This blog is the place where I post reviews of the books I have read. I review audiobooks, regular books and eBooks for authors and publishers as well as any other book or audiobook that catches my eye.
Mount McKinley in Alaska – the name was changed and it is now called Mount Denali – Notice the digging bear on the left side of the photo Photographer Daniel Leifheit
DESCRIPTION:
1968, a seventeen-year-old queer girl traveled to Alaska disguised as a boy.
Tracy should have been a boy. Even her older brother Spencer says so, though he wouldn’t finish the thought with, “And I should have been a girl.”
Though both feel awkward in their own skin, they have to face who they are—queers in the late 60s.
When both are caught with gay partners, their lives and futures are endangered by their homophobic father as their mother struggles to defend them.
While the Vietnam War threatens to take Spencer away, Tracy and her father wage a war of their own, each trying to save the sweet, talented pianist.
At seventeen, Tracy dresses as a boy and leaves her parents in turmoil, with only the slimmest hope of finding peace within herself. She journeys to a girl with a guitar, calling to her from a photo, “Come to Alaska. We’d be great friends.”
Maybe even The MoonStone Girls.
**********************************************
MY REVIEW:
My first thought after reading THE MOONSTONE GIRLS is that it must be somewhat autobiographical. Author Brooke Skipstone has written with such depth of emotion that it is difficult to believe the story is fictional.
Before I get too far into my review I wanted to be sure to mention just how gorgeous the cover of this book is. It is the perfect blend of colors to bring the 1960s to mind. And, the choice to just use silhouettes is 100% inspired. 5 Stars for the cover. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love that this #book is set in the late #1960s – an era much different than today’s world. So much was different at that time for anyone who was gay, and as hard as it is to fathom, being gay was considered to be against the laws of both God and men. This just highlights how far LBGTQ rights have come (even though society still has a ways to go.)
I cannot fathom the fear and pain experienced by LGBTQ youth at that time in history, especially for men whose arousal is much harder to hide. In the book, both Tracy and her brother Spencer are queer. The good thing is that they have each other to lean on and they have a mother who loves them just the way they are. This is much more than most #queer #youth had in their lives during that period in #history
This book delves into not just LGBTQ history, but also into the #draft and the #VietnamWar #WomensRights #RockAndRoll and the #SexualRevolution
There are some extremely #emotional scenes in The Moonstone Girls and at one point during reading I was literally in tears. It takes a truly talented #writer to be able to evoke so much #empathy and #emotion in their readers. Kudos to Brooke Skipstone for writing such an important and believable book.
Ultimately, this is a tale about hope and about having the courage to fight back in the best way you can against those who would try to stop you from living life on your own terms. It will encourage readers to never settle for second best and to keep trying until they find a place where they belong and where they can live a life of hope and honesty. It also reminds us that there is a person out there for everyone and that everyone has the right to live a happy life on their own terms.
Tracy is a fiery, take-no-prisoners type of young woman. This is the face she shows to the world, but inside, she is suffering and full of shame. This reminds readers that the persona people present to the world is not always accurate and that everyone has an inner world that is invisible. Never judge a book by its cover is a great lesson and one that we often forget.
Although not specifically stated, I get the feeling that the author also wants readers to think about mental health and to realize the depths of despair that people can feel when forced to live a lie just to be “normal.”
All in all I have to say that this book should be on everyone’s Must Read list for 2022 and although it is labeled as Young Adult fiction, this book will appeal to readers of all ages.
I am rating THE MOONSTONE GIRLS by Brooke Skipstone as 5 out of 5 Stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ and I highly recommend this book … just make sure you have a box of tissues nearby when you read it.
*** Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***
Brooke Skipstone lives in Alaska, where she watches the mountains change colors with the seasons from her balcony.
Where she feels the constant rush toward winter as the sunlight wanes for six months of the year, seven minutes each day, bringing crushing cold that lingers even as the sun climbs again.
Where the burst of life during summer is urgent under twenty-four-hour daylight, lush and decadent. Where fish swim hundreds of miles up rivers past bear claws and nets and wheels and lines of rubber-clad combat fishers, arriving humped and ragged, dying as they spawn.
Where danger from the land and its animals exhilarates the senses, forcing her to appreciate the difference between life and death. Where the edge between is sometimes too alluring.
To learn more about this author visit the following links:
Being alone, a virgin and comfortable in her own skin, Annie, like a lot of us, dreads turning forty. Turning forty tends to mean more challenges physically, in the bedroom and beyond. Losing It At Forty is Anne’s story and while she has, so far, lived a mundane life her world is about to change. Sitting at a bar, Annabelle comes to the decision to loosen up and lose her virginity. Starting with no longer using her nickname and wanting to be referred to as her full name, Annabelle.
Annabelle knows she doesn’t need a man but her desire for one is turned up after having a few drink and men flirting with her.
What she knew she wanted was sex and even at forty years old she worried about pregnancy so took time off work to check with a doctor about the pill. He thought it was redundant but prescribed it anyway.
With many humorous incidents, including a time at an esthetician’s parlor and almost being arrested, to buying cream and being caught looking at condoms as well as the dreaded video chat while getting undressed, Annabelle is enjoying life despite the comedic moments her romantic endeavors provide.
MY REVIEW:
Let me tell you all about the book I just finished reading. It is called LOSING IT AT 40 by Sarah Butland. And yes, the “it” in “LOSING IT…” is the protagonist’s virginity.
I know, I know, in today’s society it is exceptionally rare that anyone makes it to age 40 with their virginity intact. But Annie has never been what you would call a ‘social butterfly.’
Written in the first person, Annie speaks directly to the reader which I thought was a terrific way to tell this specific story. Because of this, readers begin to feel like they are either a friend of Annie, or, they are voyeurs reading her innermost thoughts as written in her personal diary. Either way, readers will want to know more.
Annie’s story is at times hilarious, at others it is touching, and at all times fascinating.
“It was obvious to me that I wouldn’t be outstanding on my first go-around and I really didn’t know much about the act itself … Maybe there was a Netflix type service just for porn.”
When I read the above paragraph I burst out laughing and when asked why I read it to my husband who also chuckled.
Annie is a delightful mix of bold and sassy, yet shy and quiet. She is like every other woman – a mixture of many traits and contradictions.
Annie ends up meeting two very different men. She knows she has to choose just one, but will she choose Travis, or Mike? You need to buy a copy of LOSING IT AT 40 to find out.
Although Sarah is an amateur writer, you wouldn’t know it. She has an affinity for creating believable and realistic characters.
I rate this book as 4 out of 5 Stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
*** Thank you to the author for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***
*************************************
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sarah Butland was born in Ontario, the year was 1982. She was moved to New Brunswick for over 15 years and now resides at home in Nova Scotia, Canada. Butland has been married to her high school sweetheart and has a superstar son named William.
Butland started creating while still learning to walk and in years to follow was able to put a writing utensil to paper to document her creations before they were completely lost. Of course, her first manuscripts were in dire need of editing but she didn’t seem to mind nor did her readers.
The first “big break” for Butland came when she was still a teenager feeling like she was unlike every other teenager she knew. She heard from a poetry contest that her poem “Wrong Shell” would be published in their anthology; would she kindly send them thousands of dollars to continue on in the finals. Butland’s parents refused. So began the struggle of discovering which awards were actually earned not bought.
Limiting herself to contest submissions from then on, Sarah Butland realized her career of writing would be a difficult struggle no matter the talent she held inside or was forced out.
Many stories, attempts at novels and thousands of ideas later, Butland created BananaBoy and the Adventures of Sammy was born with Sending You Sammy, her first published children’s book.
To learn more about this author visit the following links:
Mount McKinley in Alaska – the name was changed and it is now called Mount Denali – Notice the digging bear on the left side of the photo Photographer Daniel Leifheit
DESCRIPTION:
1968, a seventeen-year-old queer girl traveled to Alaska disguised as a boy.
Tracy should have been a boy. Even her older brother Spencer says so, though he wouldn’t finish the thought with, “And I should have been a girl.”
Though both feel awkward in their own skin, they have to face who they are—queers in the late 60s.
When both are caught with gay partners, their lives and futures are endangered by their homophobic father as their mother struggles to defend them.
While the Vietnam War threatens to take Spencer away, Tracy and her father wage a war of their own, each trying to save the sweet, talented pianist.
At seventeen, Tracy dresses as a boy and leaves her parents in turmoil, with only the slimmest hope of finding peace within herself. She journeys to a girl with a guitar, calling to her from a photo, “Come to Alaska. We’d be great friends.”
Maybe even The MoonStone Girls.
**********************************************
MY REVIEW:
My first thought after reading THE MOONSTONE GIRLS is that it must be somewhat autobiographical. Author Brooke Skipstone has written with such depth of emotion that it is difficult to believe the story is fictional.
Before I get too far into my review I wanted to be sure to mention just how gorgeous the cover of this book is. It is the perfect blend of colors to bring the 1960s to mind. And, the choice to just use silhouettes is 100% inspired. 5 Stars for the cover. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love that this #book is set in the late #1960s – an era much different than today’s world. So much was different at that time for anyone who was gay, and as hard as it is to fathom, being gay was considered to be against the laws of both God and men. This just highlights how far LBGTQ rights have come (even though society still has a ways to go.)
I cannot fathom the fear and pain experienced by LGBTQ youth at that time in history, especially for men whose arousal is much harder to hide. In the book, both Tracy and her brother Spencer are queer. The good thing is that they have each other to lean on and they have a mother who loves them just the way they are. This is much more than most #queer #youth had in their lives during that period in #history
This book delves into not just LGBTQ history, but also into the #draft and the #VietnamWar #WomensRights #RockAndRoll and the #SexualRevolution
There are some extremely #emotional scenes in The Moonstone Girls and at one point during reading I was literally in tears. It takes a truly talented #writer to be able to evoke so much #empathy and #emotion in their readers. Kudos to Brooke Skipstone for writing such an important and believable book.
Ultimately, this is a tale about hope and about having the courage to fight back in the best way you can against those who would try to stop you from living life on your own terms. It will encourage readers to never settle for second best and to keep trying until they find a place where they belong and where they can live a life of hope and honesty. It also reminds us that there is a person out there for everyone and that everyone has the right to live a happy life on their own terms.
Tracy is a fiery, take-no-prisoners type of young woman. This is the face she shows to the world, but inside, she is suffering and full of shame. This reminds readers that the persona people present to the world is not always accurate and that everyone has an inner world that is invisible. Never judge a book by its cover is a great lesson and one that we often forget.
Although not specifically stated, I get the feeling that the author also wants readers to think about mental health and to realize the depths of despair that people can feel when forced to live a lie just to be “normal.”
All in all I have to say that this book should be on everyone’s Must Read list for 2022 and although it is labeled as Young Adult fiction, this book will appeal to readers of all ages.
I am rating THE MOONSTONE GIRLS by Brooke Skipstone as 5 out of 5 Stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ and I highly recommend this book … just make sure you have a box of tissues nearby when you read it.
*** Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***
Brooke Skipstone lives in Alaska, where she watches the mountains change colors with the seasons from her balcony.
Where she feels the constant rush toward winter as the sunlight wanes for six months of the year, seven minutes each day, bringing crushing cold that lingers even as the sun climbs again.
Where the burst of life during summer is urgent under twenty-four-hour daylight, lush and decadent. Where fish swim hundreds of miles up rivers past bear claws and nets and wheels and lines of rubber-clad combat fishers, arriving humped and ragged, dying as they spawn.
Where danger from the land and its animals exhilarates the senses, forcing her to appreciate the difference between life and death. Where the edge between is sometimes too alluring.
To learn more about this author visit the following links:
A provocative and original investigation of our cultural fascination with crime, linking four archetypes—Detective, Victim, Defender, Killer—to four true stories about women driven by obsession.
In this illuminating exploration of women, violence, and obsession, Rachel Monroe interrogates the appeal of true crime through four narratives of fixation. In the 1940s, a frustrated heiress began creating dollhouse crime scenes depicting murders, suicides, and accidental deaths. Known as the “Mother of Forensic Science,” she revolutionized the field of what was then called legal medicine. In the aftermath of the Manson Family murders, a young woman moved into Sharon Tate’s guesthouse and, over the next two decades, entwined herself with the Tate family. In the mid-nineties, a landscape architect in Brooklyn fell in love with a convicted murderer, the supposed ringleader of the West Memphis Three, through an intense series of letters. After they married, she devoted her life to getting him freed from death row. And in 2015, a teenager deeply involved in the online fandom for the Columbine killers planned a mass shooting of her own.
Each woman, Monroe argues, represents and identifies with a particular archetype that provides an entryway into true crime. Through these four cases, she traces the history of American crime through the growth of forensic science, the evolving role of victims, the Satanic Panic, the rise of online detectives, and the long shadow of the Columbine shooting. In a combination of personal narrative, reportage, and a sociological examination of violence and media in the twentieth and twenty-first century, Savage Appetites scrupulously explores empathy, justice, and the persistent appeal of violence.
MY REVIEW:
Rachel Monroe is a woman after my own heart. As she described her visit to the premiere True Crime Conference called CrimeCon in 2018, I was green with envy. Living outside the city of Toronto, Ontario in Canada, there was just no feasible way for me to attend such an event, especially since it takes place quite a distance from my home.
Rachel Monroe has taken it upon herself to dig into the “why” of the appeal of True Crime to women and to explore the possible reasons.
Any female of my generation (I am 47) who are interested in this subject probably grew up reading Nancy Drew and maybe even The Hardy Boys. Rachel states that: “This detective impulse first burbled up in [her] early, say around age eight.” Reading these words, I wanted to shout out loud, “Me too!”
The book focuses on four very different women, from different times, but, who all had an interest in crime and murder. Their reasons are as varied as possible, yet they are all tied together by the singular theme of True Crime.
I couldn’t believe I had never heard of France’s Glessner Lee. Sure, she was a child of the 1890s, and grew up “… Living in a mansion on Chicago’s ‘Millionaire’s Row.” But still, she was a role model for other women in adulthood and smashed through gender barriers that would have seemed impenetrable to other women of her time. I am impressed and glad that I now know about her. Thank you Rachel Monroe!
The author talks about the Manson murders which have been excessively covered, and yet the way she presents this crime is less about Manson, and more about how the crime changed so many things and so many people.
She speaks about the murder of Taylor Behl in 2005 which happened in her town. Rachel says “Part of what I was looking for, I realized, was overlap, all the ways she and I were similar. There was a troubling pleasure in thinking about how I could have been her, or she could have been me… It felt good, in a bad way, to think about my own proximity to violence. To imagine my life as a near miss.”
Rachel also addresses a phenomenon that has always perplexed me – that of women who “date” and/or marry men serving life sentences in prison. This section is a must read.
I even learned a new word:
HYBRISTOPHOLIA – the attraction to someone who has committed murder.
I never knew there was a word for it, but, in this day and age, I should not have been surprised.
All in all, Author Rachel Monroe has gone deep down many rabbit holes in her research for this book. She extensively studied so many factors that it is amazing she was able to whittle them down into a cohesive and compelling whole.
I rate SAVAGE APPETITES as 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and because of it’s subject matter, I forsee it becoming a book that is widely read. Perhaps she will have her own following at CrimeCon 2020. . *** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Photograph by Emma Rogers
Rachel Monroe is a writer and volunteer firefighter living in Marfa, Texas.
Her work has appeared in The Best American Travel Writing 2018, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, and elsewhere.
To learn more about this author, visit the following links:
Lee, who died in 1962, called her miniatures “nutshell studies” because the job of homicide investigators, according to a phrase she had picked up from detectives, is to “convict the guilty, clear the innocent and find the truth in a nutshell.”
“She became the first female police captain in the country, and she was regarded as an expert in the field of homicide investigation,” exhibit curator Nora Atkinson says.
When Lee was building her macabre miniatures, she was a wealthy heiress and grandmother in New Hampshire who had spent decades reading medical textbooks and attending autopsies. Police departments brought her in to consult on difficult cases, and she also taught forensic science seminars at Harvard Medical School, Atkinson says. Lee painstakingly constructed the dioramas for her seminars, basing them on real-life cases but altering details to protect the victims’ privacy.
“She was very particular about exactly how dolls ought to appear to express social status and the way [the victims] died,” Atkinson says.
“If a doll has a specific discoloration, it’s scientifically accurate — she’s reproducing the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and positioning them based on when rigor mortis took effect.”
Tiny details in the scenes matter too. For example, fibers on one doll’s wounds match those on a nearby door frame.
At the Renwick exhibit, visitors will be given magnifying glasses and flashlights to conduct their own homicide investigations, but don’t ask museum staff for help — the scenes are still used in annual training seminars, so their secrets are closely guarded.
TRY TO DEDUCE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 11 ITEMS POINTED OUT BELOW …
Frances Glessner Lee built the miniature rooms pictured here, which together make up her piece “Three-Room Dwelling,” around 1944-46.This is a puzzling case – – – – A beautiful woman lays shot to death in her bed, her clean-cut, pajama-clad husband lies next to the bed, also fatally shot. – Their baby was shot as she slept in her crib. – Blood is spattered everywhere. -All the doors are locked from the inside, meaning the case is likely a double homicide/suicide. – But something isn’t right. The murder weapon is nowhere near the doll corpses – instead the gun is in another room???
1. Lee used red nail polish to make pools and splatters of blood.
What details can you discover?
2. Lee crocheted this tiny teddy bear herself, so that future investigators might wonder how it landed in the middle of the floor.
3. The pattern on the floor of this room has faded over time, making the spent shotgun shell easier to find.
4. Lee knit this runner and sewed the toy chairs on it in this exact state of disarray.
5. The bedroom window is open. Could it be a sign of forced entry?
6. Lee would paint charms from bracelets to create some prop items. Others she bought from dollhouse manufacturers.
7. The table settings are sewn into place to indicate an orderly, prosperous family.
8. There’s one big clue in clear view in this room
9. Lee sewed the clothes worn by her figurines, selecting fabrics that signified their social status and state of mind. In some cases, she even tailor-made underwear for them.
10. The doll heads and arms were antique German porcelain doll parts that were commercially available. Lee would create the bodies herself, often with lead shot in them.
Leave your guess in the comments and I will come back and discuss it with you. In your comments post any clues or abnormalities in the scenes that you find.
A FEW MORE PICTURES OF THE “NUTSHELL” MINIATURE CRIME SCENES:
Every element of the dioramas—from the angle of miniscule bullet holes, the placement of latches on widows, the patterns of blood splatters, and the discoloration of painstakingly painted miniature corpses—challenges trainees’ powers of observation and deduction. The Nutshells are so effective that they are still used in training seminars today at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore.
Showcasing the Nutshells at the Renwick allows visitors to appreciate them as works of art and material culture in addition to understanding their importance as forensic tools, and to see Lee’s genius for telling complex stories through the expressive potential of simple materials. While the Nutshells represent composites of real and extremely challenging cases featuring homicides, suicides, and accidental deaths, Lee imagined and designed each setting herself. She was both exacting and highly creative in her pursuit of detail—knitting tiny stocking by hand with straight pins, hand-rolling tiny tobacco-filled cigarettes and burning the ends, writing tiny letters with a single-hair paintbrush, and creating working locks for windows and doors.
The exhibition also highlights the subtly subversive quality of Lee’s work, especially the way her dioramas challenge the association of femininity with domestic bliss and upend the expected uses for miniature making, sewing, an other crafts considered to be “women’s work.” Also evident is her purposeful focus on society’s “invisible victims,” whose cases she championed. Lee was devoted to the search for truth and justice for everyone, and she often featured victims such as women, the poor, and and people living on the fringes of society, whose cases might be overlooked or tainted with prejudice on the part of the investigator. She wanted trainees to recognize and overcome any unconscious biases and to treat each case with rigor, regardless of the victim.
As the Nutshells are still active training tools, the solutions to each remain secret. However, the crime scene “reports” (written by Lee to accompany each case) given to forensic trainees are presented alongside each diorama to encourage visitors to approach the Nutshells the way an investigator would.
Nutshell “Kitchen” Picture # 1Nutshell “Kitchen” Picture # 2 Even the curtains perfectly match the original crime scene Nutshell “Kitchen” Picture # 3 The tiny rolling pin, the clock on the window sill and even miniature tea towels hang in this precise representation of the original scene
Dioramas or “Nutshells” as the creator of them referred to them, photographs were obtained from the website of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Taylor Behl was a 17-year-old freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, left her dormitory room Sept. 5, 2005 to give her roommate some privacy with her boyfriend. She took with her a cell phone, some cash, a student ID and her car keys. She was never seen alive again.
To learn more about the murder of Taylor Behl, click HERE.
A quick, easy, and educational comic book guide that will help change the way we talk about sex and sexuality for all bodies.
“This guide can help disabled people (and their partners) on their journey toward self-love, better communication, and confidence.” –– Alice Wong, Founder and Director, Disability Visibility Project
All different kinds of bods want to connect with other bods, but lots of them get left out of the conversation when it comes to
S-E-X.
As explained by disabled cartoonist A. Andrews, this easy-to-read guide covers the basics of disability sexuality, common myths about disabled bodies, communication tips, and practical suggestions for having the best sexual experience possible. Whether you yourself are disabled, you love someone who is, or you just want to know more, consider this your handy starter kit to understanding disability sexuality, and your path to achieving accessible (and fulfilling) sex.
Part of the bestselling and critically acclaimed A Quick & Easy Guide series from Limerence Press, an imprint of Oni Press.
MY REVIEW:
So, why read a book about sex, and specifically disabled sex, by someone who is not an “Expert?”
The answer to that is: To avoid the typically clinical and frustratingly BORING books on this topic written by supposed “experts.” I have read many books and magazine articles written by non-disabled “experts” and those were all so ‘dry’ they even managed to make sex seem boring and much of the information is, at best irrelevant, at worst dangerously flawed. To take the advice of someone who has never had to live with a disability, is unwise in my opinion. Realistically, how could they know anything about it?
As a queer person living with a disability, A. Andrews is much more qualified to discuss issues surrounding sex & disability than any able-bodied ‘expert.’
I love that the author acknowledges that many people do not think of disabled people as sexual beings, and that they acknowledge the squeamishness with which some people react to this topic. It is a ridiculous notion and I am happy that the author confronts it head-on.
According to the author, “All disability presents differently. They are all valid, real, and have unique needs and considerations.”
That said, this book focuses on sex for people with physical disabilities. After all, that is what the author deals with personally, which is why they are qualified to discuss it. It would have been a ridiculously long book if sex for every type of disability were to be discussed.
The emphasis placed on communication is great advice which applies to everyone, disabled or not. Included are some suggestions as to how not to offend a disabled partner. The illustrations depict a person asking or saying something offensive and offers a way to ask/say it in a nonoffensive way. I have never seen such awesome advice so succinctly shown before. I have to say that I am extremely impressed. Kudos to Author/Illustrator A. Andrews for including such valuable advice.
Let’s face it. There are many different types of people and therefore there are many types of sexual partners. This book is designed as a resource for all genders, races, and for any and all sexual persuasions. The illustrations reflect that reality. They depict many different body types, genders, races, as well as different types of physical disabilities.
The illustrations are not sexually explicit, but sex positions are depicted. When positions are shown, there are no views of genetalia. In most illustrations, the people depicted are wearing underwear or are fully clothed. There is a single page containing illustrations of sexual aids, some of which are shaped like male genetalia (but in a tasteful way.)
In my humble opinion, I believe every physically disabled person who is thinking about and/or planning to become (or continue to be) sexually active needs to purchase one or more copies of this graphic novel. It could be casually placed on the coffee table where the potential partner(s) is sure to see it, thus creating the perfect opportunity to begin the dialogue necessary. It would also be an amazing resource to share with anyone who participates in your care. This graphic novel should be available in every local library and every physical rehabilitation center in North America and beyond. In fact, I am planning to speak to my local library as well as at the few physiotherapy clinics near my home.
I rate A QUICK & EASY GUIDE TO SEX & DISABILITY as
5+ Out Of 5 STARS (The highest rating I Can Give.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A. Andrews is a queer and disabled cartoonist living and working in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a near decade stay in New York City.
They grew up in the Pacific Northwest sketching in hospitals, and are the creator of the Autostraddle webcomic Oh, Hey! It’s Alyssa!
When they’re not drawing their guts out, they are hanging out with their dog, George, and drinking too many coffees.
To learn more about this author, visit the following links:
Oni Press is a premier comic book and graphic novel publisher located in Portland, Oregon.
Established in 1997, Oni Press’s curated line includes a variety of award-winning original and licensed comic books and graphic novels, including: Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty™, Nickelodeon’s Invader ZIM, Scott Pilgrim, Queen & Country, Courtney Crumrin, Wasteland, The Sixth Gun, Stumptown, Wet Moon, Letter 44, The Bunker, The Life After, The Coldest City, and Kaijumax.
To learn more about Oni Press, visit the following links:
Check out this Exclusive Excerpt from Fake It ‘Til You Break It by Meagan Brandy
———————————————-
Her little nose scrunches. “Don’t be a dick.”
“Don’t ask questions you know the answer to.” I shrug. “Why would couples stand off to the side or walk away from groups and shit like that?”
She purses her lips, giving a sassy, “Privacy.”
“Exactly.” I shift her more, so they can’t see my face. “Right now, at least half of them are staring right at us, each one thinking something along the lines of how bad you must need me, or how hard I must be for you, if we have to take a few extra minutes to ourselves before we can even consider sitting through a dinner with the rest of them.”
She attempts to glance over her shoulder, so I shoot my hand up, catching her chin before she can, my fingers spreading along her jaw and neck in the same move.
Damn if she doesn’t even flinch.
I continue. “The girls are wondering what filthy things I’m promising to do to you later when you come to my room, you are coming to my room by the way.” Her eyes narrow, but it’s playful as hell. “The guys are wondering if you’re biting into your bottom lip, if your eyes are growing darker, and wishing they knew what that looked like, knowing they’ll never get the chance now that you’re mine.”
“Wow,” she teases, purposefully breathy. “You really think you’ve got this whole prepped and ready thing down.”
A laugh escapes me before I can squash it, and I tug her a little closer.
She stares a long moment. “So, I’m challenged with convincing everyone your mood swings turn me on?”
“And I get to be the possessive boyfriend who doesn’t want you outta arm’s reach.”
“Get to?” She smashes her lips to the side, tryin’ real hard not to let her grin slip.
“Get. To. D.”
“What makes you think possessive is what I’d like?”
A light chuckle leaves me, and I lick my lips, leaning into her as I slowly slide my arms down. When she doesn’t budge, my palms slip a little lower, now resting just below her waist, my pinkies propped on her ass cheeks.
She inhales, waiting.
“Demi,” I whisper. “I tell you right now, the last thing you want is a pussy ass dude who won’t push you. You’re too smart, too independent for a doormat of a guy, and too strong to ever be one yourself. You’ll take charge… but you’ll like it more when I do.”
——————————————
Coming February 5th, A Brand New Standalone !!!!
Have you added Fake It ‘Til You Break It to your TBR ?
Research librarian Savannah Sanderson wants nothing more than to escape into her happily-ever-after novels with their larger-than-life fictional heroes. But a promise to her late husband has her attending her dreaded twenty-year high school reunion, drinking ghastly punch, and taking desperate measures just to keep her vow, even if she has to hide behind the décor to do it.
Once a reckless troublemaker, Michael McCann fled town after graduation. Now a professional technical rescuer, he’s back for the reunion, but on his trip down memory lane, he soon comes face to face with unresolved issues, namely Savannah.
Before the night is over, a pact between these two old friends will lead them on an adventure into uncharted emotional territory where Michael must confront his past regrets and find the courage to reveal the truth. But can Savannah fly from her sheltered nest and risk her heart on a real-life hero?
Melony Teague is a co-author of As the Ink Flows: Devotions to Inspire Christian Writers & Speakers released in 2016 and finalist in The Word Awards. Melony Teague is a Freelance Writer, Ghostwriter, and Columnist. By her written words, she loves to bring more laughter to this crazy world.
Born in South Africa, she stepped onto a plane to start a new life in Toronto, Canada in 1999. She loves to uncover stories hiding in plain view, but they are remarkable nonetheless. She believes that everyone has a story to tell…and sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
As a freelance writer and journalist, she is an editorial contributor for various newspapers and magazines in the Greater Toronto Area and wrote guest columns on issues pertaining to the community. Melony handles Communications for a Non-Profit Organization in Canada and is a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers)
Watch for her debut novel, A Promise to Keep, Available To PreOrder NOW.
Melony lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, two teens and two cats.
To learn more about this Author, visit the following links:
Sixteen-year-old Nate is a Gem—a Genetically Engineered Medical Surrogate—created by Gathos City scientists as a cure for the elite from the fatal lung rot ravaging the population. As a child, Nate was smuggled out of the laboratory where he was held captive and into the Withers—a quarantined, lawless region. He manages to survive by becoming a Tinker, fixing broken tech in exchange for food or a safe place to sleep. When he meets Reed, a kind and fiercely protective boy that makes his heart race, and his misfit gang of scavengers, Nate finds the family he’s always longed for—even if he can’t risk telling them what he is.
But Gathos created a genetic failsafe in their Gems—a flaw in their DNA that causes their health to rapidly deteriorate as they age unless they are regularly dosed with medication controlled by Gathos City. When violence erupts across the Withers, Nate’s illegal supply of medicine is cut off, and a vicious attack on Reed threatens to expose his secret. With time running out, Nate is left with only two options: work for a shadowy terrorist organization that has the means to keep him alive, or stay—and die—with the boy he loves. . .
MY REVIEW:
“His kind had been developed by scientists to fight the lung-rot outbreak, and later — when the lung-rot was gone — to be used up. Harvested by the wealthy. Kept endlessly asleep or left awake to participate in the horror of it. At least that’s what people said when they whispered about GEMs…Genetically Engineered Medi-tissue. He wasn’t supposed to be here.”
Nate is sixteen and an abomination. At least, that is what he had been told. He knew he wasn’t like everyone else in the Withers. He was starving and scraping together a meager existence, just like everyone else who had the bad luck to live in The Withers – a slum filled with people who would not hesitate to kill you for food, or for anything they could use to trade for Chem to feed their addiction.
Nate knew that if the members of his gang discovered he was a GEM, they would either kill him for putting their lives in danger, or they would turn him over to the Breakers – never to be seen again. He didn’t want to put his friend’s lives in danger, especially Reed’s, but he loved being a gang member, they were the closest thing he had to a family. And, although he had never admitted it out loud, he not only loved Reed, he was also IN LOVE with him.
Just surviving the streets of The Withers was challenge enough, but Nate had another problem, his genetically engineered DNA (and that of all GEMs) had been modified so that his body would deteriorate and he would perish before ever reaching adulthood. He needed to find a way to survive, and he knew it would not be easy.
The world-building in FRAGILE REMEDY is second to none. With vivid descriptions of the slums known as The Withers so descriptive it is impossible not to form pictures of it in your mind. I love the fact that the world in which Nate lives is comprised of islands, and instead of water separating each island, and each social class, from the other, there is a vast ocean of toxic sludge which is fatal once submersed in it.
There are numerous parallels between our own society and the issues planet Earth is currently experiencing to the world of FRAGILE REMEDY. For example:
The society in FRAGILE REMEDY is segregated between the ‘Haves’ and the ‘Have Nots.’ The high class citizens live in the Towers of Gathos City and never leave their perfect lives to see how anyone else lives. It is these people who create and keep GEMs so that they can extend their own lives by using the GEMs blood and body parts. This may sound far fetched, but cloning already exists, and stem cells are already being used in medical treatments. Is it really so unbelievable that in humanity’s quest to extend human lives, something like creating a clone for the purpose of using ‘it’ as a personal organ bank may be inevitable.
Of course, it would be expensive to create a clone, so only the uber-rich would be able to afford such a luxury, thus creating another socioeconomic division amongst the world’s population.
Once the clones are created, the rich clone owners would want to protect their assets. This could easily lead to physical segregation similar to that of the islands on which Nate has spent the entirety of his sixteen years of life.
ADDICTION is another of the central themes of FRAGILE REMEDY. Instead of being addicted to alcohol or opiods, the addicts in this story are fiends for a substance known as Chem. “They’d all been regular people once. People who’d made choices – good and bad. Chem had wrenched those choices out of their hands.”
Another theme is HOPE. In FRAGILE REMEDY, Nate may not have many possessions, and he is aware that he will die sooner rather than later, but he still has hope. He hopes that he can do some good before he dies. He hopes that Reed feels the same way about Nate as Nate feels about Reed. And in a wider sense, the inhabitants of The Withers scrounge a meager living on a daily basis, but they still have hope that at some point, the doors to Gathos City will open to admit them.
I love the fact that the characters in this story are diverse and multi-faceted. Sparks is Trans, Nate is Gay, Alden is Queer, and other characters are Cisgender. Skin color is so rarely mentioned that I chose to believe that it was not a factor in their society.
Central to the story and to life in both Gathos City and in The Withers is the ethics of cloning as well as the question of what it is that truly makes a person human. With the increasingly complex technology and the numerous companies and laboratories working on the advancement of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence,)
There are plots and subplots, there are individual histories for each character, there is the storyline where their lives intersect. There are romances and romantic entanglements that will satisfy even the most diehard romantic. And, finally, there is the theme of Family, and the fact that sometimes the people you choose to invest your emotions in make a more loyal family than those who share your DNA.
I started reading this book yesterday morning and was unable (and unwilling) to put it down. I spent twelve straight hours reading FRAGILE REMEDY and they were hours well spent.
There is only one rating I would even consider giving to this book and that is the best possible one. So, I rate FRAGILE REMEDY as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and am sincerely hoping that author MARIA INGRANDE MORA is planning to write additional books in this series. I will be first in line to grab a copy of any book she writes.
*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book *** . .
FAVORITE QUOTES:
“He [Nate] longed for the simplicity of believing in something good. He’d seen too much of the bad to have faith.” . “He had no right to love Reed. But the soft, private smile on Reed’s lips when their eyes met still sent a current of affection through him.” . “Nate approached slowly, the way hungry kids stalked sludge-rats.” . “‘They’ll make him sleep like they do in Gathos City.’ His voice went ragged. ‘They’ll cut him apart. What were you thinking coming here?'” . “I feel the need to remind you that my grandmother also believed that the cockroaches in her bedroom were trying to get a look at her knickers.” . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Maria Ingrande Mora (she/her) is Content Director at Big Sea, a digital marketing agency in St. Petersburg, Florida. A graduate of the University of Florida, she has been working in digital media since 2002. Maria specializes in identifying brand narratives and translating them into messaging that doesn’t feel like marketing.
Maria is the single mom of a tween and a teen, and the roomate of two cats and two dogs.
She identifies as bisexual, and hopes that it isn’t super weird of her to outright say, because representation and visibility matter.
If she isn’t writing, revising, or at work, please tell her to go to bed.
To learn more about this author, visit the following links:
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down.
Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in
whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come
straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients’ lives—a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life
on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can’t stop hooking up with the wrong guys—she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.
With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient,
examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love
and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.
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MY REVIEW:
Listening to YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE by Lori Gottlieb on audiobook was the perfect way to experience her witty writing style.
Lori truly brings readers into her world. Not only does she allow us to be a ‘fly-on-the-wall’ of her therapy sessions with her patients, but she also does something that I don’t think has ever been done before. That is, that she not only invites the reader into the intimate details of her patient’s lives, she also welcomes the reader into her own world and her own therapy sessions. This allows the reader to feel a deep connection with the author, one that is unique in the realm of memoirs and biographies.
Speaking about her expertise, Lori Gottlieb says, “I believe that of all my credentials, my most significant is that I’m a card-carrying member of the human race.”
That might sound strange to some, but it is Author Lori Gottlieb’s gift of humanity/empathy, and human connection, as well as her education and study of psychology that allows readers to emotionally connect with her.
Lori navigates the story-telling aspect of her patient’s therapy sessions with respect and is still able to tell their stories in detail. She also admits that even though she is a therapist, she is also a patient who attends therapy herself.
In my opinion, the fact that Lori participates in therapy sessions with her own therapist means that she is better equipped to understand the experience from both a clinical and a personal perspective.
Narrator BRITTANY PRESSLEY is the perfect choice of narrator as she has a gift for making the reader feel as if she is talking directly to them. Her inflections are spot on, and she narrates the humorous portions of the stories with professionalism. Brittany’s experience (she has narrated over 100+ audiobooks) allows the reader/listener to relax and enjoy each tale.
My favorite quote from the book is:
“We can’t have change without loss, which is why so often people say they want change but nonetheless stay exactly the same.”
I purchased this audiobook at AUDIBLE.COM
I rate the narration as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I rate the story/content as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall, I rate this audiobook as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone”, which is being adapted as a television series with Eva Longoria. In addition to her clinical practice, she writes The Atlantic’s weekly “Dear Therapist” advice column and contributes to The New York Times and many other publications.
A member of the Advisory Council for Bring Change 2 Mind and a contributing editor for the Atlantic, she has written hundreds of articles related to psychology and culture, many of which have become viral sensations.
She is a sought-after expert on relationships, parenting, and hot-button mental health topics in media such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show, CNN, The New York Times, and NPR’s “Fresh Air.”
To learn more about this author, visit the following links:
Talking about doing therapy via Skype LORI GOTTLIEB says “It’s like doing therapy with a condom on.”
For film or television inquiries, please contactMichell Weiner(film) orOliviaBlaustein(television) at CAA.
For speaking or event inquiries, please contactCharles Yaoat The Lavin Agency.
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ABOUT THE NARRATOR:
BRITTANY PRESSLEY is an Audiofile Earphones award winning narrator in NYC.
She has recorded over 100 titles and has received several nominations for American Library Association’s annual list of Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults.
She is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and voice actress.
Her voice can be heard on national and international TV and radio commercials as well as several animated series and video games.
AGE & GENDER REPERTOIRE:
– Female young adult
– Female adult
– Female teenager
– Child
Additional vocal abilities:
– Child voices
– British accent
– Russian accent
– Southern accent
– valley girl
– New York including: Long Island and Queens accent
– Britney Spears
EXPERIENCE:
– Working professional voice actor. – 100+ audiobooks.
– Awards including Audiofile Magazine Earphones award
– Commercials for Wendy’s, DSW, Speedo, Target.
– Cast member on multiple animated children’s television shows.
TRAINING:
– Commercial and voice over training @ Actors Connection, NYC
– Music Production techniques, @ Columbia University
EQUIPMENT:
My home studio is well equipped with:
– a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.
– Sound isolation booth
– Logic Pro
BRITTANY is also a very experienced singer, songwriter and session vocalist.
Click HERE to listen to Brittany narrate a section of THE CROWN by Kiera Cass
Want to listen to Brittany narrating a terrific middle-grade novel called THE LAND OF YESTERDAY by K.A. REYNOLDS? Click HERE.
To learn more about this Narrator, visit the following links:
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