to - and should do our best to remember it.  In today's world we forget so easily how hard times were not so long ago.

Some of you might recognize Nancy from her work as a "Sensitive," someone who can see into the spirit world.  When I first started reading the book, I expected the story to be more about those experiences than about her childhood.  But I was drawn in by the stories of her life, because again, the story is so well written.

After reading this book, I'm wondering if Nancy has others in the works, focusing more on her experiences with the spirit world.  Given her style of writing, and the things she has probably experienced, I'm sure it would make for another great read.

Visit Nancy online at www.nancyleecanfield.com

After the Last PR by Dave Griffin

What an inspiration this book is. And not just for runners.

Written as a collection of stories from the authors life, Mr. Griffin talks about his family, his friends and his career and how his dedication to and love of running helped him enjoy all those things.

As a novice runner myself, this book gave me inspiration and a feeling of acceptance. I am the only runner in my family, so when I talk about endorphins or the “need” to run, I get blank stares or shrugs and shaking heads. They don’t get it. They don’t understand that need to run.

Mr. Griffin does. And so do millions of other runner out there on the planet. Like in chapter five, the Chapter on Discipline. To a runner discipline is more than the act of running. It is the ritual of connecting with something larger than ourselves. The experience of the outdoors, of time and space that brings us back again and again, no matter how hot or cold it is. We go. We know that once we get moving, our bodies will adjust, we will complete our task at hand and return, refreshed and ready to face the day ahead. And because we have accomplished this task of running, we will accomplish our other tasks. This is something a runner knows.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, as a runner, I could relate to the stories. Second, also as a runner, this book provides me with the inspiration I sometimes need to get my shoes on, get outside and run. Because like so many others out there, I don’t always feel like doing it. So I keep this book first by my shoes to remind me that I’m not the only one who can come up with reasons not to do it, and for all the reasons I should. Then after my run I keep it on my desk for more inspiration. I’m telling you, this is good stuff!

Susannah Raulino shares her skills in "It Writes Itself"

This one is for all you authors out there. 

Susannah Raulino stopped by Page Readers to discuss her book, "It Writes Itself, A Traveling Guide to Writing Fiction."

"It Writes Itself" began as a class syllabus that Susannah was teaching on creative writing.  As the class progressed and ideas were added, she realized this information needed to be shared with more than just her students.

As an improv actress, Susannah realizes the need for inspiration and sometimes even that gentle push that brings on creativity.  While up on stage her troupe takes suggestions from the audience, creates a play and then acts it out - on the spot!

Doing this taught Susannah that sometimes stories have their own purpose and characters want to tell their own tales.  Sometimes, an author is nothing more than a scribe, just taking down the events as they happen around them.

It's an interesting thought.  So many authors get caught up in telling their story that they don't realize what they've created can tell it from a better perspective.  I've had other authors tell me that too - their characters take on a life of their own, and tell them, the author, their story.  And when the author finally gave up control and just listened to those voices, the story wrote itself.  And turned out better than expected.

So, if you're an author looking for a way out of your creative funk, or you've come to a point where writing isn't fun anymore or you are in need of stretching those creative wings, I highly recommend Susannah's book.  I found it to be unique, inspiring, fun and most importantly - different from all the other "how to" books on writing.

Visit Susannah online at www.raulinobooks.com for more about this fabulous book and talented author.

Book Review: "The Big Ten of Grammar," but William B. Bradshaw, PhD

William B. Bradshaw PhD., has created a gem that should be in every writers library. "The Big Ten of Grammar, Identifying and Fixing the Ten Most Frequent Grammatical Errors", was a surprisingly entertaining and quick read. eeverything Dr. Bradshaw explained made perfect sense. As a writer I thought I might pick up a lesson or two, but instead found every chapter to be a problem solver. This is one book I will keep on my desk for easy reference.

Listen to Dr. Bradshaw discuss his work on Page Readers.