Sunday, December 17, 2017

BOOK REVIEW # 2017-041 - SNOWBEARD the PIRATE and the NAUGHTY LIST


I received a signed hardcover copy of this book along with its accompanying CD from the author through a giveaway he recently had on GoodReads, and the following is my honest opinion.

We all remember growing up our parents kept on telling us about Santa and how he keeps tabs on us with everything we do each day. They told us as Christmas approaches he keeps checking and rechecking his lists to make sure each child is on the correct list; the nice list and the naughty list. While we knew Santa spent the entire night going to every good boy’s and girl’s home where he’d leaved a nice gift; we never knew anything about how the naughty gifts got delivered to those naughty boys and girls.

Chip Huddleton, in this, his debut children’s book, has successfully attempted to clear this mystery up for his young readers and some of their parents. It appears Santa has a brother, the black sheep of his family, who he enlists to handle the naughty gift giving to the children on his naughty list.  Santa’s brother is Snowbeard, a pirate whose home is in the Florida Keys.

Snowbeard had been reluctant at first, but his brother’s jovial manner finally convinces him to undertake the task. With the rotten old fruitcake Santa gave him and private toys made by his crew loaded onto a huge jolly-boat that will be pulled by a team of eight now-flying sharks, thanks to Santa’s magical pixie dust, Snowbeard takes off, following the route his brother gave him.

Santa had an alternative motive for plotting the course the way he did. Even though his brother was actually on the naughty list, he wanted to give his brother a nice gift for helping him the way he did. What the gift is I’m not going to say, what it was is in the book.  

While I could have easily read this book as an adult, I used the accompanying CD.  The addition of the music, sea shanties, and carols heard in the interludes between the actual story totally enriched the experience of having the book read to me by the author, who used his talents to give an authentic private voice to the story as well as its characters.

In the end there’s no way I can give the author, Chip Huddleston, or this book anything less the 5 STARS I’ve given it; wish I would have been able to give it 10 STARS.






Sunday, December 10, 2017

HAIKU HORIZONS # 25 - OCEAN


Here is this week’s prompt from the Haiku Horizon site which is “OCEAN” and here are my three Haiku response endeavors:  



The ocean is blue
There lover’s beau is sailing
Wanting him home safe.

Ocean of tears flow
A woman’s emotions show
Her husband’s now dead.

There’s but one ocean
But it has more than one name
Please explain reason

I would love to get your feedback here.


Friday, December 8, 2017

ROBIN LEIGH MORGAN'S PROMOTION/MARKETING IDEA # 23

If there's one thing any author wants to do, it's to get people to know who they are. And they want to do it in an efficient manner.

One way to do this is to open an account at about.me. On this site you can continuously update your bio and all of your books, your blog sites, etc. Once you have it completed you can then place a link to this site on your Twitter account, add the link to your signature when you send out an email message to name two. 

To see what I'm talking about regarding Twitter, you're invited to check out my account there:  

 
The about.me link is on the left, right below my location.



ROBIN LEIGH MORGAN'S PROMOTIONAL/MARKETING IDEA # 22

Summaries are important in whetting a potential reader's interest enough so they'll decide to buy a copy of your book.  This being the
case make sure the summary is catchy.

Sunday, December 3, 2017

STATUS REPORT # 120


This week I’m going to be rather brief.

To begin with Amazon just changed a badge they had given me.  Originally, they’d given me one for being an ENTHUSIAST for TRUE CRIME BOOKS. Now, they’ve given me one for being a TOP CONTRIBUTOR for the same genre. Wish they’d given me for ROMANCE.

Today, Sunday, December 3, 2017, I completed my GoodReads Reading Challenge for 200 books; in fact, at this moment I’ve got 201 reviews written. This is the third time I’ve taken the challenge and have completed it.

If you’re looking to give a book as a gift to someone, a family or even yourself, I’d love for you to consider giving one of my books.


In additional, I’d love for you consider getting a copy of one of the first books I had the pleasure of reviewing, “A Lesson My Cat Taught Me” by Saul Weber. It’s a wonderful award-winning book which teaches its young readers [5 – 8] about the acceptance of others for who they are, and not what they are.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IJKFKW6 

If anyone is interest in the review I wrote for this book here is the link:





Saturday, December 2, 2017

BOOK REVIEW # 2017-040 - SEASONAL SHENANIGANS


I’ve received an ARC [Advanced Reader’s Copy] of this book from one of the authors, and the following is my honest opinion.

While all of us look at Valentine’s Day, February 14th, to be a special time for romance, whether it be a first love or a second chance one, every woman is longing to find that special guy, a guy she can have her long desired HEA with; most of us have forgotten that the holiday season about Christmas as being the second most popular day for romances to come into bloom. The holiday season includes the Winter Solstice, Chanukah [there’s multiple “correct” spellings] and of course Christmas; and this wonderful holiday anthology with 14 well known and loved romance authors cover all three of these holidays.

I truly love to read anthologies, especially when romance is a key element to each story, and when you add in the winter holidays, as I’ve said in the above, how can you go wrong.

This anthology offers a wide spectrum of all the romantic subgenres we love to read, from those sweet love at first sight to a hot, steamy, BDSM, how can you go wrong. Animal lovers get a chance to read how an abandoned box of kittens brings two neighbors together when the woman is at a lost at what to do with them. Sci-fi romance lovers get two chances to read their favorite genres, one where the two protagonists are on a spaceport, and the second involving two strangers up against aliens out to ravage the Earth’s resources. Can Kismet bring two individuals together, well if you love this type of story there’s something there for you as well.

As you can see there’s a strong possibility you’ll love reading at least a few of them, and at a price of 99 cents for 14 short stories, it’s a can’t lose situation. This anthology offers romance readers a chance to venture into reading a romance subgenre they’ve haven’t read before, and to possibly enjoy discovering authors they’ve never read anything from before.

So if you read only one story a day, depending on the holiday, these stories will either get you through the holiday, to the holiday itself, or get you into the spirit for the holiday for when it actually arrives

All in all, given what I’ve written in the above; I’m happy to give all the authors and the short stories they’ve contributed to this collection 5 STARS and hope you’ll enjoy reading what I’ve read.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and your families !!!  😊 😊 😊

HUGS and KISSES to everyone.

NOTE: This book releases on December 7, 2017

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

STAUS REPORT # 119


EGADS !!!



I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last status report and that I hadn’t posted an updated report when my revised debut romance novel got released again.  So, with the holidays approaching why not give that young girl in your family a sweet MG/YA paranormal romance novel, “I Kissed a Ghost” to read. The book is available as a paperback, a KINDLE, as well as a KINDLE  Unlimited.






After it the paperback edition got released on 10/16/2017 and the KINDLE being released on 10/27/2017 I had to begin heavily promoting it.



Working on getting it re-released and personal matters hindered my ability to read/review books the way I usually do; and by the time the released had occurred I got to be about 12-14 books behind making my GoodReads Reading Challenge goal for this year of 200 books.



Along with the promoting of the book, I decided to work on the next endeavor I’d like to self-publish. This endeavor comes from my steamier, erotic side. So far from my last status report, I’ve totally re-read the entire manuscript slowly and made quite a few changes, and have written an additional three chapters; and as it stands now I’ve got about 27,000 words, 22 chapters with 114 pages [I type my manuscripts, single-space, with each page measuring 6” x 9”, the same size as I would be using for my book.]



In addition, during this same time, I went into high gear trying to make my GoodReads goal of 200 books, and as of today I’ve read and have written reviews for 25 books, and now only need 5 more books to reach my goal.



If anyone is considering giving a book as a gift for someone, or even a book for yourself, you’re invited to check out the 660 reviews I’ve got on Amazon.com:






With things beginning to finally settle down, I can return to posting the other types of items I’d posted in the past.



ALL THE BEST to you and your families.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

HAIKU HORIZON # 24 - ICE


Here is this week’s prompt from the Haiku Horizon site which is “ICE” and here are my three Haiku response endeavors:  






Heart no longer warm

My true love cheated on me

Heart now cold as ice



The cold has arrived

If the lake freezes solid

We’ll go ice skating



Don’t put ice in drinks

It will only dilute them

They’re already cold



I would love to get your feedback here.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

BOOK REVIEW # 2017-039 - MURDER AND MAYHEM

Having received a True Crime Enthusiast badge from Amazon on my profile should server as an indication for one of my favorite genres to read/review. So, when I hear about this marvelous collection of 20 stories of murder and bedlam on September 23rd, I didn’t hesitate to pre-order it.

While these stories might not be true, they’re sure to pique my desire to read about ingenuous crimes, dreadful murders, mysteries able to cause heart palpitations, and not to forget about plot twists will make one wonder what did I miss or what’s going to happen next.

With 20 stories, from those involving international spies and high-tech surveillance to small, hometown whodunnits and conventional page-turning courtroom dramas [like Perry Mason] to those hardboiled detectives like Mike Hammer or Sam Spade, you’re given a collection of extraordinary protagonists going up against incredible odds in stories which have all written by awarding winning or best-selling USA Today authors.

Who knows what evil lives in the hearts of men? After reading these stories you might just might find out.

For having given their readers this unforgettable anthology of stories at an unbeatable price, I’m happy to give this book and their authors, the 5 STARS in definitely deserves.


AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/R2VWGSSLMNP4YM

Saturday, November 4, 2017

ROBIN LEIGH MORGAN'S PROMOTIONAL/MARKETING IDEA # 21


This is another idea in my attempt to catch up with not having posted any for a long while.

We all get reviews for our books. While some merely stated that someone has loved your book, others go into more depth and can be quite fantastic. Keep track of these reviews, copy the URL link for these reviews and use them in your promotional tweets on Twitter, FaceBook and anywhere else you feel like to use them.

ROBIN LEIGH MORGAN'S PROMOTIONAL/MARKETING IDEA # 20


This is another area I’ve been negligent in not doing any postings for in a long, long while. So, I’m going to give you guys a few today.



First up:



Try to figure out your budget in order to see how much of it you’re willing to save for the advertising endeavors for your book[s]. If you’re unable to spend any money for it at the present time, consider using a free option.

HAIKU HORIZON # 23 - TREAT



I know it’s been a long while since I’ve last posted one of these, but with the re-released of my debut romance, a sweet MG/YA Paranormal entitled “I Kissed a Ghost” things have finally gotten back to normal.



So, here’s this week’s prompt from the Haiku Horizon site which is “TREAT” and here are my three Haiku response endeavors:  




Oh, to be a dog

Doing tricks for my owner  

She gives me a treat



It’s Halloween time

Trick or treat gets me candy

Eat too much – get sick



Anniversary

Hubby must give me big treat

Just for being wife.



Would really love to get your feedback

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

BOOK REVIEW # 2017-038 - IF MY MOON WAS YOUR SUN


I received a hard-cover ARC copy of this book, along with its accompanying cd consisting of the book’s text with its incidental music between chapters, from the publisher; and the following is my honest opinion, which I’ve broken down into several segments.



This is the first book I’ve read which has been translated from its original German text. The reason I’m mentioning this is that German had been my secondary major to my primary one of Sociology. Given the intended age group for this book of 8 – 12, I figured the original German should be easy enough for me to translate, which is what I did. When I listened to the audio for the text for the book’s first paragraph, I found much to my delight that the translator, Matthew O. Anderson, didn’t merely translate the book into English, he endeavored to capture the nuances of language which the author wanted to communicate to his readers.



I know I could have easily read this book, however I wanted to experience the impact having the book read to me for a change would feel like. Needless to say, I found the experience to be quite satisfying, especially when you include the carefully selected classical music segments heard between each segment [chapter] which added a delightful embellishment to the entire reading experience.



Ms. Palmtag, the book’s illustrator, has done a marvelous in pairing her illustrations to the words of the book which further heighten the story itself.



As for the storyline itself, you’ve got the love the coupling of the innocence along with the love for his grandfather Max exhibited when he decided to kidnap him out of the nursing home so he could keep his grandfather close and not lose him. Not knowing anything about dementia Max thought he’s doing something good, but when he saw people from the home and his mother chasing everyone; including Ms. Schneider, another resident of the nursing home who came along for the ride, Max knew he had to stop and give up.



If you’ve got any doubt that this endeavor had to be a labor of love for the author, instead of being just another children’s book, read the interview with the author and illustrator at the end of the book. Considering all this, you can see why I’ve given this book the 5 STARS it so richly deserves.








Monday, October 30, 2017

IT'S FINALLY LIVE !!!


Sunday morning, I woke to find the revised KINDLE version of “I Kissed a Ghost” live on Amazon. While this might sound wonderful, the revised paper is listed separately with the old version of the KINDLE.  And it wasn’t until today that both the revised paperback and KINDLE editions are finally together.



Give the young girl in your family a sweet YA paranormal romance novel for Halloween   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076Y77RHD

If anyone does interviews on their sites, I’d love to be interviewed by you regarding myself and all of my writing endeavors.  I would greatly appreciate any and all support anyone can give me at this time.




Thursday, October 26, 2017

STATUS REPORT # 118


Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.



With the KINDLE version for the revised edition of my debut romance novel “I Kissed a Ghost” about to become available I had to decide where I should turn to next in regards to my romance writing. To begin it doesn’t really matter since I don’t have any funds available to move beyond the original writing phase for any of my endeavors. While my PROOF copy of this book took only 5 days for it to be printed and me to receive it; the 5 copies I ordered 9 days ago on Oct 17th have finally been shipped, and hopefully I’ll received them by the weekend.



Both my sweet side, Robin Leigh Morgan, and my erotic side, Kathryn Heart, both have two endeavors being worked on. I’ve got an adult Contemporary romance novel endeavor entitled “His Darkest Secret”; and a MG/YA Urban Fantasy novella with a back story of romance, entitled “The Secret of the Well,” which is also a stand-alone sequel to “I Kissed a Ghost.” And Kathryn has two GLBT/BDSM Erotic novella, the first being “The Transformation” with the second novella entitled “Becoming the Mother of the Bride.”



And after much consideration I’ve decided to alternate between the side and erotic side of my writing. Since “I Kissed a Ghost” has been from my sweet side the next endeavor I’d be working on will be:

“The Transformation” followed by

“His Darkest Secret” followed by

“Becoming the Mother of the Bride” followed by

“The Secret of the Well”



But unfortunately, even though I might to able to finish the writing of at least two of these endeavors I don’t possessed the funds to purchase the rest of the items necessary to bring them to fruition and available for purchase.



This means a lot of my time going forwards will be spent promoting the two books I currently have available.




Tuesday, October 17, 2017

STATUS REPORT # 117


Today’s update will be quite short.



Yesterday I finally received the proof copy for the re-edited version of my debut romance novel “I Kissed a Ghost,” in the early afternoon and I gave my approval around 4:30 PM EDT.



Today I’ve started the KINDLE Conversion process which will hopefully allow me to still start my promotional activities for Halloween. I’ve also ordered about 5 copies of the print copy; 2 copies of which are going to the US Copyright Office in Washington DC, 1 copy is for my personal use with the remaining 2 copies going to the GoodReads giveaway I plan to have: 1 for November and 1 for December.



As far as my book reviewing is concerned I’ve now written 631 reviews on Amazon with a Amazon Reviewer Ranking of 2,525.



This means after the next few days where I’ll be essentially, I’ll be returning to the manuscript for my adult Contemporary Romance, “His Darkest Secret,” which is approximately 88 % completed at the present time.




Wednesday, October 11, 2017

STATUS REPORT # 116


For the week prior to this past Monday has been somewhat of a small ordeal for me. Nothing serious but it has prevented me from moving forwards of the re-release of my debut romance novel, a MG/YA Paranormal entitled “I Kissed a Ghost.”



Today, I finally finished garnering the funds needed to give to CreateSpace to pay for the licensing fee to reuse the same cover I’d used for the original version of the book. However, when I spoke to the CreateSpace representative today, she told me everything including the licensing fee has already been paid. This means I’ll be getting my complimentary PROOF COPY in about a week to ten days, after which I can approve the print copy and I order the KINDLE conversion. Making the re-released of the book in time for some quick Halloween promotional activity.



Once this book becomes available and I do some heavy duty promotional activities, I decide to move on to my adult Contemporary romance novel entitled, “His Darkest Secret.” I estimate now I’m almost 90% completed with this endeavor. Once I’ve typed that elusive final period. I got to move my fund-raising activity into high gear.



I’ve finally be able to make progress on meeting my goal for this year’s GoodReads Reading Challenge. Where not too long ago I’d been about 20 books behind, as of today I’m 3 books ahead of schedule.


Tuesday, October 3, 2017

BOOK REVIEW # 2017-037 - THE OPTIMAL LIFE EXPERIENCE


I received an ARC [Advanced Reader’s Copy] mobi.file copy of this book from the author’s publisher through a giveaway they had on LibraryThing and the following is my honest opinion.

The author, Brian Vondruska, has done a marvelous job in communicating to his readers about what the optimal life experience is. Instead of just throwing out the information/answer haphazardly, he has done it in a methodically manner by dividing it into specific chapters [components], with each subsequent chapter building on what happen been presented it the previous one.

Essentially, achieving the so-call optimal life experience is not achieved solely by taking something it requires a give and take, a give and take which is both physically and mentally. Extracting a combination of psychological, philosophical, and economical ideas the author succeeds in completing the jigsaw puzzle of the totality for the experience of human life itself.

Out of the intricacies which life presents, readers are given an easy to follow path towards their feeling comfortable, healthy, or happy. This path is different from one person to the next. So, as each reader reads what is being presented to them, they develop their own individual path.

At the end of each chapter, the author has kindly given his readers a summary of what had been the intention for the chapter they’ve just read. If you ever wanted a book which would help you hack your way through the complexities of life itself, then this book would serve you well in reading it.

For wanting his readers to help find the answer to the sweet mystery of life itself, and have it be the optimal it can be, I’ve given Mr. Vondruska 5 STARS for his endeavor here.





UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1TRG962QFXYDI

Monday, October 2, 2017

STATUS REPORT # 115


Things are moving along slowly regarding completing the re-release of my debut MG/YA Paranormal romance novel, “I Kissed a Ghost.” Right now, I’ve approved the inner for the book and CreateSpace is finalizing that. Next comes the book’s cover which I’ve thought had been a done deal, since I’m using the same exact cover except for the ISBN number. But that isn’t the case, I’ve got to repurchase the cover’s design because the book is no longer using this number and has been assigned a new number. So, right now I’m waiting for CreateSpace to send me the cover again for my approval, which means I’ve got a chance to review any of the text on the back. Once I’ve approved this, they’re sending me a PROOF copy for my review and approval. It is at this point I can order the KINDLE conversion. Given this hopefully the book will be become available in its paperback, KINDLE and KINDLE Unlimited by October 15th. Just in time for Halloween.



My review of books has picked up its pace over the past few weeks, good enough that I’ve decided to restore my original goal for the 2017 GoodReads Reading Challenge back up to 200 books from its current 150 books goal.



Part of the time since my last status has been spent allowing my erotic side to do whatever needed to be done on its writing endeavors and promotional activities got itself.



Going forwards I’ve got to return posting some more marketing/promotional ideas.  I’m looking for my fellow romance authors who want to be interview for my two blogs on BlogSpot.com and WordPress.com. So, if anyone is interested please send me a DM on my Twitter account and if you’re not following me here on this blog, I’d love for you do so right now.



Meanwhile. if anyone is interested in several unedited original snippets for “I Kissed a Ghost”, here are the links for my two blogs:



BlogSpot.com




WordPress.com

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

BOOK REVIEW # 2017-036 - FINISH LINE


As promised here is the 600th book review I’ve posted on Amazon earlier today:

I read this book via an Amazon-US KINDLE Unlimited download.



As young, urban boys who sometimes have nothing do except occasionally commit some mischief, Justin Ventimiglia and Keith Puccio got involved with and got picked up performing an act of property destruction. Naturally, these two juveniles had to be taught that they need to pay for what they’ve done, and the St. Louis authorities felt the best way would be to give them summer jobs at the Prairie Winds Golf Course on the east side of town.



The story this book contains is a coming of age one as these two protagonists experience a life outside of the dysfunctional one they’ve become used to living in. The shenanigans of the eccentric adults with their drinking, gambling and smoking they witness causes them to have some interesting reactions. This creates a somewhat special bond between all involved.



When you throw in a young man fighting the dreaded disease of cancer into the mix, you get an emotionally touching story of life and death, as Justin and Keith begin to have an understanding of the tests life can throw in front of you along with the love for the game of golf itself with the challenges it gives to those who play it.



While this book seems geared to those who are golfers, it’s a story which can be enjoyed by anyone. Although this book reads like a stand-alone, it’s the second part of the six-book series [Prairie Winds Golf Course] written by the author, James Ross.



For having given his readers, this poignant coming of age story, I’ve given Mr. Ross 5 STARS for his endeavor here.





UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R39ZPBKQAUA3X4

STATUS REPORT # 113 PLUS ANOTHER MILESTONE HAS BEEN HIT


Things have been happening since my last report. To begin with I finally got around to submitting the revised edited manuscript for my debut romance novel, a MG/YA Paranormal, “I Kissed a Ghost” to CreateSpace. Now, hopefully on Friday I’ll be told the inner is now finished and we can move on to the next step. If all goes well, I’d like to see my book becoming available within three weeks.



This morning I’ve hit ANOTHER MILESTONE > > > > I’ve posted my 600th review on Amazon. So, I’d like to invite everyone to check out my reviews and perhaps you’ll find your next book to read or give as a gift.






I’ll be posting my 600th Amazon here something later today.



With my “I Kissed a Ghost” on its way to see the light of day, I’ve started to return to the writing of my two WIPs. So far I’ve just ran a Grammar/SpellCheck on the two manuscript with the update versions of MicroSoft Word which came with my new computer, and now I’ve got to decide which one I’m going to work on first. The thing is I’m in no rush since I need to raise the funds to get it self-published and therefore I’ve got to do some intense promotional activities for all of my books.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

HAIKU HORIZON # 22 - SHADE


Here’s this week’s prompt from the Haiku Horizon site which is “SHADE” and here are my three Haiku response endeavors:  




In the elm tree’s shade

We sit making our sweet love

To the robin’s song



Use my umbrella

To shade yourself from the sun’s

Harmful UV rays



The tree’s huge shadow

Keeps us cool under its shade

Heat abounds outside it



Would really love to get your feedback

"I KISSED A GHOST" UPDATE # 1


Hi ALL

After a slight miscommunication with CreateSpace about submitting my completed revised manuscript for my debut romance novel, a MG/YA Paranormal entitled
“I Kissed a Ghost,” I wanted to send it in. However, when I went to the perfectly fine saved file and opened it I saw it had been corrupted. Instead of just seeing the actual manuscript, I saw it along with all the changes which I made from the suggestions the line editor gave me to improve the original one. I became frantic trying to undo what had occurred, it took almost two weeks to correct this situation, which wound up being this past Wednesday [09/13/17]. On Friday, with a clear head, I slowly reviewed each page, making sure no glitches had remained.



On Thursday, I finally wrote the copyright, dedication and my other endeavors pages; adding in the appropriate blank pages. On Friday, once I was satisfied that all is well with the manuscript I’d worked so hard to revise, I contacted those supportive folks at CreateSpace to help me in getting all the comments connected to the manuscript got removed. With this last step, and making sure one last time that I had no more issues with my manuscript, I followed their instructions to send it to them.



Now, I’ve got patiently wait to them to finish setting up the interior of the revised book, so I can move on to the next step for the re-release of this book.


Saturday, September 16, 2017

BOOK REVIEW # 2017-035 - GETTING MARRIED AT LAST


I read this book via an Amazon KINDLE Unlimited download.



I found this brief book to be precisely as the author has written for her description; the truth being said, it’s not only inspirational, but quite poignant as well.  The problem is too many people set their personal HEA [Happy Ever After] too high, which only results in one disappointment after another; people need to know what both their assets and negative attributes are to really fulfill their heart’s desire, which usually involves getting married at long last.



Personally, I married at 43 to my dear OH, aged 39. I knew what my limitations were; a slight speech imperfection and a genetic condition affected my physical appearance, especially my facial appearance. But one day, I found someone who could look beyond all this and to the personal I’m like on the inside; in fact, both of us looked at each of our personalities and compatibilities more than anything else, much like the author herself.



The only negative thing I can say about her book is that I feel she’s targeted her reading audience towards women. We’ve got to recognize and remember that there are scores of men who are still suffering the same way, downtrodden that they’re still living alone, and might benefit from reading the book themselves.



Every book should have a playlist which can accompany it, and this book is no exception. While for this book most people would think of Dean Martin’s “Everybody Loves Somebody”, there’s another song which he sang “Somewhere There’s a Someone” which I feel far more epitomizes what this book is trying to communicate. Here are the lyrics, see if you agree with how I feel:



Somewhere there's a someone for everyone

Somewhere there's a someone for me

Though I may be lonely now

I'll see it through somehow

To someone's heart I know I hold the key



Somewhere there's a someone for everyone

Somewhere there's a someone for me

And I'll search my whole life through

Until I find a love that's true

For I know somewhere there's a someone for me



(Somewhere)

(Somewhere)

And I'll search my whole life through

Until I find a love that's true

For I know somewhere there's a someone for me

For I know somewhere there's a someone for me



For wanting to share her story and to help others to get out of the rut they’re in, I’m happy to give Lori A. Peters and her book 5 STARS.






Friday, September 15, 2017

STATUS REPORT # 112


Yesterday, at long last, I’d finally been above to resolve the issues I’d been having with the re-edited manuscript for my debut MG/YA Paranormal romance novel, “I Kissed a Ghost.” I’d finished making the suggestions made by the line editor I’d gotten from CreateSpace, and I wanted to take about three days to rest. When I came back and opened the file, the document was in shambles; the manuscript was there, as were all the deletions and additions in blue. Despite all my efforts in trying to return to workable file I could format and send off to CreateSpace to prepare the interior of the book, I got nowhere.



I finally got a friend and good neighbor to help me out, since I was almost a month behind schedule in re-releasing the book. She carefully copied the entire manuscript and then pasted it into a new file, and it worked; and I was busy for several hours making sure each page was correct, saving it several times along the way. I don’t know what she did, because I’d tried doing the same thing a few times; but without much success. I finished reviewing the formatting of the entire manuscript shortly after midnight.



After I woke up this morning and had a mug of my morning Joe, black and sweet I sat down to write the copyright, my other endeavors, and dedication pages. Now, all I’ve got to do is to wait for the offices of CreateSpace to open, so they can help me remove all the comments left by the line editor which still exist on the document.



With only approving the print copy and KINDLE conversion left to do, this endeavor is now practically out of my way.



When I get into situations where I can’t move forwards on any of my writing endeavors, for whatever the reason, I switch into writing book reviews; and since my last update I’ve written eight with one more being done later today. Right now I’ve got 593 reviews written under my belt on Amazon-US and elsewhere, here’s the link if anyone is interested in reading any of them:






This morning I found a fantasy romance short story I’d written over two years which I’ve started to edit, and making it a bit erotic at the same time. I’ve now got two writing endeavors left to finish under this name to finish; with the rate of my writing depended on how fast I can raise the necessary funds to get the endeavor self-published.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

BOOK REVIEW # 2017-034 - IT BEGINS AND ENDS WITH FAMILY


I read this book via an Amazon-US KINDLE Unlimited download.



When I got married it was relatively late in my life, I was 43, and my dear OH was four years younger. We felt it was too late to start having children, besides I suffer from a genetic condition which we didn’t want to pass onto any children we might have had. But, after reading this highly inspirational book, I now feel we should have not fostered but adopted a young age-appropriate child for parents our age; especially since neither one of us any real family to speak of. I’ve got a sister and a handful of cousins, and my OH has a couple of cousins, none of whom we really talk to.  



I, in fact we all can see and can image a couple adopting one or two children, but the couple, Jo Ann and Dan Wentzel had amazing 75 children, frequently eight at a time and mainly teen aged boys. Those of you who have had children especially boys know what a handful it is to raise one or two of them; so, you can just imagine the fortitude and patience these two must have possessed to raise blended family and brew this size.

Those who read this book need to thank this couple for sharing their experiences of actually being a foster parent. What they’d discovered had been doing this successfully all came down to what family subtleties are needed to raise them and to have a family which come close to a natural family as possible.

This includes changing their mental attitude of family from the dysfunctional one they’ve been accustomed to living in. And once these children have reacclimated to a more normal family environment, they can return to their birth family with a new outlook for their lives and family they’d been born into. Hopefully, if the time these children had spent with the Wentzels, or in fact any foster family, has been successful this newly acquire attitude can be passed on to their children; and not the dysfunctional one they came from which would only perpetuate the situation into the next generation.

Along the way in sharing their story, the Wentzles share their various and at times quite different parenting methods, in the hopes others might benefit from in the raising of their own children; and that. perhaps after reading this book others might consider the joys of fostering children of their own/

Given what this couple has been willing to share with others, how can you not give this book the 5 STARS, I’m giving it.


Sunday, September 10, 2017

HAIKU HORIZON # 21 - CAKE


Here’s this week’s prompt from the Haiku Horizon site which is “CAKE” and here are my three Haiku response endeavors:  




Let them all eat cake

This had been the Queen’s edict

She no more the Queen



Ice cream left on table

Not in refrigerator

Cake melted away



Should have been “cake walk”

But someone threw the wrench in

Now arduous task


Would really love to get your feedback