NEW RELEASE – WHY IS MOMMY CRYING? by I. Cori Baill & illustrated by Heather Bell

Title: WHY IS MOMMY CRYING?

Subtitle: Explaining Early Pregnancy Loss to Young Children 

Author: I. CORI BAILL, MD 

Illustrator: HEATHER BELL

Genre: CHILDREN’S FICTION, PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Length: 34 PAGES

Publisher: GREENLEAF BOOK GROUP

Received From: NETGALLEY

Release Date: JANUARY 19, 2021

ISBN: 9781632993779

Price: $11.95 USD

Rating: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Can't believe this book is finally out in the world! Really enjoyed illustrating Why is Mommy Crying?—explaining early pregnancy loss to young children by I. Cori Baill, MD. Available at Amazon and Barnes and Nobles 😀https://t.co/XxMHakM8Vz pic.twitter.com/Cz37sKsZf1

— Heather Bell (@HeatherBell37) January 19, 2021

DESCRIPTION:

One is often at a loss how to engage with those in grief, whether adult or child. Because miscarriage affects about a third of pregnancies, most readers likely know someone who has experienced this sadness.

This beautifully illustrated, inclusive, nondenominational picture book helps recipients of every age know that the door is open, and a caring person is on the other side. Written by an experienced physician, Why is Mommy Crying? comforts in the context of family and the larger universe. Young ones are also helped in navigating their fears.

The young protagonist, Max, uses his imagination, and accompanied by his stuffed animal, Mink, begins to understand what has made his mother sad. His imagery and ideas offer a gentle springboard to discuss with children and the adults who love them the broader concepts surrounding grief and recovery.

MY REVIEW:

My first thought when I saw this book was that it was very important and a necessary addition to children’s libraries everywhere. After reading I still think it is wonderful that there is a book available for parents to read to their kids if the parents experience the loss of a pregnancy.

I firmly believe that information is power which is why I chose to read and review this children’s book.

When Max wakes up in the middle of the night, he grabs his stuffed animal (named Mink) and decides to go to his parents’ bedroom. On his way there, he sees his mother in a different room and she is crying.

Curious and worried, Max asks his mother of she has an “owwie” and offers to get her a Band-Aid. His mother says: “No son, I don’t need a Band-Aid. It’s not that kind of owwie.” Max hops up on his Mom’s lap and asks how she had gotten an owwie.

The mother’s response is where this book will lose many of its potential readership. I am a Canadian and as such, am very proud of our multicultural environment. Maybe I am just oversensitive to books that exclude large segments of the population.

Once religious beliefs are introduced into a children’s book, any potential reader whose beliefs are different from those expressed in the book, will be turned off and will not be interested in purchasing that book. I believe this is the case with WHY IS MOMMY CRYING? However, the Christian segment of the population may be even more interested in this book because it talks about God, so maybe this will balance out.

Although this book does not identify with any specific sect, it is clearly intended for Christian households. In my opinion, this is a shame. I believe that a message of love and understanding could easily have been incorporated without mentioning God.

The mother tells Max that “Sometimes a baby returns to be with God.” She further explains that; “God will take care of our baby.” 

The illustrations are fabulous and I like the fact that the mother and father seem to be an interracial couple. The mother is white and the father has brown skin. It is important to have books that reflect the diversity in today’s world. So, kudos for that.

However, because the author is a doctor and therefore (in my mind) a person of science, I was not expecting this book to contain references to God. I expected a more scientific, but still age appropriate, explanation as to why Max’s mother was sad and why the pregnancy ended. I was very disappointed that this was not the case. 

The author does include a list of “Additional Resources” at the end of the book which offer organization names and websites where more information about grief and grieving can be found. I think this is a great idea to include in the book.

I rate this book as 3.5 out of 5 Stars which I am rounding up to 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***

Dr. I Cori Baill – Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. I. Cori Baill earned her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick, NJ. Following graduation from medical school, she completed her residency training in Gynecology and Obstetrics at The Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. She then served for three years in the US Public Health Service achieving the rank of Lt. Commander, and in July, 1990 was awarded the United States Public Health Service Achievement Medal.

Dr. I Cori Baill – Author

Dr. Baill is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology by the American Board of Obstetricis and Gynecology. She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstitricians and Gynecologists and is a Certified Menopause Practitioner by the North American Menopause Society. During her medical career of over 30 years, she has been affiliated with Planned Parenthood serving on the National Medical Committee, and as a regional and local Medical Director.  She is currently an advisor, laboratory director, and Florida State House physician liaison for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, our regional affiliate. Dr. Baill is the founder of The Menopause Center in Orlando, FL, where she served as medical director for 12 years.

Dr. Baill has been affiliated with the UCF College of Medicine since its founding, serving as a curriculum advisor, and admissions interviewer. She formally joined the faculty in 2015, and is now an Associate Professor. Dr. Baill holds numerous committee positions, including for UCF College of Medicine Admissions, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and North American Menopause Society.

She is a reviewer for American Family Physician and Bellevue Literary Review.

To learn more about this author, visit the following links:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

GOODREADS

LINKEDIN 

AMAZON  

GOOGLE BOOKS   

A beautiful illustration by Heather Bell

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR:

Illustrator Heather Bell

Heather Bell whole-heartedly believes that hidden within our everyday lives is a secret realm glimpsed through books, music, and children’s laughter.

Holding a BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute, she is a member of SCBWI, a participant in the 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge, a Children’s Book Academy graduate, and a mommy.

When not illustrating and writing, she searches out story ideas as an undercover school bus driver.

Heather Bell is an author/illustrator represented by Kaitlyn Sanchez at Olswanger Literary Agency.

To learn more about this Illustrator visit the following links:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
https://heatherbellbooks.com

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

ETSY

SOCIETY6

Another gorgeous illustration created by Heather Bell

THE COLD VANISH: Seeking The Missing In North America’s Wildlands goes on sale TODAY. A fascinating look into an issue that seems to be largely ignored.

Title: THE COLD VANISH

Subtitle: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands

Author: JON BILLMAN

Genre: NON-FICTION, TRUE CRIME

Length: 368 PAGES

Publisher: GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING – A DIVISION OF HACHETTE

Received From: NETGALLEY

Release Date: JULY 7, 2020

ISBN: 9781538747568 (eBook)

Price: $14.99 USD (eBook)

Rating: 3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jacob Gray’s bicycle and trailer were discovered close to a trail in Olympia National Park

DESCRIPTION:

For readers of Jon Krakauer and Douglas Preston, the critically acclaimed author and journalist Jon Billman’s fascinating, in-depth look at people who vanish in the wilderness without a trace and those eccentric, determined characters who try to find them.

These are the stories that defy conventional logic. The proverbial vanished without a trace incidences, which happen a lot more (and a lot closer to your backyard) than almost anyone thinks. These are the missing whose situations are the hardest on loved ones left behind. The cases that are an embarrassment for park superintendents, rangers and law enforcement charged with Search & Rescue. The ones that baffle the volunteers who comb the mountains, woods and badlands. The stories that should give you pause every time you venture outdoors.

Through Jacob Gray’s disappearance in Olympic National Park, and his father Randy Gray who left his life to search for him, we will learn about what happens when someone goes missing. Braided around the core will be the stories of the characters who fill the vacuum created by a vanished human being. We’ll meet eccentric bloodhound-handler Duff and R.C., his flagship purebred, who began trailing with the family dog after his brother vanished in the San Gabriel Mountains. And there’s Michael Neiger North America’s foremost backcountry Search & Rescue expert and self-described “bushman” obsessed with missing persons. And top researcher of persons missing on public wildlands Ex-San Jose, California detective David Paulides who is also one of the world’s foremost Bigfoot researchers.

It’s a tricky thing to write about missing persons because the story is the absence of someone. A void. The person at the heart of the story is thinner than a smoke ring, invisible as someone else’s memory. The bones you dig up are most often metaphorical. While much of the book will embrace memory and faulty memory — history — The Cold Vanish is at its core a story of now and tomorrow. Someone will vanish in the wild tomorrow. These are the people who will go looking.

Jacob Gray

MY REVIEW:

This book is unique. It is part memoir, part dissertation on the numbers of missing people who have “cold vanished.”

Exactly what is a “cold vanish?”

A cold vanish is when a person goes missing, usually in the wild, leaving no clues. These people are often never found, and those who are found, are most often not found alive, and are usually discovered accidentally by other wilderness visitors, not by those who have searched for them.

“If you Google “missing person” and the name of your nearest national park or national forest, you will find clusters of the disappeared.”

“The National Institute of

Justice, the research arm of the Department of Justice, calls missing persons (and unidentified remains) ‘the nation’s silent mass disaster.’ They estimate that on any given day there are between 80,000 and 90,000 people actively listed with law enforcement as missing.”

“The Department of the Interior knows how many wolves and grizzly bears roam its wilds, but has a hard time keeping track of visitors who disappear. The Department of Justice keeps a database, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, NamUS, but reporting missing persons is voluntary in all but ten states, and law enforcement and coroner participation is voluntary as well. So a lot of the missing are also missing from the database.”

THE COLD VANISH is required reading for those of us who are fascinated by true crime and for those who follow such podcasts as “Missing,” and “The Vanished.”

“According to NamUS, more than 600,000 persons go missing in the United States each year; thankfully, many of these are quickly found alive. Sixty percent of the missing are male, 40 percent are female. The average age for a missing person is thirty-four.”

Those statistics surprised me. I knew that many people go missing, but 600,000 in a single year? That is a staggeringly high number. With budgetary constraints and other logistical issues, it proves that those who volunteer their time and resources to locating the lost are an invaluable resource for the families of those who have cold vanished.

Jacob Gray went missing in Olympia National Park in April of 2018. His father put all other obligations aside and spent innumerable hours, days, weeks and months searching for his son. The author was able to tag along on his search and this is the story around which this book is designed. More than just a reporter, it became clear as the search dragged on without resolution, that Randy Gray (Jacob’s Dad) and author Jon Billman became friends.

Although the author occasionally goes off a bit of a tangent, all in all, the story is well-written and has certainly opened my eyes to the issue of people missing in the wilds of North America. I am thrilled that the Author has chosen to donate 20% of all author royalties to the Jon Francis Foundation.

I rate THE COLD VANISH as 3.5 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Billman is a former wildland firefighter and high school teacher. He holds an MFA in Fiction from Eastern Washington University. He’s the author of the story collection When We Were Wolves (Random House, 1999).

Billman is a regular contributor to Outside and his fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Esquire, The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All-Story.

He teaches fiction and journalism at Northern Michigan University in the Upper Peninsula, where he lives with his family in a log cabin along the Chocolay River.

To learn more about this author, visit the following links:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

GOODREADS

TWITTER

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

AUDIBLE  

CHAPTERS

PUBLISHER’S WEBSITE

………

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:

Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, reaches a diverse audience through hardcover, trade paperback and mass market imprints that cater to every kind of reader.

Our imprints are Twelve, Grand Central Life & Style, Forever and Forever Yours. Our authors include Nicholas Sparks, David Baldacci, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robin Roberts, Sandra Brown, Brad Meltzer, Preston & Child, Nelson DeMille, Mario Batali, Jodi Ellen Malpas, Seth Grahame-Smith, Candace Bushnell, and many more.

To learn more about this Publisher visit the following links:

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
http://www.grandcentralpublishing.com

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

PINTEREST

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES THAT WERE MENTIONED IN THE BOOK:

“In 2011, [David] Paulides launched the CanAm Missing Project, which catalogs cases of people who disappear – or are found – on wildlands across North America under what he calls mysterious circumstances.”

David Paulides, an ex-cop from San Jose, California, is the founder of the North America Bigfoot Search (NABS), established in 2004.

National Outdoor Leadership School

The Jon Francis Foundation is a Minnesota based nonprofit that helps families with loved ones missing on public lands.

Another title by Jon Billman

MY PUDDLES – A Memoir by Thai Peck – MY REVIEW of this fascinating new Memoir.

Title: MY PUDDLES

Subtitle: A NON-FICTION SHORT STORY

Author: THAI PECK

Genre: NON-FICTION, MEMOIR, HISTORY, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BIOGRAPHY

Length: 97 PAGES

Publisher: BALBOA PRESS

Type of Book: SOFTCOVER

Received From: GOODREADS

Release Date: MAY 31, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5043-0899-1

ASIN: B072M4Q161

Rating: 3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐+0.5

DESCRIPTION:

My Puddles is a true story. It’s a short anecdote recalling a tale of growing up from childhood to the age of seventy and a woman’s journey through time, places, and self-discovery.

MY REVIEW:

Neither the title, nor the description really give any information about this book.

MY PUDDLES is a memoir written by Thai Peck about her life. She only briefly remarks upon her unhappy childhood in Vietnam.

At the tender age of seventeen, she met and eventually married an Australian War Correspondant named Brian Peck. Thai had two children, a boy and a girl and despite life’s ups and downs, they remained married until the sad day in 2015 when Brian passed away.

Thai eloquently expresses just how much they loved each other in the book’s first chapter:

“In September 1968 … At Singapore airport about to board an Air Vietnam flight, among the crowd, a couple of Americans…through them I met this Australian reporter. While each man offered to carry one of my bags, only one remained faithfully carrying them through our many journeys for the rest of his life. Until one morning in April 2015 when he took his last breath in my arms. His name was Brian Peck. He was my best friend, my confidante, and my all. He brought happiness into my everyday life for 45 years.”

Besides her relationship with her husband, Thai also writes about her travels to many countries and her life as a diplomat’s wife. She candidly describes the hippocritical nature of those events – glitz and glamour on the surface, but lonliness on the inside.

I enjoyed reading about Thai Beck’s life and as a self-published book, she has done a good job. What she does need, however, is a good proofreader and editor. It is readily apparent that the memoir is written by someone whose first language is not English. There are quite a few places in this book that need to be edited.

The need for proofing and editing are significant, but by filling this autobiography with numerous photographs and copies of Thai’s paintings, the joy of reading this book increases immensely. I rate MY PUDDLES as 3.5 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐ +0.5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

To learn about this author, visit the following links:

GOODREADS

iTUNES

YOUTUBE

GOOGLE BOOKS

AMAZON

CHAPTERS / INDIGO

PUBLISHER’S WEBSITE

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:

BALBOA PRESS is a Division of HAY HOUSE. It is a book publishing company that helps aspiring self-help and transformational authors self-publish books and achieve their dreams. Offering professional cover design, editing, marketing and more, authors can publish a self-help book ready for print on demand. Specializing in the mind, body and spirit genre, Balboa Press is your gateway into the world of publishing.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

3.5 Stars for CATALYST by Marc Johnson – BOOK REVIEW

Title: CATALYST 

Author: MARC JOHNSON 

Series: The Passage of Hellsfire: Book One 

Type of Book: Audiobook – Unabridged 

Narrator: Bryan Zee 

Length: 9 Hours and 56 minutes 

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Release Date: February 12, 2016 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
~ I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

What an absolutely stunning cover. In fact, it was the cover that drew me to this audiobook. The description cemented my desire to listen. 

So, did this audiobook live up to my expectations? 

Yes and No. 

The plot was your typical fantasy, coming-of-age adventure where the ordinary boy turns out to have extraordinary powers. 

There are (of course) elves, dwarves, ogres, wizards, a beautiful princess and even a dragon. There is also the prerequisite evil wizard who is hell-bent on taking over the world. 

I admit that the main character in this book certainly has a unique name. His name is “Hellsfire.” I was extremely skeptical of such an odd name choice when I started listening to this audiobook, but it actually works. As the story goes on you get used to the name and it eventually sounds completely natural as the lead character’s name. This is largely due to the excellent narration by Bryan Zee. 

When Hellsfire discovers that he has the gift of fire magic, he knows that he will need to learn to control it. He sets out a quest to do just that. 

During his quest he meets several interesting characters and becomes embroiled in an epic battle to save his world. 

This plot is overdone. There are literally thousands of books that consist of this same storyline; of course the details, characters and settings are always different, but readers and/or listeners can easily predict what will happen. I hate that. I like to be surprised and unfortunately this audiobook’s storyline did not contain any surprises. 

The ending of this book sets up the story for the second book in the series, however, I felt that the author took some large liberties to expand the story into a series. 

The narrator was terrific. Bryan Zee emotes very well and he did an admirable job of trying to keep the listener engaged in the story. I give the narration 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

However, I rate this book as 3.5 out of 5 stars.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am hoping that the second audiobook in this series contains the unexpected plot twists that were missing in CATALYST. 

OFFICIAL BOOK DESCRIPTION: (From the author’s website)

For centuries, the kingdom of Alexandria has protected Northern Shala from the monstrous creatures lurking in the Wastelands. Now, a dark force threatens that fragile peace.

Far from home, Alexandria’s princess is abducted. When a young villager named Hellsfire stumbles upon her and her captors, he rushes in to rescue her, alone and unarmed. His fear and fury unleash an uncontrollable magical force that grants him the power to save the princess—and change the world.

Hellsfire has never craved nor dreamed of power. But such magic as he now possesses has not been seen in Northern Shala for a thousand years, since the devastation of the War of the Wizards and the creation of the Wastelands.

Now Hellsfire must leave all he’s ever known, and make a dangerous journey to learn to master this wild, ferocious power—power he knows he is not ready to wield. More difficult still, he needs to master his emotions. If he can’t, the power will consume him, Alexandria will fall, and darkness will eclipse the land, destroying everyone he loves.

In the dead of cold, the spark shall burn.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marc Johnson has moved a lot since his parents divorced when he was two. He also can’t answer a straight question and has developed a taste for sarcastic wit over the years. Probably also for the same reason.

He hasn’t won any awards, but he does have a deep knowledge of Transformers, Star Trek,and The Twilight Zone–his top three geeky loves. 

He writes because he loves stories and hopes to one day have written something successful as a movie, TV show, comic, book, magazine, and play.

Marc Johnson also loves to game, whether it be video, card, or board. He loves to test his mind in the challenges they bring…until the zombie, alien, or robot apocalypse comes.  

EDMUND KEMPER: The True Story of the Co-ed Killer by Jack Rosewood – BOOK REVIEW

Cover image obtained from http://www.amazon.com

EDMUND KEMPER: The True Story of the Co-ed Killer

Author: Jack Rosewood

Series: Historical Serial Killers and Murderers – True Crime by Evil Killets: Volume Two

Type of Book: eBook

Length: 72 pages

Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime

Release Date: June 22, 2015

Publisher: Wiq Media

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Edmund Kemper is probably the sickest serial killer ever to have walked the Earth. His crimes are still talked about today and his deviant behavior both fascinates and appalls many people still to this day.

Edmund Kemper was born in Burbank, California in December of 1948. His was a troubled childhood with a mother that should have never been allowed to procreate.

Edmund was always awkward. His body was massive; weighing almost 300 pounds and reaching a height of six feet, nine inches.

His deviant thoughts started long before his killing spree did. He harbored gory and elaborate fantasies full of rage.

This book is his story. Readers need to be warned that this is not a story with a happy ending, and those who have sensitive stomachs should not read this book.

Kemper began his decapitation fantasies as a child and practiced by beheading the dolls of his sisters. This was soon not gratifying enough for this twisted psychopath and he moved on to torturing and killing the family’s pet cats. “Kemper’s rage against women – revealed first through the dolls with long, blond hair, and later through the cats – was a result of his abysmal relationship with his mother.”

He would eventually kill ten people; including hitchhiking co-eds, his mother and both his grandfather and grandmother.

To learn how he became the vicious psychopath that he is today, you need to read this book.

I have mixed feelings about this type of book. While I find deviant psychology fascinating, I hate that the killers get so much more attention than their victims. However, it is a sad truth that people are more interested in the killer than the killed.

I would have liked it if there was a bit more detail about each of the victims.

Despite that, the author has done a good job of condensing the story into only 72 pages.

There are some editing/proof-reading errors, but once I pointed them out to the author, he has assured me that they will be fixed immediately.

I rate this book as 3.5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐

CARY STAYNER: The True Story of the Yosemite Park Killer by Jack Rosewood – BOOK REVIEW

Cover image obtained from Amazon.com

CARY STAYNER: The True Story of the Yosemite Park Killer

Author: Jack Rosewood

Type of Book: eBook

Series: Historical Serial Killers and Murderers: True Crime by Evil Killers: Volume 4

Length: 71 pages

Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime

Release Date: August 9, 2015

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Cary Anthony Stayner was born in California to a lower-middle-class family. He had three sisters and a younger brother. His family spent summers camping at different national parks, including Yosemite which was close to their home. Cary had decent grades at school and even played on the school baseball team. Sounds like an idyllic All-American childhood, doesn’t it?

So, if he grew up leading such a wonderful life, how did he end up becoming a killer?

The facade of normalcy that Cary’s family portrayed to the outside world proves that you cannot always judge a book by it’s cover. Cary’s childhood and his family life were anything but idyllic.

Add to this multiple family tragedies, one of which received nationwide attention and you have a recipe for disaster.

Find out what caused a seemingly normal boy to turn into an evil monster by reading this short novella by Jack Rosewood.

Shortly after starting to read this book I realized that I knew of parts of the story, but had forgotten the name of the murderer. However, I definitely learned much more about this crime by reading this book than I had known previously.

There are aspects of this book that I enjoyed immensely, but there were a few minor things that (in my opinion) could have been improved.

One of the things I did not like was that some phrases were not explained. For example, in 1999 when their granddaughter Carole Sund (age 42) and their great-granddaughter Juli (age 15) along with Carole’s sixteen year old exchange student, Silvina Pelosso, an Agentinian national went missing, Francis Carrington “… was called in for a three-house interview…” What the heck is a “three-house interview? This is not explained in the book.

The other issue I had with this book was that it needed an editor or proof-reader. Several paragraphs and sentences were redundant and some contained typos. For example: “told her I loved her, and slit her throat, driving the knife so deeply into her throat that her almost severed her head.” I assume this was supposed to say “…he almost severed her head.”, not “her.”
Example 2 – “He might just as well been talking about the bogeyman.” This should have said: “He might as well have been talking about the bogeyman.”

Once these two issues are addressed, the book will deserve a higher rating.

Author Jack Rosewood has done a terrific job of taking a huge amount of information and condensing it to fit into only 71 pages. This makes this True Crime book a quick and easy read.

Overall I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more true-crime stories by this author.

I rate this book as 3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Author photo obtained from Amazon

* Author information taken from his biography on Amazon.com

I live in one of the most beautiful places in Florida, Jupiter, with my wife, two kids and our golden retriever, Vincent. I’ve been a full time author for the last 15 years and I wouldn’t trade it against anything in the world!

My father was a journalist and wrote about some of the worst crimes you could ever imagine, and that’s where my big interest from serial killers and other horrible crimes comes from. Just to hear my father talk about the evil acts of Ted Bundy as we were out fishing as a kid are some of my best memories.

Join the Email list for great offers: http://eepurl.com/bilCuf

Facebook Fan Page: http://facebook.com/jack.rosewood.author

DELICATE THORNS by Miranda Hardy and Ainsley Shay – AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

Cover Image obtained from http://www.audible.com

Title: DELICATE THORNS

Author: Ainsley Shay, Miranda Hardy

Type of Book: Audiobook – Unabridged

Narrator: Angie Hickman

Length: 2 hours 43 minutes

Genre: Paranormal Fiction

Release Date: January 15, 2015

Publisher: Quixotic Publishing

Rating: 3.5 of out 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this audiobook through Audiobook Blast in exchange for an honest review.

Awakening on a deserted island with no memories of who she is or how she got there, Jasmine is completely bewildered and confused.

All she knows for sure is that she is hungry. Despite fruit and other plants and seafood being available, only the blood of the island’s animals is able to ease her painful stomach cramps.

When an opportunity to escape the island presents itself, she is determined to take advantage of it.

With no memories, no home and a craving for blood, Jasmine needs to find answers, but will she like what she discovers?

Does Jasmine have any chance to find love and happiness? Or is she doomed to a solitary existence?

This audiobook is only two hours and forty-three minutes in length which is very short.

The narrator is Angie Hickman who I have listened to before. Angie has a terrific voice for narration and seems particularly well suited to the paranormal genre. She speaks clearly and places emphasis on the words and sentences that need it. She does not make the common narrator’s mistake of overacting. Angie Hickman’s narrative style is not overly dramatic which I really like. I give the narration 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed the ending of this audiobook. It was unexpected, which was a nice surprise. It also offers up the opportunity for more books to follow.

I rate this audiobook as 3.5 out of 5 stars. I liked the story, but I did not love it. I think this is because there is so much vampire fiction available that a story of this genre must be spectacular to earn a four or five star rating from me.

13,760 Feet by Mark L. Berry – AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

13,760 Feet: My Personal Hole in the Sky

Author: Mark L. Berry

Type of Book: Audiobook Unabridged

Narrator: Mark L. Berry

Length: 15 hours, 2 minutes

Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction

Release Date: April 3, 2015

Publisher: Trans World Author Inc.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This audiobook is written and narrated by Mark L. Berry. Mark is a former TWA pilot.

This is a memoir of how the plane crash of TWA Flight 800 affected his entire life.

He was not the pilot of that fateful flight, but one of the passengers was his fiancé Susanne.

The flight exploded in the air at 13,760 feet off Long Island’s south shore. There were 230 passengers and crew onboard and every single one of them died.

This memoir not only chronicles the crash itself, but also his courtship of Susanne and how her death affected his life and the lives of many others.

Mark has also written, or co-written forty one songs that are included in this audiobook.

I am not a music critic but I found the songs redundant. Each one basically tells the same part of Mark’s story that the narrator had just spoken, except with music as a background. Also, I do not want to offend the author, but the songs are not very good. That does not mean they won’t appeal to someone else, they just did not appeal to me.

The story itself is interesting and my heart definitely goes out to the author and to all the families and friends of all those who perished in this horrible incident.

I imagine that writing this story was heart wrenching for Mark Berry but I hope it helped him to heal and to move on from losing his fiancé.

I rate the book and the narration as 3.5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐

To learn more about the author visit http://marklberry.com

WHERE THE HELL IS TESLA – AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

WHERE THE HELL IS TESLA?

Author: Rob Dircks

Type of Book: Audiobook Unabridged

Narrator: Rob Dircks

Length: 5 hours and 5 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction Comedy

Release Date: March 24, 2015

Publisher: Goldfinch Publishing

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

A hilarious and incredibly creative book that will have listeners laughing out loud and wanting to hear more.

Hired as a lowly security guard at a defunct FBI storage facility Chip Collins finds an old book in the drawer of an abandoned desk.

It turns out that the book is the Diary of Nikola Tesla who was a famous inventor. Inside the diary Tesla claims that he created something he calls a “Inter-dimensional Transfer Apparatus.” He includes the last known location of the device.

Chip, and his best friend, Pete, set out to find the “Inter-dimensional Transfer Apparatus.” The two bumbling fools literally fall into it.

What follows is a a terrific story. It is witty, funny, thought provoking and interesting.

Chip and Pete find themselves stuck in a hallway with an infinite number of doors that lead to an infinite number of possible dimensions.

Realizing that in their excitement they had forgotten to mark which doorway it was that they had entered through, they know they are in trouble. They need to figure out how to get home and along the way they need to save the infinisphere and all the possible worlds from being destroyed by an evil genius.

The nice thing about having the author act as the narrator for his audiobook is that he knows the story inside and out. He knows exactly how he wants to convey each scene and is able to inject subtle nuances into his narrative.

This book is written as if it were a story being told to Chip’s girlfriend through a series of emails. This allows the listener/reader to feel like they are truly seeing inside Chip’s mind. What could be more personal than a heartfelt email to someone you love who you aren’t sure you will ever see again?

Chip’s emails are full of humor and actually made me laugh out loud numerous times. For an audiobook to actually make me laugh (not just chuckle) is very rare. That feat takes some serious skill, both by the author and the narrator.

I highly recommend this audiobook. I am sure that reading the book would be enjoyable as well, but I think the best way to experience WHERE THE HELL IS TESLA? is through the audiobook format.

I rate both the book and the narration as 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rob Dircks does copywriting and design at the award-winning ad agency he owns with hisbrother Dave called Dircks Associates.

He has authored two books. He I now spends his time building Goldfinch Publishing to help other independent authors get their stories told. For more information visit his website at:
http://robdircks.com/

THE AMITYVILLE MASSACRE by R. Barri Flowers – AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS

THE AMITYVILLE MASSACRE: The DeFeo Family Nightmare

Author: R. Barri Flowers

Type of Book: Audiobook Unabridged

Narrator: Scott Clem

Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes

Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime

Release Date: October 14, 2014

Publisher: R. Barri Flowers

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This audiobook was much shorter than I expected. The official length of this book is listed as 66 minutes. However, that number is deceiving. In fact this audiobook contains the short true-crime tale of the Amityville Massacre, but it also contains a bonus true-crime story entitled “Murder in Bellevue: The Killing of Alan and Dianne Johnson.”

This is the true story of the massacre of the DeFeo family at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York on November 13, 1974.

Ronald DeFeo, Senior, his wife, Louise and four of their five children were murdered in their beds. Convicted of the crime was the fifth, and oldest child, Ronald Junior.

I would have liked to learn more about the DeFeo family and what their lives were like before the night of the murders. What information is included is well written, I had just hoped for more detail.

The narrator of this audiobook speaks way too quickly. Because of this the listener is unable to immerse themselves in the story. I also felt that the narrator’s voice was very monotone and lacked inflection. This is unfortunate and detracts from the enjoyment of listening to this audiobook.

Due to the audiobook’s lack of back-story and the narrator’s speed, I rate this audiobook as 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐ I had been hoping to learn more about the murders and also more about how the massacre ended up causing such a media firestorm and how it ended up spawning multiple books and movies over the years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

R. Barri Flowers has written several true-crime books as well as multiple fiction books. He is an American mystery novelist, non-fiction author and criminologist who lives in Hawaii.

To find out more about this author visit: http://www.rbarriflowers.com