FE B RUARY 2018

Your guide to self-publishing

Book Cover Redesign • Ask the Editor with Betty Sargent •
Three Keys to Blogging Success • First Lines from BookLife Authors
• 74 New Titles Listed

Writing
Magic for
The Real
World
A bestselling indie
Christian
A. Brown author embraces
diverse voices and
a new golden era
of sci-fi and fantasy
fiction
BY MATIA BURNETT

B
estselling indie author Christian
A. Brown resists labeling his
work, though it has been called
speculative fiction. His Four Feasts till
Darkness series takes place in the
fantasy realm of Geadhain, where
science and magic merge into a force
called “technomagik.” Handmaid
Morigan Lostarot learns that she is in
possession of magical abilities, which
she har nesses upon meeting and
 ® INDIE SUCCESS
forming a powerful romantic union with a wolf-man.
The books feature threads of horror, fantasy, sus-
pense, drama, and romance, and though Brown’s
characters inhabit worlds other than our own, they
also serve as vital representations of human com-
plexity here on Earth. “We are a multitude of sins
and greatnesses,” Brown says.
Born in Canada, Brown grew up in a lower-income
mixed-race household and is no stranger to adver-
sity. His family “valued equality and principles of
fairness and kindness, even in a world that appeared
quite hostile.” One incident that stuck with Brown
happened when he was still in diapers: someone
burned a cross on his family’s front lawn. When he
sought an explanation from his mother, she saga-
ciously explained to him that “fear made people do
bad things.”
Perhaps it was the desire to understand his fellow
human beings that led Brown to become a voracious
reader. He counts Roald Dahl as a significant early
influence, as well as the work of Ursula K. Le Guin.
“It was the Earthsea [series] that really teleported
me into a world and showed me the magic of the
written word. I felt as if I lived in Earthsea,” Brown
says. For him, fantasy wasn’t necessarily an escape
from our reality, but rather provided a different lens
for understanding it: “Fantasy gives us an abstrac-
tion, a distance, through which we can view complex
issues, then break them down into less-realistic and
-startling pieces. We don’t lose that wisdom when
we leave a good book or show.”
For Brown, self-publishing was the clear option
for getting his books into the world; he has always
considered himself a self-starter. However, he knew
better than to publish his work without first consult-
ing a professional editor. Over a period of three
years, Brown worked on five different manuscript
drafts. He wasn’t naïve about the heavily saturated
industry he was entering: he knew that to thrive,
he would need to ensure that his first book stood
out. “I copied the industry standards for traditional
40 B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
publishing, and spent
another year doing three
further editorial and
copyright passes,”
he says. “My goal
was to have a
book indistin-
guishable from
a traditionally pub-
lished novel.” In 2014, Brown
self-published the first book in the
series, Feast of Fates,
Fates, which received a
starred review from Kirkus.
Brown has some advice for writers who are con-
sidering self-publishing their work. “I should stress
that we are living in an age where many of the old
rules of publishing and exposure are being redefined,”
he says. “Artists should be open to change, to new
avenues of promoting and sharing their work, of
hybrid and crowdfunded publishing. There isn’t just
one ‘best’ way to publish a book anymore.” Above
all, he encourages writers to “be open to all possi-
bilities, present yourself and behave authentically,
and take criticism on the chin.”
In addition to being an author, Brown is an activ-
ist who speaks out on issues relating to “marginal-
ization, rape culture, and representation.” He
himself is a survivor of assault, which he has writ-
ten about. Brown credits his late mother for inspir-
ing much of his social consciousness and passion
for advocacy, and these influences carry into his
fiction as well. “Given my heritage and experience
with marginalization, violence, and survivorism,
you’ll find social commentary peppered throughout
my work,” he says. His characters are predominantly
female-identifying and come from diverse back-
grounds; his readership is also largely female.
With the “clamoring for diverse voices” within
the literary world, Brown believes that fantasy and
sci-fi have entered “kind of a golden era,” with the
better instincts of the genre being concerned with
diverse representations and outsider narratives.
“All my ‘weird’ and eccentric characters suddenly
have an audience!” Brown says. Writing diverse
characters comes naturally to Brown, but he is always
at work to ensure that his representations are
accurate: “Even though I am the poster child for
diversity, that doesn’t make me exempt from being
tone-deaf. I constantly check myself and my work
for authenticity.” ■
 In Croswald, the only thing more powerful than dark magic is one secret...

For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden

behind an enchanted boundary that separates
the mundane from the magical. When Ivy
crosses the border, her powers awaken.
Curiosity leads her crashing through a series of
adventures at the Halls of Ivy, a school where
students learn to master their magical blood
an the power of Croswald's mysterious gems.
and
When Ivy s magic and her life is threatened by
the Dark Queen, she scrambles to unearth her
history and save Croswald before the truth is
swept away forever.

BUY IT TODAY!

"A deftly crafted read by a master of the genre, D.E. Night's ‘The Crowns of Croswald’ is an
impressively entertaining and engaging novel that will prove to be an enduringly popular and
prized addition to community library Fantasy Fiction collections." - Midwest Book Review

"Night's blend of magic, danger, and suspense (and a touch of steampunk) is a well-realized,
fresh fantasy world all its own." - Kirkus Reviews

"Readers that enjoy intricate tales in a fantasy world will revel in this original story that can
surprise and delight until the very end." - The Children's Book Review

""Full of conjuring, creative creatures, and colorful characters, The Crowns of Croswald is a
thoughtful, action-driven middle grade fantasy that will leave audiences clamoring to find out
what happens next in Ivy's magical world." - Foreward Reviews

ISBN: 978-0996948654 Page count: 320 Publisher: Stories Untold LLC www.DENight.com
 ® COVER ART

Cover Redesign
This month, Michelle Argyle at Melissa Williams Design
reimagines the cover of Dying for a Vacation by Donna
Huston Murray, who thanked Argyle and BookLife for “the
opportunity to correct my freshman mistake.”
To submit a book for a free cover redesign, email us at booklifeeditor@booklife.com. Original Cover

Readers love
a novel with a
fascinating
setting. Including
a warm, colorful
view of the
French Riviera
promises readers A sharp contrast
a setting they’ll between light
want to visit— and shadow
in the book’s is a good way
pages and on to capture the
vacation. reader’s eye.

Though
The title is clever the original
but doesn’t cover photo is
indicate a interesting, it
murder mystery. feels gothic and
Including the cold. With an
subtitle will artist as its main
attract the character, this
right readers. book needs a
cover with more
color, which
will also help it
stand out.

42 B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
 Spirits watch over Juanita. But who is she? A mystic in love
who holds life sacred? Or a ghost-possessed railroad saboteur?

A mystical vision of an airship appears to

fifteen-year-old Juanita. The long-dead captain
commands her to prevent California’s thrown-away
people—including young children—from boarding
trains to an asylum. That institution’s director plots
murder to reduce the inmate population. Yet to
save innocent lives Juanita must take lives of the
corrupt.
corrup How can she reconcile her assignment
with her belief in the sacredness of all human life?
And will she survive to marry her betrothed?

Juanita sets out despite inner trepidation to

sabotage the railroad. Her ancestor Billy, the ghost
of a steam locomotive engineer, guides her. Then
bit by bit, she discovers the gut-wrenching truths
all of her ancestors neglected to reveal.

Come visit Juanita’s world—an alternate

Come
nineteenth-century California—where spirits meet
steampunk, where both love and anger emanate
from beyond the grave.
2017 Independent Press Award (Steampunk), Kirkus Best Indie Books
2017, Shortlisted for Dante Rossetti Award YA Fiction 2017

”Like Ursula K. Le Guin, Hill pays attention to the anthropology of her invented
culture in ways that enrich the story greatly.”
-Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2017

”Steampunk as it should be, with mysticism and adventure, an alternate history that warns about
what could happen and a coming of age story that should appeal to teens and adults alike.”
-Irene Radford, Author of the Merlin’s Descendants Series

”Veteran author, Laurel Anne Hill, adeptly empowers her heroine, Juanita, to go to hell and back
in a compelling coming of age story. She’ll surprise the reader with uncharted territory delving
into the shamanic mysticism of Native American and Mexican cultures. Get ready to barrel down
the tracks in this alternate history, ‘habanero’ steampunk adventure.”
-Elizabeth Crowens, author of Silent Meridian,
First in Category for the Chanticleer Review's 2016 Goethe Award

www.laurelannehill.com

BUY IT TODAY AT & Select Retailers!

ISBN (Trade): 978-1-937818-47-0 | ISBN (Hardcover): 978-1-937818-80-7 | Pages: 352 | Publisher: Sand Hill Review Press
 ® READER ENGAGEMENT
Three Keys
to Blogging
Success
How bloggers can build platforms
and engage communities of readers
BY JOEL FRIEDLANDER
I
t’s important for bloggers to
build communities of readers
that can serve as a platform
for launching books and other
initiatives such as workshops,
speaking engagements, and
related products and services.
But is an email list or a bunch of
followers enough?
The answer is surprising. Simply
having followers or a large email
list won’t create engaged readers
who will answer calls to action.
To create that kind of relation-
ship, bloggers need to project
three vital qualities: authority,
trust, and likability.
Bloggers will struggle to con-
nect if readers do not see them
as authoritative, trustworthy,
and likable. But the good news
is that bloggers can develop these
qualities with a little effort.
Authority
Someone trying to learn a new
skill will most often turn to a
trusted authority for information,
44 B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
Joel Friedlander
education, and instruction. But
how do people know who is a
genuine authority and who is a
poseur? There are some clear
signals that aler t readers to
authoritative sources.
Content is most impor tant.
Readers can sense bloggers’ lev-
els of experience, the depth of
their knowledge, and their under-
standing of their subjects.
Bloggers who can write with real
authority about their subjects
are most of the way home.
Networking and collaboration
also signal authority because
they show that bloggers are
respected peers of other experts
in their fields.
Awards and recognition mean
that a blogger’s work has been
evaluated by a third party and
found to be outstanding. Being
a keynote speaker, getting inter-
viewed by media, or being quoted
by other people all help to build
this kind of authority.
Social proof displays bloggers’
reach or influence within their
niches. This is why blogs often
display awards or counters. If
bloggers have 5,000 likes on
Facebook or 50,000 followers on
Twitter, the implication is that
many other people find value in
their work, granting them more
authority.
Likability
When we choose someone to
follow, or learn from them, lik-
ability is a big factor. But how
does a blogger project something
as hard to define as likability? A
focus on readers can help blog-
gers demonstrate their commit-
ment to their audience, enforcing
the impression that the writer is
there to help.
Genuine concern for the strug-
gles of readers will help establish
a blogger as a likable source of
information, because it’s not
something that can be faked.
People will know if bloggers are
truly trying to help or simply
READER ENGAGEMENT
pursuing their own agendas.
Being positive is crucial because
most people prefer a smiling
face to a scowling one. Maintaining
a positive, helpful tone when
communicating with readers,
interviewers, and even trolls will
go a long way.
Being authentic makes a blog-
ger likable. Writing style, the
subjects covered, bios, and pho-
tos used on so c ial media all
should reflect a blogger’s per-
sonality.
Self-deprecating humor will
convince readers that a blogger
is really a human being with
flaws, not just an article-writing
machine. One of the best ways
to display humanity is to frankly
discuss challenges and failures,
as well as successes. After all,
nobody wins all the time.
Trust
Online, trust is a precious com-
modity. There’s so much distrust
of people, statistics, outrageous
claims, and instant celebrities
that many folks don’t know what
or whom to trust. For bloggers
with expertise, a message, and
books to sell, establishing trust
with readers is crucial.
Consistency will help. Bloggers
can create trust by following
through on what they say they
are going to do. An example of
this is having a consistent edito-
rial schedule for a blog.
Keeping congruent with a blog-
ger persona builds trust. If a
wr iter presents herself as a
helpful mom, for instance, it’s
probably best to avoid profane
rants and confrontations on social
media.
®
Using testimonials from people
readers like and trust will trans-
fer some of that trust.
Interaction is the best tool blog-
gers have to build trust. Allow
readers to have their say and
respond to as many questions as
possible. If people know they can
get an authoritative, nonjudg-
mental answer to their questions,
a blogger will make fans for life.
A content focus aimed at
achieving goals combined with
an authentic and likable persona
will bring any blogger engaged
and committed readers for years
to come.  ■
Joel Friedlander is a book
designer and author; he blogs
about book design, marketing,
and the future of the book at
the Book Designer.
B O O K L I F E .C O M 45
 ® BOOKS TO WATCH

Scouting Report
In this month’s roundup of the best-reviewed BookLife
titles, we highlight a travel memoir, a Persian cookbook,
a cozy mystery, a work of literary fiction, and a pirate
adventure for young readers.

The Darling Dahlias Playing House in

and the Unlucky Provence
Clover MARY-LOU WEISMAN
SUSAN WITTIG ALBERT
Synopsis: A funny, candid
Synopsis: When a member account of four monthlong
of the local barbershop stays in Provence by a cou-
quartet is killed, it’s up to ple who hoped to become
Alabama Sheriff Buddy “so French that we wouldn’t
Norris and the amateur like Americans either.”
sleuths at the garden club PW’s Takeaway: Weisman
to crack the case. enthusiastically shares with
PW’s Takeaway: Readers will welcome this readers the moments we live for: good food,
charming look at a small Southern town. wine, and conversation. Particularly for the
Comparable Titles: Alyse Carlson’s Garden Society over-60 set, this will be an enjoyable study.
Mystery series Comparable Title: Peter Mayle’s A Year in
Sample Line: “Two of the Lucky Four Clovers were Provence
destined to have some very bad luck, very soon. Sample Line: “My husband, Larry, and I don’t
One would lose his voice. And another would want to tour a foreign country; we want to
end up dead.” become part of it.”
Read the Review: Read the Review:
publishersweekly.com/9780996904032 publishersweekly.com/9781532025341

Pirate Queen Jewels of The Kurdish

H.N. KLETT Persia Bike
Synopsis: SHARON B-NEJAD ALESA
The high-seas Synopsis: B-Nejad LIGHTBOURNE
adventures of recreates some Synopsis: Theresa
Hailey Heartstone, of her husband’s Turner takes a
daughter of a favorite Persian teaching position
merchant sea captain. dishes in this colorful cookbook. in Iraq, where her life become
PW’s Takeaway: Klett’s novel will PW’s Takeaway: Home cooks enmeshed with those of the locals.
captivate readers with its slow are sure to find plenty of PW’s Takeaway: This story of
unspooling of mysteries. inspiration in this transportive sisterhood, motherhood, and
Comparable Title: and eye-catching offering. nationhood should appeal.
Cassandra Rose Clarke’s Comparable Title: Najmieh Comparable Title: Andre Brink’s
The Assassin’s Curse Batmanglij’s A Taste of Persia A Dry White Season
Read the Review: publishers- Read the Review: publishers- Read the Review: publishers-
weekly.com/978-0997969900 weekly.com/9780995407909 weekly.com/9780692758106

46 B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
FIRST LINES ®

First Lines
Surviving the Fatherland
ANNETTE OPPENLANDER
“For me the war began, not with
Hitler’s invasion of Poland, but with
Our monthly look at some of the best my father’s lie.”
opening lines from titles by BookLife Conquest of Canaan: Og
authors BRITTANY SHANNON
“I hate people.”
This month we’ve got ghosts, junkies, and war.
To submit a first line to BookLife, email
booklifeeditor@booklife.com.
Shattered
The Undiscovered Country A.E. HAYES
MIKE NEMETH “There are ghosts that live within these
“Although the handwritten nameplate walls, and they aim to take permanent
on the door read ‘Elaine Marks,’ the possession.”
woman in the bed did not look like my
mother.” Down Solo
EARL JAVORSKY
Sons of My Fathers “They say once a junkie, always a junkie,
MICHAEL A. SIMPSON but this is ridiculous; I haven’t been
“God had given up on Georgia.” dead more than a few hours and I already
need a fix.”

Listen, Watch & Love

TV
Uncover the inspiration for your favorite books directly from the authors who wrote them
in PW’s amazing author interviews, discussions and more!
Discover More: PublishersWeekly.com

PublishersWeekly.com

PublishersWeekly pubweekly PublishersWeekly @PublishersWkly

B O O K L I F E .C O M 47
 ® WRITING ADVICE

Ask twinkling violet eyes, the eerie

whistle of the distant freight train,
you. What does the street look like
after the rain? What are your friends

the
the scent of the cinnamon buns wearing at dinner? How does the
baking in the oven, the feel of the new car smell? How does the baby
lush velvet cushion, the taste of lamb feel in your arms? Keep a

Editer those cinnamon buns.

A veternan editor answers Independence Day: “Tiny, stick-
your writing questions
BY BETTY KELLY SARGENT
Dear Editor
Take a look at Richard Ford’s
description of a beach in
figure boys stand, bare-chested
at the margins of the small surf,
shading their eyes as dogs trot by,
tanned joggers jog and elderlies
in pastel garb stroll behind them
in the fractured light. Here is
notebook and every time a sensual
impression takes your breath away,
jot it down. Pay attention to the
colors around you, how things look,
taste, and feel, and you will be
well on your way to writing more
colorful, engaging prose. But don’t
overdo it: you want lively, visual
prose, not purple prose.

People tell me my prose is

drab and colorless.
Any suggestions? —Phillip S.
human hum in the barely moving
air and surf-sigh, the low scrim
of radio notes and water subsiding
over words spoken in whispers.” Betty Kelly Sargent is the

O ne great way to liven up your

prose is to wake up your read-
ers’ five senses—sight, sound,
Writing with this ease and con-
trol and sensitivity to your senses
is not easy at first. You have to
founder and CEO of BookWorks.

If you have a question for the

smell, touch, and taste. Tell the teach
BOOKWORKS_HALF_H_0715_Layout 1 7/24/15 10:12 AM yourself
Page 1 to be alert to all the editor, please email Betty Sargent
reader about your character’s details of what’s happening around at booklifeeditor@booklife.com.

Calling all Indie Authors

What can BookWorks do for you:
● Help You Find Your Reader ● Chat With Our Experts
● Post Excerpts from Your Book ● Showcase and Sell Your Books With
for Peer Review Direct-to-Retailer Links
● Get a Featured Author Cover Medallion ● Find the Best Editors, Designers, Illustrators,
for Your Book Marketers, and Publicists in the Business
And that’s just for starters
Let us help you Prepare, Publish and Promote your books. We show you how to make
indie publishing easier and, yes it’s true —how to make it fun.

JOIN NOW!
bookworks.com
 PAID LISTINGS

PW SELECT LISTINGS ®

New Titles from

Self-Publishers
Booksellers, publishers, librarians, and agents are encouraged to look at the 74
self-published titles below. Each appears with a list of retailers that are selling the
book and a description provided by its author. Some of these writers are waiting to
be discovered; others have track records and followings and are doing it on their
own. If you are a self-published author interested in listing titles in this section,
please visit publishersweekly.com/pw-select for more information.
Fiction When a world-famous pop singer/ Amazon, BN.com
Breakfast with Butch actress is sent to a Loretta Lynn Davis
Scott F. Deem. AuthorHouse. $16.99 paper rehab retreat in grows up in Madison,
(188p), ISBN 978-1-4634-1737-6; $9.99 Colorado, two teen- Tenn.—a town known
e-book, ISBN 978-1- age fans from nearby only for the fact that
4634-1739-0 Nebraska inadvertently its Main Street divides
Amazon find themselves shel- Tennessee from
After 28 years of mar- tering her in their tiny Virginia.
riage, Seymore “Butch” town.
Busczkowski’s life has Mystery/Thriller
been turned upside The Late Life Bloom A Clean Death
down. With no plan, of Rose Rabinowitz Adriaan Verheul. Adriaan Verheul. $24.95
Butch finds unexpected support from Ronald Pies. paper (320p), ISBN 978-0-692-04769-9
an old friend. CreateSpace. $7.20 Amazon
paper (104p), ISBN 978- A banker looks for the
Butterfly Wish: A Doomed Interracial 1-5412-9244-4 killer of his father in
Love Affair Set in Post War South Korea Amazon this thriller about
D. Davidson and R. The unfolding love story guns, corruption,
Marcano. BookBaby. of two people tormented by their past. moral dilemmas, and
99¢ e-book, the folly of interna-
ASIN B06W2G3Y9D The Old World Dies tional intervention in a
Amazon, BN.com, Kyle Jarrard. Lune de war-torn country overseas.
Google Play, Scribd Ville. $9.99 e-book,
Two Air Force veterans ASIN B07815W1BQ The Cockroach
in their 70s return to Amazon Society
East Asia seeking some forgiveness and A comic satire on the Fred Dowd. Xlibris.
closure. They are haunted by the dark decline of France and $19.95 paper (271p),
world of sin and exploitation that cor- the melodramatic ISBN 978-1-5245-
rupted their lives in South Korea in 1963. adventures of a dreamy painter of nudes 2387-9
and his colorful models and spinster Amazon, BN.com, Xlibris
The Invasion of Normandie: benefactors. An attorney from China
A Novel of Celebrity delivers a letter to Catherine from an old
Jeff Polman. Grassy Gutter Press. $11.99 On Robin Lane friend. It thrusts Catherine and those
paper (208p), ISBN 978-0-692-97299-1 Brenda Dodson. Toplink Publishing. $15.99 she loves into extraordinary circum-
Amazon paper (346p), ISBN 978-1-947938-43-4 stances with worldwide repercussions.

B O O K L I F E .C O M 49
 PAID LISTINGS

® PW SELECT LISTINGS
Grievous Bodily Harm: A Toni Day Optimizing America spree, even if she ends up in the cross-
Mystery Jarl Jensen. Jarl Jensen. $15 paper (332p), hairs.
Jane Bennett Munro. ISBN 978-1-981578-32-0
iUniverse. $20.99 paper Amazon, Apple iBooks, Identity
(278p), ISBN 978-1- Kobo Cynthia Kumanchik.
5320-2756-7; $3.99 When a self-made bil- CreateSpace. $9.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1- lionaire’s ideas begin paper (230p), ISBN 978-
5320-2757-4 to catch fire with the 1-5482-7935-6
Amazon masses, the billionaire Amazon
An Idaho pathologist is once again pro- finds himself swept up Optimal, a biogenetics
pelled down a dangerous path after a in a presidential cam- company, offers a
new hospital administrator unleashes a paign that threatens not only his public miracle serum that can supposedly help
diabolical plan and she is accused of his standing but his life. citizens escape their miserable lives
murder. through a change of identity.
Survival of the Sparrows
Halfway to a Vineyard Pete Conrad. Lulu. The Second Death
Anthony Mays. Amazon. $2.99 e-book, $14.95 paper (340p), Scott Devon. Archway Publishing. $33.95
ASIN B074HZP9C8 ISBN 978-1-387- hardcover (222p), ISBN 978-1-4808-5104-
Amazon 37145-7; $2.99 e-book, 7; $16.99 paper (222p), ISBN 978-1-4808-
Sam thought he left ASIN B078X43R75 5106-1
the dangers of a mili- Suicidalflower.com Amazon, BN.com
tary career behind When their rural A rock ’n’ roll odyssey
when he moved his Georgia town is com- as one ordinary man
family to Humboldt mandeered by an invading multinational lives an extraordinary
County. Little did he army and the threat of nuclear war afterlife on the
know living in a vineyard would present looms, a resourceful retired couple “Highway to Hell,”
its own threats. struggles to survive. searching for the
“Stairway to Heaven.” Book one in a
Mark to Murder: Death in Budapest SF/Fantasy/Horror three-part series.
Moris Senegor. Becoming the Dragon
CreateSpace. $20 paper Alex Sapegin. Litworld. The Silver Horn Echoes: A Song of
(368p), ISBN 978-1- $10 paper (178p), ISBN Roland
976099-07-6 978-992573851-9; Michael Eging and Steve
Amazon $6.95 e-book, ASIN Arnold. iUniverse. $4.99
An urgent plea from an B077SFF619 e-book, ASIN
old friend sends Mark Amazon, Kobo, Litworld, B076CTKTXZ
Kent to Budapest, only Smashwords Amazon, BN.com, Books-
to discover the friend dead in his hotel After stumbling into a a-Million, Google Play
and with a dangerous past that could kill portal, Andy is transported to another When the Frank king-
Mark as well. world, where he must fight to survive dom is threatened, a hero must rise to
and undergo the ancient ritual to save all he loves from ruin. Revisiting an
A Murder of Saints become a dragon. age of intrigue and a fateful decision in
Chris Miller. iUniverse. a lonely mountain pass—Roncevaux.
$20.99 paper (370p), Glamorous: A Grace Bishop Novel
ISBN 978-1-5320- Denise Bossarte. CreateSpace. $3.99 Terralepus
3133-5; $3.99 e-book, e-book, ASIN Kathleen M. Hamilton.
ISBN 978-1-5320- B0789VMX5B Dorrance Publishing.
3134-2 Amazon $36 paper (194p), ISBN
Amazon A serial killer preys on 978-1-4809-3996-7
A police detective wrestles with his homeless girls. Grace DorranceBookstore.com
conscience while attempting to stop a must use her super- In space, Jackie,
killer avenging his sister’s death. natural powers to put Jasmine, and Max
an end to his murder overcome murderous monsters and

50 B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
 PAID LISTINGS

PW SELECT LISTINGS ®

unfriendly planets. As Jackie fulfills her Amazon, BN.com 7queens7kings.com, Amazon, Apple iBooks
dream to explore the galaxy, Max hopes These stories recount some of the dozen A tool for people to
to rekindle his romance with her. reasons a wife will stray outside her read before they
marriage and have a sexual affair with a decide to commit to a
Witch Tower man or in some cases a woman. relationship or mar-
Lawrence King. riage. Discover what
CreateSpace. $12.99 The Visconti Devils type of queen or king
paper (272p), ISBN 978- Ria Dimitra. Aventine you are.
1-5335-0862-1 Press. $14.95 paper
Amazon, BN.com (212p), ISBN 978-1- 50 Years Later: Why the Murder of
New professor Mac 59330-941-1 Dr. King Still Hurts
Mackenzie accepts a Amazon, BN.com Earl Ofari Hutchinson.
job at Miskatonic University. Is he ready An artist painting a Middle Passage Press.
for extracurricular activities that include tarot deck, the Yale $9.95 paper (150p),
witchcraft? library curator who inspires her, and a ISBN 978-1-881032-
mysterious art collector—love, mystery, 01-4
Romance/Erotica and evil converge in a romantic fantasy. Amazon
A Heart Across the Ocean Hutchinson assesses
Shelley Kassian. Shelley Kassian. $4.99 Nonfiction the FBI war against King, the half cen-
e-book, ISBN 978-0- 7 Types of Queens, Kings Desire tury of change after King’s murder, King
9959680-3-5 King Kevin Dorival. Kevin Dorival. $28.99 vs. Trump, and much more.
Amazon, Apple iBooks, hardcover (240p), ISBN 978-0-9855648-3-
BN.com, Kobo 4; $15.99 paper (236p), ISBN 978-0- Beauty Is a Beast
A ward of King Louis 9855648-0-3 Peggy Bland. RoseDog Books. $56 paper
XIV travels to New
France to secure a
husband. Difficulties “The wisdom of the author shines through this entire work. This book will hug on the heart as Mr. Lassiter describes
raising magnificent human beings whose lives are shaped by theory, laws that they have no say so in, and the
must be faced after the marriage, determination of their parents. This book leaves readers changed, if not socially aware as the ending
surprises you with heroes that show themselves in the nick of time.
when the new husband learns his wife’s This book left me cheering for society as a whole while keeping in mind
the very important role I will play as myself.”
secret. -Kr Shawn Terrell
-Kri’

“I have worked with At-Risk youth for over 13 years, ‘How To Change The World In 20 Mins?’, is a MUST READ for
Uncharted: youth who are in transition to changing their life’s trajectory…”
- Dr. H. Sam Coy, JD
A Survival Love Story
Julie Johnson. Johnson
Ink. $3.99 e-book, ASIN
B0774KN1KJ
Amazon, Apple iBooks,
BN.com, Kobo
When their plane
crashes, Violet and Beck are stranded
on a deserted island. As the months slip
by, they struggle to survive and to deny
their forbidden attraction.

The Unexpected:
Wives Who Have
Affairs and the
Husbands Who Love
Them
Chris Dawson. Toplink
Publishing. $15.99 paper
(383p), ISBN 978-1-
948262-60-6 Available now at ASIN 0692961917
www.Lassiterandco.net

B O O K L I F E .C O M 51

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(358p), ISBN 978-1-
4809-7604-7
RoseDogBookstore.com
Peggy was bright and
beautiful and a disas-
ter in love. When she
took steps to be posi-
tive and love herself,
she finally took control of her life and
found true love. Never compromise.
Better Days Ahead:
Step into the
Abundant Life God
Promised You
Andreas Jones. Andreas
A. Jones. $4.99 e-book,
ASIN B078NC8TN3
Amazon
A book dedicated to those who have the
desire to maximize this opportunity
called life and create more joy, happi-
ness, and fulfillment.
Brides and Customs
Around the World
Amar Pardesi. Dog Ear
Publishing. $49.95 hard-
cover (256p), ISBN 978-
1-4575-5766-8
Amazon, BN.com, Google
Play
An illustrated portrayal of brides from
all over the world, showing them in their
traditional and modern looks.
Captain Ronald
Campbell of Bombala
Station, Cambalong:
His Military Life and
Times
Ivor George Williams.
AuthorHouse. $32 paper
(76p), ISBN 978-1-
5462-8080-4; $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-
5462-8079-8
Amazon
This book offers a window into the life
and times of Captain Ronald Campbell,
who served in the British military.
Campbell’s service speaks to the hard-
ships of life in the 19th century.
52 B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
PAID LISTINGS
A Colonial Williamsburg Love Affair: paper (44p), ISBN 978-1-5320-1947-0;
Tales, Takes, and Tips from a Lifetime $5.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5320-1948-7
of Visits Amazon
Debra Bailey. Intropak An essential medical information guide
Publications. $17.95 to emergency conditions that may be
paper (306p), ISBN 978- encountered on a farm in the tropics and
0-9995722-0-7 elsewhere.
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Why do we love cer- #FMJ Trust Transition
tain places and not Trade:
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visits to Colonial Williamsburg, the Traders Said It, Did It
author answers this question and pro- and Lived It
vides tips for a great visit. Jane Gallina. Jane Gallina.
$27.95 paper (260p),
Confessions of a Bar Brat: ISBN 978-1-77302-
Growing up in Rosendale, New York 887-3; $9.99 e-book, ASIN B0716SH83R
Judith A. Boggess. Amazon, BN.com, Chapters, Indigo, Ingram
Epigraph Books. $28 Trading biographies of some successful
paper (413p), ISBN 978- female day traders of the world.
1-944037-66-6
Amazon Great Objectives
Narrated by a six-to- Robert D. Finch.
12-year-old abused Pageturner. $18.99
girl growing up in the paper (500p), ISBN 978-
early 1950s in the most hell-raising bar 1-948304-16-0
on Main St., Rosendale. Told visually Amazon, BN.com,
with salty language and hard-drinking Chapters, Indigo
humor. The book discusses
the methods of arriving at plans and
Descending Mount Sinai: weighs some of the ethical and moral
Navigating in a Post-Christian World problems an individual or a society
Ken Kinton. WestBow might face at the present time.
Press. $11.95 paper
(112p), ISBN 978-1- Holding Together the Falling Apart:
5127-9734-3; $7.99 Age: The Final
e-book, ISBN 978-1- Frontier
5127-9733-6 Richard Angres.
Amazon CreateSpace.
Looking at the con- $9.95 paper (36p),
temporary issues surrounding politics, ISBN 978-1-
society, and church, Kinton offers 983947-58-2
solutions and outcomes using a biblical Amazon
lens. A short, humor-
ous book of advice about the aging pro-
First Aid on cess. It consists of 10 suggestions that
the Farm: will help people avoid injury as they get
Natural and older.
Conventional
Treatments I Want to Be a Teacher:
Alfred Lee An Auto-Teachography in Three Parts:
Anduze. iUni- Student, Professor, and Administrator
verse. $16.99 Cathine G. Scott. Archway Publishing. $19.99
 PAID LISTINGS

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paper (114p), ISBN 978- A Lord’s Treasure peace-making journey.

1-4808-2623-6; $4.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-
4808-2624-3
Amazon
The author, a lifelong
educator, shares les-
sons learned teaching
students of all ages at home and abroad
to help teachers and prospective teach-
ers succeed in the classroom.
Jesus and Muhammad:
Their Messages, Side-by-Side
Louis St. Michael. Rising
Myrrh Press. $9.99
e-book, ISBN 978-0-
9996146-1-7
Risingmyrrhpress.com,
Amazon
The core messages of
Jesus and Muhammad,
presented by topic and side by side, along
with life and religion histories. For the
nonreligious and followers of any faith.
David S. Longworth.
David Longworth. $9.99 The Ownership Cycle: Success in Any
paper (106p), ISBN 978- Situation, Any Role,
0-9996809-0-2 Anytime... and
Amazon Helping Others to Do
Longworth delivers the Same
financial wisdom in Soh Jian Yi. Partridge
the first volume of his A King’s Wisdom Singapore. $16.08 paper
series of parables set in a medieval fan- (241p), ISBN 978-1-
tasy world. 5437-4183-4; $4.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-5437-4185-8
The Nun and the Bum: Amazon
A Journey, a Communion, a Birth This book explains how optimal plan-
Adele Azar-Rucquoi. Balboa Press. $18.99 ning, observing, reacting, and learning
paper (282p), ISBN 978- are bound by five key aspects and a self-
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A love story of Aneesa Pause and Reflect
and Andrew. A nun Ofelia Aguinaldo Dayrit-Woodring. Dorrance
falls in love with her Publishing. $21 paper (328p), ISBN 978-1-
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vent, leaves him, and embarks on a DorranceBookstore.com

Life in the Eyes of Thatha

Radha Krishna Rao
Yarlagadda. Dorrance
Publishing. $13 paper
(136p), ISBN 978-1-
4809-4945-4
DorranceBookstore.com
An intimate memoir of
triumph and adversity,
filled with grandfatherly wisdom.
Yarlagadda came to America, worked
hard, had a family, and created his own
American dream.

Life Lessons from the Hive

M.J. Miller, illus. by Jason
Barnett. Ingram. $12.95
paper (196p), ISBN 978-
1-979304-02-3; $2.99
e-book, ISBN 978-0-
692-99018-6
Amazon, Ingram
This humorously illus-
trated book parallels life in the hive and
life as a Christ-follower, introducing us
to the inner workings of a beehive, with- ISBN: 9781524684624
out the threat of getting stung. http://www.nazarenedream.org/

B O O K L I F E .C O M 53

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Filled with Christian inspiration and wis-
dom, the author’s per-
sonal story and
reflections are
intended to encour-
age and move you. We
all can make the world
a better place.
Quantitative Ethnography
David Williamson Shaffer. Cathcart Press.
$24.99 paper (496p),
ISBN 978-0-578-
19168-3
Amazon
This book integrates
data mining, discourse
analysis, psychology,
statistics, and ethnog-
raphy to create a new science for under-
standing human behavior from Big Data.
The Quest for King
Arthur
James Frost. Toplink
Publishing. $15.99 paper
(158p), ISBN 978-1-
948262-62-0
Amazon, BN.com
This book examines
the debate over King Arthur from a vari-
ety of perspectives in an attempt to find
the truth.
Renew My Heart, O God: Daily
Devotions for Healing Your Heart
Jeffery J Horacek. Christian Faith Publishing.
$30.95 hardcover
(466p), ISBN 978-1-
63575-372-1; $19.95
paper (466p), ISBN 978-
1-64028-071-7
Amazon, Apple iBooks,
BN.com
A devotional dedicated
to bring you hope, encouragement, heal-
ing, and the renewal of your heart by
meeting you in the midst of life’s pain
with the message of the love of Christ.
Seizing the Essence:
A Value Cosmology for the Modernist
Hamilton Priday. Xlibris. $19.99 paper (160p),
54 B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
PAID LISTINGS
ISBN 978-1-4257-7731-9; $9.99 e-book, To the Fire of
ISBN 978-1-4628- Normandy and
2782-4 Beyond: Behind
Amazon Enemy Lines during
Priday presents a new World War II
concept of reality Frank Kozol, with Neil
based on an absolute Kozol. Archway
source whose nega- Publishing. $19.99 paper
tion of nothingness (544p), ISBN 978-1-4808-4302-8; $8.99
divides being from awareness to actual- e-book, ISBN 978-1-4808-4304-2
ize man as a value-sensible agent in a Amazon
differentiated world. The author, who served in the U.S. Army
during World War II, is the eyes and ears
Sunday Best Dishes: A Cookbook for for the reader on what it was like to leave
Passionate Cooks home and go off to war.
Jorj Morgan. Dorrance
Publishing. $29.95 paper Travels with Vamper: A Graybeard’s
(348p), ISBN 978-1- Journey
4809-4049-9 George Critchlow. First
DorranceBookstore.com Edition Design
The author’s collection Publishing. $14.99 paper
of friendly and elegant (206p), ISBN 978-1-
meals will bring readers’ families to the 5069-0527-3
kitchen for a special and creative cele- Amazon, BN.com, Google
bration. Play
During the course of a two-month solo
The Telling Image: road trip, Critchlow draws on personal
Shapes of Changing Times experience, memories, and humor to
Lois Stark. Greenleaf Book Group Press. reflect on the things that divide America.
$27.99 hardcover
(200p), ISBN 978- The Unintended Consequences of Not
1-62634-471-6 Living Fully: Truth Is Sacred
Amazon, BN.com Martha J. Martin. Treaty
How do humans Oak Publishers. $14.95
make sense of paper (219p), ISBN 978-
the world? In 1-943658-25-1
answer to this Amazon
timeless ques- Hard truths propel the
tion, Stark takes the reader on a journey author into a dark-
to unveil a hidden key: shape itself. night-of-the-soul jour-
ney. Fortified by music and yoga, Martin
They Took My tells her story of PTSD, spiritual awaken-
Prostate: ing, and healing with raw honesty and
Cancer, Loss, Hope spirited humility.
JP Mac. Cornerstone
Media. $2.99 e-book, With Gratitude:
ISBN 978-0-9912519- Barker Steel and the
6-4 People Who Made It
Amazon Work
An unemployed writer races the clock Robert B. Brack. Archway
to cancer surgery before his health care Publishing. $23.99 paper
expires. (384p), ISBN 978-1-
4808-4654-8; $3.99
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e-book, ISBN 978-1-4808-4656-2 In this fantasy novella, when an African as it relates to life. It’s about learning
Amazon king makes a bargain with a goddess, he that there is more to life than “just”
Brack recalls how he helped build passes the supernatural powers he basketball and more to basketball than
Barker Steel Co. into one of the largest gains on to his oldest daughter, who is “just” basketball.
independent fabricators of reinforcing bound for the New World.
steel in the Northeast. An entrepre- King Judy
neur’s story. Ideal High David Clow.
Valerie Ipson. Riverside CreateSpace. 99¢
Children’s/YA Park Press. $14.83 e-book, ASIN
Alligators Make the Best Moms paper (424p), ISBN 978- B078KKWKJT
Steve Swinburne, illus. by Louis Guillette. 0-9864246-1-8 Amazon
West River Press. Amazon, BN.com, Ingram The most unlikely heir
$73 paper (32p), The student body vice to the throne of Arthur
ISBN 978-0- president at Ideal High is Judy Avery, a modern-day archeologist.
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An informative Leeway
introduction to the parental care by mother Idiot: Dear Kami I.O. Jones. CreateSpace.
alligators. Grades K–3. Photographs. Holly Smith. Little $19 paper (496p), ISBN
Portland Press. $6.50 978-1-976147-80-7
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Jane C. Brady. Huntson 0-692-05154-2 Keena Clarke juggles
Press. $13.99 paper Amazon ceramics, schoolwork,
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bullying has defined her life. Will tragedy Lily Pond
destroy her, or can young love save her? The Immundus Shelley Daniels Lekven.
Christina Enquist. Odolf Mingan Publishing. Claytown Press. $17.99
The Cloud $17.50 hardcover hardcover (32p), ISBN
Jack A. Hancock. iUni- (204p), ISBN 978-0- 978-0-9988666-0-4
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In the year 2110, something strange is have, which changes everything, forcing Lord Computesalot, Ruler of Aurora
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It’s the Coach’s Fault Royer Spencer.
Hell to Pay Lauritz Raymond Ingram. AuthorHouse. $20.99
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4808-5450-5 Lulu.com Amazon
Amazon, Apple iBooks, A look at the phrase This fantasy tale shows children how
BN.com, IndieBound, Kobo “it’s the coach’s fault” ridiculous and hurtful bullying is and

B O O K L I F E .C O M 55
 PAID LISTINGS

® PW SELECT LISTINGS
presents it in a different perspective by Amazon 1-989041-44-4
having the adults bully each other. Mo and Jo are two boots who travel the Amazon, BN.com
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56 B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
REVIEWS
Fiction
Big: Crisis
Greyson Bryan. CreateSpace, $16.50 trade
paper (464p) ISBN 978-1-5405-5692-9
Bryan’s lackluster second novel in the Big
series (after Big: Beginnings) is filled with too
many conference calls and meetings instead
of action and thrills. As the new business
intelligence consultant for Bingham
Intelligence Group, Duncan Luke is charged
with investigating whether a complicated
West African oil deal is a good investment
opportunity. At the same time, he’s fighting
his ex-wife for custody of his autistic son.
Ward Bingham, the president of BIG,
enacts a plan to oust his stepmother,
Ghislaine, from the company, which
involves discrediting Duncan, whom she
had hired. Meanwhile, Ghislaine is deter-
mined to keep her position as chairperson.
As Duncan begins to find evidence that the
oil deal is rife with corruption, Ward hits an
unexpected snag in his plan and attempts to
interfere with Duncan’s custody battle to
distract him. Unfortunately, while the main
characters were captivating in the first book,
they are much more staid and predictable in
this outing, which only exacerbates the
uncomplicated plot’s plodding feel. Readers
will expect more from the third novel.
Daingerfield Island
John Adam Wasowicz. Brickhouse, $22 trade
paper (234p) ISBN 978-1-938144-55-4
Wasowicz’s promising legal thriller
series launch introduces savvy Washington,
D.C., defense attorney Elmo Katz. Elmo is
retained by Nate Harding, who the police
believe was involved in the drowning of
Libby Lewis, the chief of staff for the Senate
Intelligence Committee, who was found
floating in the Potomac River near
Daingerfield Island. But Elmo doesn’t
know that Harding has been working with
a shady CIA operative, Jack Smith, who
planned to lure a lone wolf terrorist into a
trap on the island with Lewis’s help. Lewis
was going to pass him a flash drive that
ostensibly contained details to facilitate a
hit on a “flamboyant Arabian sheik,” but
that daring covert operation went awry.
Smith convinces Harding to offer himself
up as a temporary murder suspect, to give
Smith a chance to cover his tracks and to
develop a new plan to catch the terrorist.
Elmo must look beyond his new client’s
questionable representation to learn the
truth about the congressional staffer’s
death. Wasowicz’s experience as a trial
attorney is put to good use in courtroom
scenes, and he’s equally adept with action
sequences.
Dangerous Dreams
Mike Rhynard. CreateSpace, $14.99 trade
paper (612p) ISBN 978-1-5347-4081-5
The preface of Rhynard’s hefty debut
describes how he drew on his own experi-
ences dreaming about historical characters
whom he “spoke... laughed... feared... and
ultimately died with” in writing this novel
set in the lost colony of Roanoke, Va., in
1587. Young Emily Colman is one of the
117 English colonists left behind after Gov.
John White sails back to England for more
supplies. She and the others—her father,
friends, soldiers, and various paramours
among them—strive for basic sustenance
and desperately fight the Powhatan tribe,
which was ravaged by an earlier English
expedition. As the colonists attempt to elect
leaders and establish defenses, Emily strug-
gles to find lasting love amid the harsh con-
ditions of the new world. Interwoven is the
present-day story of Allie O’Shay, who real-
izes she’s dreaming the entire saga—and
learns that her lucid dreams could mean
actual danger for her. A graphic rape scene
in which the victim is depicted as being
aroused will likely put off some readers, but
those who can get past that will find a story
full of convincing period details, fraught
with tension and violence, and featuring a
strong cast.
The Darling Dahlias and the
Unlucky Clover
Susan Wittig Albert. Persevero, $25.95
(280p) ISBN 978-0-9969040-3-2
In bestseller Albert’s sweet seventh mys-
tery set in 1930s Darling, Ala., and fea-
turing the ladies of the local garden club
(after 2015’s The Darling Dahlias and the
Eleven O’Clock Lady), the town’s telephone
system is suffering from equipment failures
because half-owner Whitney Whitforth
won’t chip in for repairs. More seriously, the
Lucky Four Clovers barbershop quartet is
®
struck by disaster when one of its members
is killed before the Regional Barbershop
Competition. Was it an accident or murder?
Sheriff Buddy Norris is on the case, with a
little help from Ophelia Snow, Elizabeth
Lacy, and the other Dahlias, who soon find
a possible link to local bootlegger Bodeen
Pyle. Might there also be a connection to
Whitworth’s disappearance? Along with a
good puzzle, Albert provides details on such
matters as Liz Lacy’s gardening column for
the Darling Dispatch and how people
manage when money is scarce. Fans old and
new will welcome this charming look at a
Depression-era small Southern town.
Egomaniac
Vi Keeland. C Scott Publishing, $3.99 e-book
(301p) ASIN B01N4OEZRB
This contemporary standalone is
romantic, sexy, and just a little sentimental.
When playboy divorce attorney Drew
Jagger returns from vacation on New Year’s
Eve, he decides to make a quick check on
renovations to his Park Avenue office before
heading up to his penthouse apartment.
Construction progress looks good, but
someone left a light on in the file room.
Opening the door, he’s surprised to see a
comely redhead leap onto a chair and
threaten him with some serious krav maga
moves. When her skirt falls down around
her ankles she starts to look a lot less threat-
ening. It turns out that some con man
rented Jagger’s office to the redhead, Emerie
Rose, an Oklahoma transplant and marriage
counselor. Taking pity on her, the con-
firmed playboy lets Emerie use some of his
office space until she can either retrieve or
replace her lost deposit. In the meantime,
he fights a losing battle against committing
to her. Fans of humorous contemporaries
will find this a delightful diversion.
Hell Is Naked
Jean and Mary James. Woodrock, $14.95
trade paper (250p) ISBN 978-0-9848605-6-2
Warren Roberts, the endearingly imper-
fect hero of this suspenseful whodunit from
mother and daughter James, was a member
of a Chicago police SWAT team until the
physical wear and tear proved too much.
Warren must now settle for routine inves-
tigative jobs from his PI friend, Bob Caine.
His latest assignment, to find 29-year-old
B O O K L I F E .C O M 56a
 ® REVIEWS
Lorraine “Rainy” Wray at the behest of her
estranged father, looks like more of the
same. Warren finds Rainy easily, on the set
of an L.A. film shoot, where he poses as an
extra to gain her confidence and her home
address. Rainy disarms him with her gen-
erosity, providing him with appropriate
clothes to wear for the film that belonged
to a friend of hers, an extra who fell off a cliff
during a shoot. Rainy’s revelation that she
suspects foul play in her friend’s death, fol-
lowed by an attempt on Warren’s life and
the execution of Bob in Chicago, plunges
Warren into a convoluted mystery. Readers
will hope to see more of Warren in a sequel.
The Kurdish Bike
Alesa Lightbourne. Alesa Lightbourne, $11.95
trade paper (323p) ISBN 978-0-692-75810-6
Fresh out of a disastrous marriage,
57-year-old Theresa Turner, the heroine of
this moving novel, leaves the Pacific
Northwest for a teaching position at The
International Academy of Kurdistan in Iraq
in 2010. She dubs the imposing school
designed for diplomats’ children “The
Fortress” and is soon exploring the local
bazaar (“a wonderland for the senses, this
cacophony of colored plastic, traffic honks,
donkey brays, dust swirls and smells of
chicken fat dripping from spits”) and vis-
iting the home of Ara and her daughter
Bezma, two women in the local village. As
Theresa struggles to implement her employ-
er’s rigid curriculum and weathers financial
calamity, the purchase of a bicycle lets her
occupy two worlds: in one, her colleagues
warn her away from “ragheads” and roads
littered with land mines, and in the other she
becomes something like family to Ara and
Bezma, whose lives, ambitions, and fears
soon become enmeshed with her own.
Lightbourne writes in a cinematic prose and
easily folds in background about the Kurdish
people’s suffering under Saddam Hussein.
This story of sisterhood, motherhood, and
nationhood should have wide appeal.
Love Comes Later
Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar. Mohanalakshmi
Rajakumar, $12 mass market (266p)
ISBN 978-0-615-91683-5
Rajakumar’s pedestrian romance
uncovers the tensions of a long-arranged
engagement between two Qataris who want
56b B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
nothing to do with marriage. After
Abdulla’s pregnant wife dies in a car crash,
he refuses to remarry. When his family
finally arranges his marriage to cousin
Hind, he is relieved that she insists on com-
pleting a master’s degree in England first.
Secretly rebellious Hind relishes the
freedom of Europe, happily postponing her
wedding for a year. She moves in with an
Indian-American classmate, Sangita, whose
impulsive brother, Ravi, turns Hind’s head.
When Abdulla arrives in London unan-
nounced, Sangita’s attempts to occupy him
(and thereby hide Hind’s clandestine trip
to India with Ravi) blossom into mutual
attraction. The characters’ tendency to
blurt trivial facts makes for some awkward
conversation. More disorienting is
Rajakumar’s odd pacing, which makes
Hind’s year abroad fly by while dragging
out the character development. Readers
wanting to peer into Arab customs will
enjoy the anthropological details that pro-
vide intriguing insights into Qatari cul-
ture, but the story’s wooden dialogue and
obvious ending disappoint.
Restored
Kimberly Rae. Narrow Way, $14.99 trade paper
(342p) ISBN 978-1-5440-7154-1
This enjoyable third book in the Broken
Series from Rae (Shredded) is full of intense
emotions, quick scene changes, and elabo-
rate plotting. Slash—the former sex traf-
ficker who shot Grant Henderson at the end
of the previous book—is about to be
released from prison. Each main character
is still coping with the fallout of the
shooting and fear about Slash’s release:
Grant refuses to accept he might not walk
again; his fiancée, Jean, is fearful that Grant
will never overcome his anger; Candy, a
reformed prostitute, metes out tough love
to Grant and hopes to get through to Slash
(her former boss and tormentor) by giving
him a Bible; Champagne, another former
prostitute, intends to take Slash down. As
Champagne begins to investigate Slash’s
criminal past, she realizes that the sex traf-
ficking ring he was part of was much larger
than anyone suspected. Though a tendency
to deploy plot twists in bursts of dialogue
can make following the action difficult,
readers of soap-style drama will be pleased.
The Rusalka Wheel:
A Yarn Woman Mystery
Brooks Mencher. Early Morning, $15.99 trade
paper (264p) ISBN 978-1-54641674-6
At the start of Mencher’s gripping third
mystery featuring the textile forensics con-
sultant known simply as Ruth M (after
2015’s Wailing Wood), Helen Oliver ven-
tures into an antique shop in San Francisco’s
Chinatown, where she discovers a spinning
wheel that she believes to be more than a
hundred years old. Designs on the frame-
work showing the water nymph Rusalka
make her wonder whether this wheel is the
same as the one her grandmother used in
Ukraine long ago. Her attempts to pur-
chase it are thwarted by the creepy couple
running the store, though she takes some
pictures of it with her phone. Helen’s purse
and phone are later found near a pier, along
with the corpse of an unidentified man.
Det. William Chu of the SFPD takes the
phone to Ruth M, who displays her exper-
tise by rattling off a series of Sherlockian
deductions after viewing images of the
wheel from Helen’s phone. Evocative flash-
back sections giving the history of the
Rusalka spinning wheel enhance the clever
plot. Readers will look forward to Ruth M’s
next adventure.
The Whispering Sentinel
Ruth Kyser. CreateSpace, $11.49 trade paper
(280p) ISBN 978-1-4937-9279-5
In the introduction to this winsome
novel, Kyser (True Cover) declares she aims
to “educate readers about Jesus Christ and
His love for them” through the pleasing
story of Sandy Martin and her grandmoth-
er’s mysterious old house. After a breakup,
Sandy moves home to Bradford Mills,
Mich., where she buys her deceased grand-
mother’s former home on a whim. Hoping
that happy childhood memories from her
hometown will heal her broken heart,
Sandy hires Tom Brannigan, a local con-
tractor and old classmate, to restore the
house. Sandy and Tom haven’t seen each
other since high school, when she was a
goody-two-shoes Christian and he was a
carefree playboy. Now, with Tom evolving
as a more devout Christian and Sandy won-
dering where she stands with God, the two
discover a diary from 1856 in one of the
walls and work together to uncover the
REVIEWS
secrets of the old house. Although the nar-
rative gets bogged down in distracting,
irrelevant details and minor story lines (as
when Sandy attends her cousin’s Little
League baseball games, and a long miscom-
munication about Tom’s relationship to
another woman), the main thread of Sandy
and Tom’s exploration of the house is
strong, while faith-driven conversations
between Sandy and Tom take on a con-
vincing progression. Tom’s redemptive tale
will please readers of faith as Kyser handles
Tom’s struggles, reformation, and newly
found maturity with care.
Nonfiction
A Few Minor Adjustments:
A Memoir of Healing
Cherie Kephart. Bazi Publishing, $15.95 trade
paper (254p) ISBN 978-1-947127-01-2
Kephart’s solid debut memoir is a story
of gut-wrenching perseverance and deter-
mination. Kephart’s desire to help the less
fortunate led her to a Peace Corps mission
in Zambia in 1994 when she was 23.
Within six months, she’d tested positive
for malaria, had nearly died, and was forced
to return to the U.S. For the next 17 years,
she endured a multitude of perplexing
symptoms, and despite these debilitating
health problems and personal crises,
Kephart continued to live her life on her
own terms, moving to New Zealand in
1997 and completing a master’s degree in
anthropology. Kephart’s account of her
troubled health and the medical commu-
nity’s inability to discover the underlying
causes are eye-opening, particularly the
attitudes of some of her doctors (one gives
Kephart “looks like I’m wasting her time
and there’s nothing wrong with me”). Her
story shines when it focuses on her personal
life and relationship with her boyfriend,
who remains steadfast. The book falters
when the prose veers toward melodrama (“I
had no answers for my lost soul. My journal
turned on me. Its once kind and hospitable
pages were now evil, luring me in to my
self-destructive thoughts and malicious
mind”). This will resonate with readers
who appreciate stories of overcoming
adversity.
Gimme 15 Inches: Rants, Raves
and Deadline-Driven Observations
Dave Molter. Handbasket Books, $16.95
trade paper (214p) ISBN 978-0-692-85557-7
Humor columnist Molter attempts to
showcase his wit from nearly three decades
of his Washington, Pa., Observer-Reporter
columns in this lackluster collection of his
favorite entries. His column employs a style
of observational humor that’s somewhat
reminiscent of Andy Rooney and Erma
Bombeck, with musings on a variety of
mundane, inconsequential topics, such as
the “socialist threat” posed by compact
fluorescent light bulbs and the lack of vam-
pire movies in 1993. Unfortunately the
collection is ridden with predictable puns
and other lamentable dad jokes, as when
Molter employs the phrase “a right wings
conspiracy” in a story about a stickup at a
chicken-wing joint. Molter fares better
when he’s not trying so hard to win laughs.
His best entries are on more serious topics
such as the evolution of manhood in the
21st century or the armed militants who
occupied the Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge in 2016. Unfortunately, the
majority of this collection falls short of
funny.
It’s a Matter of Trust
James Callner. James Callner, $14.95 trade
paper (298p) ISBN 978-0-9980729-0-6
Filmmaker Callner reveals his struggles
with obsessive compulsive disorder and
offers “practical, common-sense, and spiri-
tual tools” for dealing with it in this helpful
memoir-cum-how-to guide. Stress and
anxiety due to a sex addiction triggered
Callner’s OCD in 1982 and led to him
being hospitalized when he was in his 20s.
As he describes examples of his OCD
behavior, from elaborate hygiene rituals to
number obsessions, Callner shares how he
learned that he could live without suc-
cumbing to his compulsions. He reiterates
that OCD is a “fear-based” disorder and
that “progress not perfection” is key to han-
dling it. Underscoring his optimistic and
nonjudgmental tone, each chapter begins
with an affirmational quote and ends with
a sentence or two of takeaways for readers,
such as “You are stronger than you think”
and “You do the best you can given the
conditions you are under.” While there are
®
nuggets of insight and wisdom, the chap-
ters aren’t arranged in a logical sequence
and a few ideas, such as a higher power
providing help, are repeated too often.
Nevertheless, this is a worthwhile read for
OCD or anxiety sufferers, their loved ones,
or anyone interested in the disorder.
Jewels of Persia Cookbook
Sharon B-Nejad. Ziba Graphics, $40.99
(240p) ISBN 978-0-9954079-0-9
Living in Australia, B-Nejad was a new-
lywed who wanted to recreate some of her
husband’s favorite Persian dishes at home,
80 of which are gathered in this colorful
collection. B-Nejad’s skills as a graphic
artist are on full display in the book’s
design and her photographs as she guides
readers through Persian cuisine, inter-
spersing recipes with breathtaking
images of city streets, luxurious boutique
hotels, mosques, and markets, accompa-
nied by shots of dishes like saffron rice
pilaf with chicken and yogurt, and crisp
kebabs sizzling on a grill. Sticklers for
authenticity are sure to be pleased with the
recipes, while novices may be put off, since
many dishes call for hard-to-find spices
and labor-intensive preparation methods.
But once they’ve cleared that hurdle,
they’re likely to find the dishes—such as
herb, bean, and noodle soup with lamb
meatballs; mixed pickled vegetables; and
the classic dolmeh—worth the effort.
Home cooks interested in Middle Eastern
cuisine in general and Persian cuisine in
particular are sure to find plenty of inspira-
tion in this transportive and eye-catching
offering.
Jump Seat: 1963–1976:
A Stewardess’ Memoir
Janet Angell. CreateSpace, $14.95 trade paper
(154p) ISBN 978-1-5448-4568-5
This slim, upbeat debut memoir from
former flight attendant Angell chronicles
her 13 years with Northwest Orient
Airlines during the 1960s and ’70s. As a
“ticket to seeing the world,” Minnesotan
Angell applied for a stewardess position
rather than accept a teaching job after col-
lege. As the jet age arrived, she went from
commuter flights from Washington, D.C.,
to Detroit to longer flights to California,
Alaska, and Japan. Angell writes of meeting
B O O K L I F E .C O M 56c
 ® REVIEWS
VIPs and celebrities on her flights—Sonny
and Cher, Jimmy Dean, and Diana Ross
among them—but readers hoping for juicy
gossip about bad in-flight behavior will be
disappointed, as everyone is on their best
behavior here. The choppy-feeling narrative
goes light on workplace politics and focuses
more on Angell’s time off, the travel perks
that came with the job, and the exotic places
she visited. Rounding out the tale are the
head-shaking requirements of being a flight
attendant in that era, such as mandatory
retirement at 32 and weight checks. Much
like the friendly skies, this memoir is bright
and breezy, with the occasional bit of
turbulence.
The Migraine Book:
A Memoir in Pictures
Lea Carmichael. Paintmoth, $15 trade paper
(130p) ISBN 978-0-9883599-7-0
An artist renders her experiences with
migraines in a series of folksy, colorful
crayon drawings collected in this surpris-
ingly poignant book. Carmichael, a visual
artist living in upstate New York, reflects
on her earliest encounters with the condi-
tion, noting that, as a child, she witnessed
her mother’s debilitating symptoms. She
goes on to describe her own onset of
migraines and to articulate the often all-
consuming impairment it has caused her
over the years: “The migraine hunkers
down in my head, a homunculus driving
an oil-well–sized drill-bit deep into the
raw, swollen nerves of my brain.” During
one attack, Carmichael angrily grabbed
crayons and began to draw. This led to a
degree of respite—or, at the least, distrac-
tion—from the pain. Her collection repre-
sents her ongoing attempts to grapple with
the condition, while producing an oeuvre
of distinctive pieces marked by rage,
despair, and sometimes humor. The draw-
ings feature repeating motifs of piercing
instruments and decapitation; naïf balloon
figures; fractured and ghoulish self-por-
traits with bulging eyeballs and grimacing
mouths; and kaleidoscope-like zigzagging
patterns. At their core lies a sense of self
under siege. Readers intimately familiar
with migraines will find solace through
commiseration in Carmichael’s book. Color
illus.
56d B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
Our Friend Mona
Azadeh Rohanian Perry, with Mark Perry.
Circle of Spirit, $18 trade paper (300p)
ISBN 978-0-9834701-4-4
This earnest remembrance from Perry
tells the life story of Mona Mahmudnizhad,
a 16-year-old girl hanged in Iran in 1983
for her Bahá’í faith. Perry grew up in Shiraz,
Iran, and was a childhood friend of Mona’s
throughout the persecutions that swept the
country and led to Mona’s death alongside
nine other teenage girls. Mona’s father, a
religious scholar and Bahá’í Faith leader
with whom she shared a deep spiritual con-
nection, was also executed. With copious
quotes from Mona’s high school essays on
her burgeoning spirituality, Perry, writing
with her playwright husband, seeks to edu-
cate readers about Bahá’í Faith, which was
created by Iranian Bahá’u’lláh in 1863 and
takes an all-encompassing view of faith tra-
ditions with a focus on service and prayer.
Her perspective as a fervent adherent
enlivens the lessons. Though Perry is a pas-
sionate storyteller, the narrative of Mona’s
life—her early education, the shock of the
revolution, and her outspoken public sup-
port of Bahá’í Faith—sometimes relies on
mystical anecdotes, such as Mona’s visions
that warn her “capacity for empathy” will
one day lead to suffering. However, for those
with limited knowledge of the Bahá’í Faith,
this book will be of great service explaining
the tenets of a religion practiced by five
million people worldwide. Perry luridly
illustrates the intolerance and cruelty of
Iranian religious authorities after the
Revolution of 1979 while also paying
homage to a brave young woman killed for
her faith.
Pictures with Stories: A Memoir
Tony Mendoza. Tony Mendoza, $27 trade paper
(96p) ISBN 978-0-692-93130-1
Cuban-American photographer Mendoza
(Ernie: A Photographer’s Memoir) shares
stories from his life in extended captions for
84 understated, compassionate, and often
surreal images. The images follow Mendoza
from his sunny childhood in Cuba in the
1950s through his early adulthood living
in an urban commune in Boston, to courting
his wife and his embrace of family life and
middle age. Always willing to turn private
moments into opportunities to take photos,
Mendoza admits that he “figured that [his]
wedding was an excellent topic for a photo
project,” so he set up a makeshift studio
outside of the ceremony for him to photo-
graph the longtime married couples in
attendance. In addition to photos of his
personal life, Mendoza intersperses exam-
ples of his professional work, including
commissioned wedding photos from the
start of his career, and the images that
earned him renown, such as his photo of a
“very large dog about to attack an ant” and
more contemporary prints of flowers. The
captions often give insight into Mendoza’s
life beyond the subjects in the photos; for
example, the text accompanying a photo of
a cat chasing a dragonfly notes that in the
early 1980s, Mendoza sold prints from his
museum-owned Ernie the Cat series on a
New York street corner in an effort to make
rent. The combination of photo essay and
autobiography yields an intimate and at
times touching portrait of a photographer’s
life.
Playing House in Provence:
How Two Americans Became
a Little Bit French
Mary-Lou Weisman. iUniverse, $13.99 trade
paper (182p) ISBN 978-1-5320-2534-1
In this funny and candid account of four
monthlong stays in Provence over four sea-
sons, memoirist and biographer Weisman
(My Middle Aged Baby Book) hoped to realize
an old fantasy of becoming “so French that
we wouldn’t like Americans either.” Trying
to recapture her youth in late middle age,
Weisman and her husband rented a house
in the south of France in 2003 and anchored
their “experiment in international living”
around a routine of French lessons, excur-
sions to the outdoor market, elaborate culi-
nary exchanges with new local friends, and
trips through the countryside. Weisman
excels at identifying human foibles: during
a dinner party for which they are furiously
preparing, the couple realizes that cultural
immersion will not change the pace of their
life at home (“if we can’t relax in Provence,
it’s unlikely we’ll be laid back at home”);
shortly thereafter, the couple admits to
themselves that “we would rather become
French than learn French.”
Throughout,Weisman enthusiastically
shares with readers the “moments we live
REVIEWS
for”: good food, wine, and conversation.
Particularly for the over-60 set with a pen-
chant for “riding in the slipstream of our
own childhoods,” this will be an enjoyable
study in how to be at one’s “faux finest.”
Time for Wonderlust: Planning
Your Retirement Renaissance
Forrest J. Wright. Real Leisure, $9.95 trade
paper (208p) ISBN 978-0-9969451-2-7
Addressing retirees such as himself and
those looking ahead to retirement, Wright
devotes this curious, misleadingly titled
book to examining the idea of leisure and
trying to answer his own question about
what “payoff” he could expect from unlim-
ited free time. For most workers, Wright
observes, their job is inextricably linked to
their social standing. It’s not greed that
propels people to prefer work and consump-
tion over leisure and frugality, he writes,
but “status seeking.” In fact, “more income
means less free time.” Although Wright
offers some suggestions for retirement plan-
ning, such as investing, hiring a financial
planner, and “owning your job” (working
toward self-employment), this book is defi-
nitely not the “how-to” its title implies.
Instead, Wright offers an in-depth look at
leisure’s history as a concept and shares his
own rituals for relaxation. He goes on to
discuss retirement as a time for intellectual
cultivation and nurturing the “love of
knowledge,” taking readers through a quick
look at philosophers over the ages, from
Socrates to Descartes to Nietzsche. The
most actionable advice that more pragmatic
readers will find is a nudge toward retire-
ment, with Wright advising at the conclu-
sion, “We must act now because our oppor-
tunity could end by accident, tomorrow,
underneath a bus”—not exactly the most
ringing encouragement, but certainly a
valuable reminder that life should be
treasured.
What Does God Think?
Transgender People and the Bible
Cheryl B. Evans. Cheryl B. Evans, $6.99
e-book (186p) ISBN 978-0-9951807-6-5
Evans (I Promised Not to Tell) presents an
accessible introduction to issues sur-
rounding trans identity and Christianity.
After a brief explanation of the science of
sexual diversity and the growing public
awareness of trans people, Evans—who
began exploring and struggling with these
concepts after her son came out as trans—
embarks on a fairly high-level exploration
of the difficulty of relying on the Bible to
address modern concerns. Homing in on
inconsistencies and highlighting stories
such as that of Philip and the eunuch, she
builds the case that the Bible is less conser-
vative than many traditionalists assert.
Evans has no formal theological training,
but this looseness keeps her prodding and
genuine questions from feeling like a
harangue. She closes with a stern warning
against judgment and a plea for humility,
though sometimes her excitement backs her
into unpolished rhetorical corners—for
instance, she argues that recent successes for
LGBTQ people could be interpreted as a
sign that God approves of them. The vol-
ume’s tendency to mention but not fully
explore provocative scripture readings and
scientific claims will disappoint some, but
Evans’s clear, heartfelt writing is a compas-
sionate starting point for discussion.
When the Dream Became Reality:
The Journey of a Professional Soccer
Player and the Push for Meaning,
Purpose, and Contentment
Bobby Warshaw. The Athlete Story, $14.99
trade paper (278p) ISBN 978-0-9991697-0-4
In this candid memoir, former profes-
sional soccer midfielder Warshaw describes
his journey from being an insecure soccer-
playing boy from Mechanicsburg, Pa., to
realizing his dream of playing the sport
professionally. After graduating from high
school, Warshaw made the U.S. Men’s
Youth National Soccer Team in 2005,
earned All-American honors, and won a
scholarship to attend Stanford University.
Warshaw became the captain of the well-
respected Stanford team, though he con-
tinued to doubt his abilities. He was the
university’s lone selection to the MLS
Combine, and was a first-round draft pick
for FC Dallas. His three years at FC Dallas
were complicated by feuds with the coach
and the frustration of playing a backup role
against teams with star-studded lineups
such as David Beckham’s L.A. Galaxy. Not
wanting to ride the bench in Dallas,
Warshaw moved abroad to play in Swedish
and Norwegian leagues, but some of the old
®
feelings of self-doubt crept in. He eventu-
ally returned to Pennsylvania and played for
the local Harrisburg City Islanders.
Warshaw, now an analyst at MSLsoccer.
com, earnestly probes the psychological and
physical effort it takes to become an elite
athlete.
Children’s/YA
Pirate Queen:
Book of the Navigator
H.N. Klett. Raven Rock, $14.99 paper (264p)
ISBN 978-0-9979699-0-0
Klett confidently balances several genre
elements—fantasy, SF, steampunk, and
more—in his debut novel, first in a planned
series. Hailey Heartstone is the daughter of
a well-to-do merchant sea captain, and she
spends most of her time with her father on
the high seas, learning everything there is
to know about shipboard life. Upon
becoming a teenager, Hailey’s usefulness as
a navigator gives way to her family’s desire
for her to become a proper young lady and
take her place in a society that preaches that
the way to salvation is through bettering
one’s station, marrying well, and adhering
to the doctrines espoused by the Church of
the Ancients. Hailey’s thirst for knowledge
becomes her downfall after she discovers a
powerful book that communicates with
her—and that the Church and Crown are
eager to possess. What follows is a perilous
journey into the lands of pirates and a fated
quest for the truth. Equal parts thought
exercise, rollicking adventure, and cau-
tionary tale, Klett’s novel should captivate
readers with its simple yet elegant language
and the slow unspooling of mysteries and
revelations. Ages 12–up.
Polar Bear Bowler:
A Story Without Words
Karl Beckstrand, illus by Ashley Sanborn.
Premio, $8.95 paper (30p) ISBN 978-0-692-
22096-2
In a charming wordless story, a polar bear
climbs aboard a boat and hitches a ride
down to Antarctica. After clambering up
onto an ice sheet, the bear spies three distant
shapes that resemble bowling pins and
begins to roll a snowball. Readers may guess
(correctly) that the bowling pins are actu-
B O O K L I F E .C O M 56e
 ® REVIEWS
ally penguins, and after one of them gets hit
by the polar bear’s first throw, the birds
pummel the bear with snowballs that pile
up to create an igloo to trap him. Sanborn’s
cartooning is full of these kinds of rapid-fire
gags, which give the animals’ back-and-
forth games the feel of classic cartoon bat-
tles between the likes of Tom and Jerry or
Sylvester and Tweety. It’s all in good fun,
though, and eventually the bear uses his
bulk to create a bowling lane that they can
all play on—one that uses pins made of
snow, not birds. The story ends abruptly (a
seal pops up in the bowling lane, suggesting
a new player may be joining the party), but
the polish and physical comedy of Sanborn’s
images more than compensate. Ages 4–8.

10 Gulab Jamuns: Counting with

an Indian Sweet Treat
Sandhya Acharya, illus. by Vanessa
Alexandre. Mascot, $14.95 (38p) ISBN 978-1-
68401-261-9
After Idu and Adu’s mother makes 10
gulab jamuns—fried dough balls, soaked
in syrup—for a dinner party, is there any
chance that they’ll last until the meal? Not
likely, and after the brothers gobble up six
of the treats, they help their busy mother
make a new batch (after a brief math lesson).
Acharya’s straightforward storytelling and
Alexandre’s swoopy digital illustrations
create a cozy portrait of Indian home life. It
seems unlikely that the boys wouldn’t have
heard of gulab jamuns before, so their
mother’s initial description of them seems
to be for readers’ benefit. And when Acharya
writes that “suddenly, Adu had an idea” just
before he eats three of the sweets, it’s unclear
what she’s referring to. But these don’t
detract much from this warm family story,
which concludes with a gulab jamun recipe
for hungry readers. Ages 4–8.

56f B O O K L I F E , F E B R UA RY 2 6 , 2 0 1 8
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