Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Review: Cul de Sac by Scott Wrobel

Bottom line: Great read for those looking for realistic characters, warts and all.

Scott Wrobel's debut is a series of short stories about men linked by a common thread: not just the fact they live in the same cul de sac, but also their struggles with depression and unfortunate life events.

These stories are character-driven and show the sometimes harsh realities that men commonly deal with. Also, this is definitely a book for adults--it concerns adults in adult situations.

Likes:
* The characters feel like real men: those struggling with identity in a world that's rarely fair. Wrobel pulls no punches in showing us these men's dark sides.
* Each story is the perfect length for a bedtime read.

Things that may concern some readers:
* These stories are a study in character. Many of the stories are left unresolved, which allows the reader to make his or her own conclusions.
* The stories sometimes include sexual deviancy--the most vivid of which involves a jar of mayonnaise.
* The characters aren't shining heroes. In fact they're mostly the opposite--the dark side of life.

I look forward to seeing Scott's next literary work(hopefully soon!)

Purchase link:

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Sundogs: Journey to the Great Windmill - Kay Elliot and Barb Bjornson

Sundogs: Journey to the Great Windmill

by Kay Elliott, illustrated by Barb Björnson

When there's a special dog in your life, oftentimes it feels so right that it’s like they chose you.

Sundogs: Journey to the Great Windmill brings dogs to life in a way like never before, taking the reader on a journey to Planet of the Sundogs where every dog’s unique personality shines through the vibrant color of their fur. Based on the bright spots of light in the sky called sundogs, author Kay Elliott imagines a magical place where dogs play freely, but dream of riding the Great Windmill to their perfect homes. Join SuSu, Yogi, Harley, Bo, Zeke, and Juno as they search for the Great Windmill and are sent to Earth to “love and be loved beyond their wildest sundog dreams.

AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHY

If you find Kay Elliott daydreaming, she is walking with her dogs on a sunny beach somewhere! She appreciates all things colorful, and relaxes by knitting and reading. Retired after thirty years of traveling as a flight attendant, she is most happy at home with her dogs, Zeke and Juno. She and her husband, Pat, have raised three children and five dogs in Richfield, Minnesota. Sundogs: Journey to the Great Windmill is her first book.





ILLUSTRATOR'S BIOGRAPHY 

Barb Björnson is a published illustrator living in New Brighton, Minnesota. She loves creating characters that come alive on the page as was the case with Sundogs: Journey to the Great Windmill. Barb recently became a grandmother and can’t wait to introduce the arts to her new grandson (he already loves books). More of her work can be viewed at http://www.barbbjornson.com.

Barb Björnson has illustrated several children’s books through Tristan Publishing, Lerner Publishing, Teach Me Tapes, Compass Publishing and Beaver’s Pond Press.

WEBSITES
Author page: http://www.kdelliott.com
Illustrator page: http://www.barbbjornson.com
Illustrator blog: http://www.barbsdailydoodles.blogspot.com

UPCOMING EVENT

Dog Days of Stockholm
Saturday August 4, 2012
Stockholm, WI

Booksigning with author Kay Elliott and illustrator Barb Björnson

PURCHASE
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Beaver's Pond Press, and wherever books are sold.


PUBLISHER
Beaver's Pond Press

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories - Mike Kalmbach

Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories

by Mike Kalmbach

When all you have is a blank page, it's often tough to begin writing.

Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories aims to help you overcome that initial hurdle by making it easy for you to write down simple, focused ideas and craft them into stories.

However, coming up with ideas is not enough. Teen writers need to understand basic story structure so they can avoid typical writing problems.

Filled with plenty of tips, advice, and examples to help any teen writer, the first book in the Writing Advice for Teens series focuses on getting ideas down quickly and pounding out that first draft. After following the advice and using the techniques outlined in this book, you should understand how to bring the stories locked in your mind to the surface.


BIOGRAPHY
Mike Kalmbach has a Master of Science degree in software engineering from the University of Minnesota. Moonlighting as a freelance editor, he has edited numerous full-length manuscripts as well as countless shorter works. He also teaches several seminars targeted toward helping teen writers develop strategies to create captivating stories.

He also leads the Rochester MN Writing Group and is a founding member of the Rochester Writers Collaborative. He is a strong believer in the power of community, and has led online writing groups and forums for over ten years. Mike enjoys writing for his blog and interacting on Twitter.

Mike currently lives in the Rochester, MN area with his wife, son, and two cats.

WEBSITES

Author page: http://mikekalmbach.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikekalmbachauthor
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/mikekalmbach
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mikekalmbach

PURCHASE
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold.


OTHER WORKS

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Machina Viva - Nathaniel Hicklin

Machina Viva

by Nathaniel Hicklin

In a distant world where work is done by machines with the faces of humans, one man has changed what it means to be a robot. But before the new robot can make her mark on the future, she must first survive the present.

Thus was born the city of Tetropolis, one of the oldest mid-atmosphere arcologies. The word is a combination of “architecture” and “ecology,” and such constructions are rarely accidents. Tetropolis fits the requirements of a city, with a central government, police force, utilities, and even a nice park. It also fits the requirements of a building, being a unified structure with a single framework. In this case, the single framework was a series of large interlocking tubes that formed a pyramid nearly a mile high. The taller buildings in the city connected directly to the outer pyramid, strengthening the whole structure while ensuring their own stability. Public transit vehicles traveled through the tubes, intersecting at large spherical nodes and creating a very stressful job for any human who was crazy enough to work in traffic control. The job usually went to a robot, because unlike the vast majority of people, a lot of robots actually enjoy that kind of insanity.

BIOGRAPHY
Nathaniel Hicklin studied engineering in college, but graduated with a degree in theater arts. He has parlayed this background into a portfolio of science fiction and urban fantasy storytelling. His first novel, Seekers of Truth, tells the story of eight people who form a team to combat corruption and evil in a multifaceted world of magic and secrecy. His second book, a novella called Machina Viva, describes a distant world in the empty depths of space where humans and robots walk side by side that explores what it means to be human.

WEBSITE

Author page: http://OfficeOfTheCurator.blogspot.com

PURCHASE
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ebooks for Pleasure, and wherever books are sold.


PUBLISHER
4 Square Books

OTHER WORKS

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Hurricane - Jenna-Lynne Duncan

Hurricane

by Jenna-Lynne Duncan

Adriana couldn’t decide what was worse—that Hurricane Katrina was heading for New Orleans, or that she might not survive her kidnapping to see its potential effects. She had trusted Hayden, even fallen for him, and now he and his brother Luke were taking her deeper and deeper into the Bayou. Why had two of her classmates, the mysterious Boudreaux brothers, kidnapped her? Why had Adriana’s dreams started predicting the future? Most importantly, would she make it out of the Bayou alive…

A portion of the sales from 'Hurricane' will be going to the New Orleans Area Habitat Humanity for Humanity.

BIOGRAPHY

Jenna-Lynne Duncan graduated from the University of St. Thomas with degrees in Political Science, International Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies. Hurricane is her debut novel and she is planning a series. She welcomes those to contact her at Jenna-Lynne@DivertirPublishing.com.

WEBSITES
Author page: http://www.Jenna-Lynne.com
Book page: http://www.Hurricanethebook.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JennaLynneD
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/Jennalynneduncan and http://www.Facebook.com/Hurricanethebook

BOOK TRAILER







PURCHASE
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold.


PUBLISHER
Divertir Publishing