new YA adventure from Tim Fox

Kindle $3.05

Young adult adventure, geared for ages 10-18

About the book:

Abandoned by her troubled mother, twelve-year-old Tracy moves to her Great-aunt Lynette's farm in southwest Wisconsin. At first lonely and feeling distant from the stern old lady, things change with the appearance of a stray cat. With the help of her neighbor, Mallory, and a conservation warden named Jamie, love begins to grow between Tracy and her aunt, and a friendship blooms among the unlikely group. Kitty and Tracy then begin exploring their surroundings—the farm, and a nearby wooded canyon. The adventure that follows solidifies their bond, and forever changes their lives.

Inspired in part by true events, A PLACE FOR YOU is a story of growth in love, friendship, and courage.

My review:

Tim Fox’s second adventure story for young people set in Wisconsin, A Place For You, is a sweet story for the young girl reader who loves cats and mysteries. Loosely based around the story of a leopard raised in India and released into the wild who comes to her former handler for help during a flood, Fox’s story opens with a viewpoint reflection from a sick housecat looking for help. Tracy, a tween girl recently taken from a neglectful parent and placed with a great-aunt, answers the cat’s plea, and a lesson in responsibility, friendship, and love changes what could have been a long, lonely summer into one of adventurous fun.

Fox also introduces his readers to Big Girl, a cougar raised by humans and released to nature. Big Girl recognizes that Tracy and her kitty are no harm to them, and eventually recognizes Tracy as a kindred spirit and instinctive helper.

Self-published. My review copy had a few easily fixable minor errors. Recommended particularly for about fifth graders who love adventure stories, aren’t afraid of adding to their vocabulary and in particular, love cats.

About the Author:

I live in southwest Wisconsin, not far from the Baraboo Hills.

Hiking and exploring Wisconsin’s state parks and wilderness areas, and working out (especially lifting things!) make for good times.

I was a teacher for 17 years. I’m now a personal fitness trainer and an “Olympic-style” weightlifting coach who runs a gym in his garage.

I live with my wife, Tammy, our three kids–Brian, Ben, and Abby, a chubby old cat named Ringo, and ex-stray kittens named Kitten and Oscar. On the web: http://www.journeysiceageadventure.com/

Writing adviser publishes second edition Writing Your Best Story

Writing Your Best Story: Advice for Writers on Spinning an Enchanting Tale, Second Edition

By Philip Martin

Crickhollow Books

Copyright, November 15, 2017

168 pp.

Ebook $2.99

Print $14.95

Buy on Barnes and Noble 

Buy on Amazon

About the book:

“I find that most people know what a story is until they sit down to write one.” – Flannery O’Connor.

Beginning writers often wonder what it takes to get published. The second edition of this practical book looks at what really makes fiction work: good storytelling! Oddly, storytelling skills, despite their immense value to all writers, are seldom emphasized in writing courses.

How To Write Your Best Story explores three key elements that fuel the magic of story: intriguing eccentricity, delightful details, and satisfying surprises. The proven storytelling techniques are time-tested and used by the best authors, including by winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer, and National Book Award, as well as by commercially successful authors whose books appear on bestseller lists and whose work is treasured by generations of fans.

Written by an accomplished editor and indie-press publisher, this guide draws on the author’s decades of experience in the book trade, studying what really works for emerging writers and editing many books of advice on literary craft and career development.

The practical tips, techniques, and examples of best practices here draw on the work of great literary storytellers – from Shakespeare, Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mark Twain to Willa Cather, E.B. White, and James Thurber to Neil Gaiman, Ivan Doig, and Patrick Rothfuss.

How To Write Your Best Story will help you understand how to craft better fiction (or nonfiction) and to get your best work published.

Lisa's review:

Framed in a story of the author’s creation, Philip Martin sets off to do what all good mentors teach—show, not tell—in this case, authors, how to create a good story that enchants.

Story should rise above narrative, Martin writes; more than groups of words, more than a series of events. It is also an art form. Quoting liberally from ancient to modern works, Martin employs his background as a professional gatherer of stories and histories to show how story works across culture and time to draw listeners in to a communal experience. Writers are more than purveyors of phrases. Writers offer a promise and provide the worthwhile payoff.

As an experienced editor of writer’s advice books, a former editor for best-selling mainstream authors, and the director of Great Lakes Literary, Martin shares his advice and technique for creating memorable works that hopefully attract an agent or editor. He takes a three-pronged approach, and so this book is divided into sections: start with a quirky hook; keep the middle more than readable by using delicious details, and finally, provide a satisfying ending.

Martin is not a fan of Plot. Plot, as a mechanism for writing a book, will make your work…mechanical. Contrived. Agenda-driven. Unimaginative. I believe his emphatic dissing of the term throughout the book is more a rebellion of the idea of plot, an issue of interpretation. After all, experienced authors are familiar with the idea of a novel being “plot-driven,” as in genre work, or “character-driven,” as more often describes non-specified fiction, aka literary work. No real matter, as Martin does make allowance for necessary underpinning of a story, whether compared to a sensual meal or a spider web. Plot is simply structure, whether an author uses it for a flexible framework, or discovers it after the story is complete. Structure works to create a commonly understood or shared experience. Too many authors use plot as a controlled formula, which Martin insists must be avoided.

Whether cyclic or arced or linear, a story has a beginning, middle, and an end. It’s the promise of a fine meal promised and fulfilled. Start with a desire or a want. Bait your hook with enticing morsels. Help the reader invest, establish resonating characters in intriguing environments. Give them a problem to work on. Create anticipation; offer satisfying surprises. “Delightful details” keep the reader’s interest and should build upon the premise. “Detail should triumph plot,” Martin says. Even while he dismisses Plot, Martin embraces Theme. “Theme should tell you what the ending should deal with,” he writes. Don’t try to find it until you’re well into your story. Theme is a message that answers why the story is important. The end of your tale should let the reader know this journey has been worthwhile, that he has returned better for having taken it with you, the story teller.

The book is well written with an easy-to-appreciate style. As mentioned above, he spins a story to show us how to create interesting characters with interesting problems who need interesting solutions to achieve desired outcomes. Martin also shares examples from well-known work to exemplify his points. While geared specifically with writers in mind, those who practice verbal story-telling would certainly benefit from reading and studying Writing Your Best Story. The premises and examples Martin lays out in the book apply to all kinds of writing from short story to full length novel, even on a certain level to non-fiction.

About the author

Phil Martin is an experienced editor of many books of advice for writers. Previously acquisitions editor for The Writer/Books, he had also written A Guide to Fantasy Literature and The Purpose of Fantasy, as well as award-winning books on traditional culture. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he directs Great Lakes Literary, offering editorial services and websites for authors. He also speaks and teaches workshops, and serves on the board of Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp and Writing Retreat, Inc.

Fantasy Occult fiction from David M Meier

David M Meier

Horror, occult, fantasy

A Deadly Deal

April, 2017

ISBN: 978-1542404907

Ebook n/a

Print $11.95

Buy on Amazon

About the Book:

Some people label the mysteries of the world “unexplainable” and move on. But what if there were an explanation for strange occurrences—a dangerously sinister one?

A Deadly Deal peels back the layers of the unsolved aspects of our world to reveal another realm existing alongside our own…a realm that uses our world to gain power and perpetrate evil. The Realm Runners have the stunning capability to move between one world and the next, taking what they need to keep their own realm in balance; each world is simply a chess piece on a grand board. As young Sophia and Solice fight to unearth the truth during this fearsome game, they suspect they may be pawns in a master plan.

Fast paced and thrilling, A Deadly Deal examines the ways good and innocent people can be drawn into the shadows of corruption yet still fight for what is right. Will Solice become yet another dark creature? Will he find the strength—alongside the brave Sophia—to end this treacherous game once and for all?

A Deadly Deal immerses you in a tangled fantasy world of dishonesty, suspense, and masterful creative vision.

My review:

An interesting concept from a debut author, A Deadly Deal catapults readers into a parallel reality where life is a game with all kinds of choices—or is it?

Never really sure of the era or setting, the reader is dropped into what could be a horrible nightmare for a young woman the day before her wedding, or a virtual visit to the netherworld. The young woman, Sophia, is informed she is the chosen one, given a horrible gift, and returned to a wedding day equally horrifying.

Alister Grim acts as a master of the inexplicable parallel realm, where Realm Runner capture and return prey at will—but who’s? Full of action, dragons, ghouls, things that go in and out of bodies let alone bump in the night, fire and smoke, A Deadly Deal is story in which the reader never feels as though he knows what’s coming next.

While fairly clean and with pretty good dialog and action, the author will continue to work on technique to avoid over-tell and repetition, despite the continual motion of the story. A typo on the back cover copy would have made me put it down without reading it, and luckily is something fixable immediately. I was given a review copy, and this genre is not normally something I would pick up. Recommended for readers who enjoy dark stories, gaming, evil and more evil, magic spells, and the like. I’m not sure about the audience, but I don’t think I’d give it to younger than highly read eighth graders or high schooler. Fast read.

About the author:

David Meier has had a lifelong fascination with stories, whether in the form of a book, movie, or song. He ultimately chose to try his hand at the craft of writing. A Deadly Deal is Meier’s first book.

Find Your Heart Follow Your Heart with Keri Olson

Find Your Heart, Follow Your Heart: Get to the Heart of What Matters and Create Your Abundant, 

Authentic, Joyful Life

Keri Olson

Balboa Press, a division of Hay House

July 2017

Ebook $3.99

Paperback $11.99

Hardcover $26.58

ISBN 9781504384476

Buy on Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Balboa Press

About the Book:

Are you at a crossroads in your personal or professional life? Do you long for more meaning, joy, and authenticity? Do you feel stuck, yet crave something new?

Find Your Heart, Follow Your Heart is there to help guide you on your journey. Through a series of essays, affirmations, and associated questions, you'll explore topics intended to help you find opportunities for growth and illumination for your path.

This engaging book will help you discover the answers that are already there waiting for you--deep in your heart.

A brief interview with the author:

Welcome, Keri. Can you please share your motivation behind the book.

I was drawn to write Find Your Heart, Follow Your Heart following a series of life-threatening and life-altering illnesses I’ve experienced since I was in my 20s. Each of those illnesses has caused me to go deep within, to examine my life, to determine what’s important to me and then to frame my life going forward to provide the greatest amount of abundance, authenticity and joy. I was also drawn to the subject of hearts after finding heart-shaped stones and other heart-shaped objects on my daily walks.

What would you like readers to tell potential readers about the book? 

Find Your Heart, Follow Your Heart is part memoir and part inspiration, but it is mostly a book to engage readers to examine their lives. While the essays tell of my life experiences and thoughts, they are intended to fuel readers’ thinking about how each of the topics might relate to their own lives. The affirmations associated with each essay are designed to help readers articulate what they want. The questions following each essay invite readers’ contemplation and examination in order to better understand their deeper selves, hear what’s calling them, help set priorities, and create the life they want. The book’s epilogue offers tangible suggestions for utilizing the book as they go forward.

How are readers responding?

I am both overwhelmed and heartened by the volume, variety and heartfelt nature of the responses I have received from people who have read my book. Many have shared stories of the crossroads in their lives that have caused this period of self-examination and how my book has helped them. Some readers are using the book as a daily devotional tool, while others are using the affirmations in their daily lives.

About the Author:

A three-time cancer survivor, Keri Olson has learned the beauty and blessing of each day. Also

the survivor of a benign brain tumor and a benign spinal tumor that caused temporary paralysis, Keri recognizes that wholeness can coexist with illness.

Keri’s experiences with illness haven’t defined her, but they have caused her to go deep within her heart to examine what makes for an abundant, authentic, joyful life.

Keri is the author of three books, beginning with one she wrote for SSM Health St. Clare Hospital for its 40th anniversary, Healing Presence: A History of Caring.

Her second book, an e-book titled Time to Be: An Almanac of Short Essays about the Extraordinary Joy of Ordinary Moments, is available via OverDrive, Wisconsin’s Digital Library.

Her third and newest book from Balboa Press, Find Your Heart, Follow Your Heart: Get to the Heart of What Matters and Create Your Abundant, Authentic, Joyful Life, is available at major online retailers Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Balboa Press, as well as at independent booksellers, gift stores and galleries.

Keri writes a blog, Time to Be, about living in the moment with gratitude and gentleness: http://timetobe-keri.blogspot.com/.

She is also a guest blogger and a regular contributor to Medium and LinkedIn.

Drawing from her experiences with illness, Keri’s writing reflects awe, gratitude and joy for life's abundance.

As a public speaker, panelist and facilitator, Keri’s thoughtful and engaging presentations inspire audiences.

Over Keri’s 30-year career, she has served as the public relations director for Circus World Museum and its Great Circus Parade and Great Circus Train, as the director for the St. Clare Health Care Foundation, and as an organizational effectiveness professional employed by public and private sector businesses to lead them through change.

Keri lives in Baraboo with her husband, Larry McCoy.

For more information, visit www.keriolson.com.