<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>The LL Book Review &#187; Guest Reviewers</title>
	<atom:link href="http://llbookreview.com/category/reviewers/guest-reviewers/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://llbookreview.com</link>
	<description>Self-publishing book review</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:54:31 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Read My Book!~ A Work in Progress by Margreet Dietz</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:48:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Reviewers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Exercises in Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Reviewers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Read My Book!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[a work in progress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[margreet dietz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[read my book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review my book]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=3642</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Margreet Dietz's book, A Work in Progress, helps writers with their work in progress.  Read her review of her own book here...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1450541690?tag=shanyarbauthp-20&amp;camp=213381&amp;creative=390973&amp;linkCode=as4&amp;creativeASIN=1450541690&amp;adid=1DTYPBYSWFPT04NK8SEB" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3644" title="A Work in Progress by Margreet Dietz" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/A-Work-in-Progress-by-Margreet-Dietz1.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="240" /></a>A Work in Progress: Exercises in Writing</em> is my third book. I wrote the lion’s share of it as an exercise. At the time I was working on my first book for which I had interviewed more than 50 female runners and two running coaches.</p>
<p>I knew what I wanted to say with that book, had done my research and gathered plenty of great material. Yet I felt stuck. Everything I wrote seemed to fall short of my expectations and soon enough I did anything but work on that manuscript. I doubted I’d ever finish a book.</p>
<p>That’s when I wrote the first draft of what later became <em>A Work in Progress</em>—in eight straight days. It was an exercise to help me write without constant self-critique hampering the process and taking the fun out of writing altogether.</p>
<p>About 10 months, and two published books, later I looked at that first draft again and realized its merits.</p>
<p><em>A Work in Progress</em> is not perfect, and that is exactly the point.</p>
<p>Perfectionism is rarely helpful in the initial stages of the creative process. We must first give ourselves permission to start.</p>
<p>Unlike my two previous non-fiction books, for which I interviewed dozens of runners and triathletes, this book is a very personal account.</p>
<p><a href="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Margreet-Dietz.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3645" title="Margreet Dietz" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Margreet-Dietz-300x267.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="267" /></a>While I wouldn’t have spent the time required to revise, finish and publish it unless I believed it was good, I initially lacked the confidence to promote it and, as a result, few copies have sold since its publication in May.</p>
<p>Then I did my first signing at a bookstore 10 days ago in a town that held a triathlon with nearly 3,000 competitors, a perfect time and location to promote my first two books, on triathlon and running.</p>
<p>While I did not have people lining up to get my autograph during the two-hour signing, I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to readers about my books and found several interested enough to buy them.</p>
<p>The most valuable part of the signing, and the rest of the weekend, was the enthusiastic feedback I received on <em>A Work in Progress</em>. One woman I approached as she walked by the bookstore bought one of copy of each of my three books, began reading <em>A Work in Progress</em> and went back to the store the next day to get a second copy for a colleague.</p>
<p>In a review she posted on <a href="http://amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> she said, “This compilation of exercises appealed to me because I&#8217;m working on a non-fiction manuscript and have hit a ‘block.’ The exercises she recommends are exactly what I need to jumpstart me back into the writing life. Her stories are personal, humorous and relevant to the process.”</p>
<p><em>A Work in Progress</em> is all about trusting yourself, and giving yourself the permission to write, with 33 specific suggestions to get you started or started again.</p>
<p>This book is for:</p>
<p>(Budding) writers looking for encouragement and inspiration to help get beyond a blank page or screen.</p>
<p>This book is not for:</p>
<p>Confident authors who have no problem getting started on their writing every single day.</p>
<p><em>A Work in Progress: Exercises in Writing</em> is available in paperback ($19.95) and as ebook ($9.99).</p>
<p>Order the paperback through:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.createspace.com/3426898" target="_blank">My CreateSpace store</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=margreet+dietz&amp;x=0&amp;y=0" target="_blank">Amazon</a></p>
<p>The Ebook is available through Amazon, Apple’s iBookstore and <a href="http://www.booklocker.com/books/4779.html" target="_blank">Booklocker</a></p>
<p>For more information please check <a href="http://www.margreetdietz.com/" target="_blank">MargreetDietz.com</a></p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz+http://bit.ly/bAReld" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz+http://bit.ly/bAReld" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+A+Work+in+Progress+by+Margreet+Dietz" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-a-work-in-progress-by-margreet-dietz/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Read My Book!~ The American Book of the Dead by Henry Baum</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:30:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Reviewers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Future Historical Fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Reviewers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Read My Book!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[henry baum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ippy award winner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[read my book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review my book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self-publishing review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the american book of the dead]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=3635</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Henry Baum is not dead, and neither is his book The American Book of The Dead.  Read Henry's lively review of his own book...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.theamericanbookofthedead.com/buy-the-book/" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3636" title="bookdead" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/bookdead.jpg" alt="" width="186" height="280" /></a>My book isn&#8217;t perfect, I know this.  The novel follows a writer, Eugene Myers, working on a book about the end of the world, and the U.S. president in the year 2020, Charles Winchell, who&#8217;s about to unleash World War III.  As Eugene Myers continues work on his book, he comes to realize that what he&#8217;s writing is actually based on what&#8217;s happening.  When he starts dreaming about people who turn out to be real, the worlds of fiction and dreams collide, so he &#8211; and the reader &#8211; is not sure of what&#8217;s fiction and what&#8217;s reality anymore.  </p>
<p><a href="http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/" target="_blank"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-3637" title="henrybaum" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/henrybaum.jpg" alt="" width="259" height="197" /></a>So it&#8217;s a lot to get your head around, as intended.  But it&#8217;s also written as a kind of &#8220;future history&#8221; &#8211; in parts it&#8217;s a somewhat encyclopedic retelling of events, to enhance the sense that this is &#8220;real.&#8221;  But some people have complained about that &#8211; and frankly, I don&#8217;t blame them, because it means that the book can seem uneven in some places.  I actually thought people were going to be critical of something else &#8211; Eugene Myers, who&#8217;s basically me in the year 2020, comes to be a kind of messianic figure during and after the war.  I thought some would think this was something I&#8217;d envisioned for myself.  Actually, it plays into the whole theme of: is this reality or one writer&#8217;s deranged fantasy?  But that criticism hasn&#8217;t come&#8230;yet.  </p>
<p>Mostly, the book&#8217;s been well-received and it&#8217;s won a couple of awards: Best Fiction at the DIY Book Festival and the Gold IPPY Award for Visionary Fiction.</p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum+http://bit.ly/dgCGiX" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum+http://bit.ly/dgCGiX" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7E+The+American+Book+of+the+Dead+by+Henry+Baum" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-book-the-american-book-of-the-dead-by-henry-baum/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Read My Book!~The Ways of Khrem by D. Nathan Hilliard</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:30:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Reviewers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guest Reviewers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Old School Mysterious Fantasy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Read My Book!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[d. nathan hilliard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[read my book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review my book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the ways of khrem]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=3627</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[D. Nathan Hilliard weighs in on his book, The Ways of Khrem]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1617060143?tag=shanyarbauthp-20&amp;camp=213381&amp;creative=390973&amp;linkCode=as4&amp;creativeASIN=1617060143&amp;adid=16QD7PHP6N3DCSE7TGDC" target="_blank"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3628" title="The Ways of Khrem" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/The-Ways-of-Khrem-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a>The Ways of Khrem returns us to the type of fantasy setting we enjoyed when prowling the streets of Lankhmar and Sanctuary as readers. The city of Khrem is a vast, epic metropolis of grand statues, lofty spires, dark streets, and darker secrets. Our guide through this fantastical urban labyrinth is a retired master thief, now living a quiet life as Cargill the Bookseller.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; font-size: small;">Cargills peaceful retirement comes to an end when he is confronted by Wilhelm Drayton, an idealistic young captain of the City Watch, who “recruits” the bookseller into helping him solve murders in the teeming city. The best part is that this is not just a Sherlock Holmes and Watson story, as the action soon erupts when Cargill unmasks an inhuman terror stalking across the rooftops of the city. Cargill finds himself putting his old skills back into play as he throws the rules out the window in battles with death dealing gods of vengeance, subterranean monsters, and the psychopath who murdered the one true love of his youth. Some of these encounters are truly frightening, and not for the faint of heart.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; font-size: small;">The strength of this book is the setting and the characters. Cargill and Drayton are both intelligent men with their own agendas. Captain Drayton is an idealistic and determined man, who demonstrates real depth when dealing with forces both powerful and malignant. He manages to be somewhat rigid, yet still likeable.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> <a href="http://thewaysofkhrem.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3629" title="SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Authors-Portrait-269x300.jpg" alt="" width="269" height="300" /></a>Cargill as a character is alternately cowardly, brave, vengeful, scheming, hilarious, and tragic. He is a most human of heroes struggling to deal with situations much larger than he is, and finding ways to survive.  He brings the reader down into the world of Khrem, letting them see it through his eyes, and allowing them to share his sorrows and triumphs. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; font-size: small;">The two operate with a rich supporting cast including Grabel, Cargills insufferable yet indispensible manservant; Heinryk and Poole, Drayton’s loyal watchmen; and Keris, Cargills deadly ex-partner from his youth. And finally there is Khrem itself…as much a character in this story as the rest. Khrem is brought to life in both its day to day rituals and routines of its common citizens…and its darkest of places with cavernous streets, giant statues, tunnel-like alleys, and finally the deadly Undercity beneath the streets.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; font-size: small;">This is a book that succeeds at being greater than the sum of its parts, and will have you wanting to walk the dark streets of Khrem again.</span></p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard+http://bit.ly/98en3m" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard+http://bit.ly/98en3m" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EThe+Ways+of+Khrem+by+D.+Nathan+Hilliard" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookthe-ways-of-khrem-by-d-nathan-hilliard/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Read My Book!~Cinders by Michelle Davidson Argyle</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:43:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Reviewers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guest Reviewers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poetic Literary Dark Fairytale]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Read My Book!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[michelle davidson argyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[read my book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review my book]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=3619</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Michelle Davidson Argyle reviews her own book, Cinders, a dark poetic fairytale with a twist!]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1453629955?tag=shanyarbauthp-20&amp;camp=213381&amp;creative=390973&amp;linkCode=as4&amp;creativeASIN=1453629955&amp;adid=0FCJDZ8K9331QGF9W15K" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3620" title="Cinders_Cover" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Cinders_Cover-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" /></a>Cinders</em> is the story of Cinderella after she marries her prince and sets out to live her happily-ever-after. That happiness soon turns into something completely different when Cinderella discovers her fairy godmother has been imprisoned in the castle and she remembers a man she met two years before her marriage.</p>
<p>This man is mysterious, and Cinderella is sure she&#8217;s still in love with him because his love was real while her Prince Rowland&#8217;s love is tainted and governed by magic. Cinderella soon sets out to find her true love again, but encounters death and heartache around almost every turn.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.michelledavidsonargyle.com/" target="_blank"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-3621" title="MichelleDavidsonArgyle" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/MichelleDavidsonArgyle.jpg" alt="" width="219" height="329" /></a>Written in a poetic, literary tone, <em>Cinders</em> is reminiscent of the original Grimm&#8217;s fairy tales. It is dark, visceral, and filled with twists and turns that will surprise any reader. In <em>Cinders, </em>Cinderella may be a character who readers find hard to love, but she is also a character we can relate to, one who makes decisions that will keep readers thinking long after they close the book.</p>
<p>Available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1453629955?tag=shanyarbauthp-20&amp;camp=213381&amp;creative=390973&amp;linkCode=as4&amp;creativeASIN=1453629955&amp;adid=0FCJDZ8K9331QGF9W15K" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/19252" target="_blank">Smashwords</a>!</p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle+http://bit.ly/dmCHAn" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle+http://bit.ly/dmCHAn" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7ECinders+by+Michelle+Davidson+Argyle" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2010/09/read-my-bookcinders-by-michelle-davidson-argyle/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Read My Book!~Jim Murdoch&#8217;s Living with the Truth</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:30:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Reviewers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bittersweet SciFi Philosophical Comic Fantasy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Reviewers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Read My Book!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jim murdoch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[living with the truth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[read my book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review my book]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=3612</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Jim Murdoch's Living with the Truth.  Read what Jim truthfully thinks about his own book.  He wouldn't lie to you!]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em><a href="http://jim-murdoch.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3613" title="avatar2" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/avatar2-218x300.png" alt="" width="218" height="300" /></a>Living with the Truth</em> by Jim  Murdoch</strong></p>
<p>Picture, for a moment, Jonathan  Payne, probably the last person in the world you would expect to be the lead  character in anybody&#8217;s novel, a faded old bookseller nearing the end of a wasted  life. We meet him alone in his flat in a seaside town in the north of England  just waiting on Death to knock at his front door.</p>
<p>But life has something else in  store for poor Jonathan. Instead of Death he gets to spend an infuriating two  days with the personification of truth who opens Jonathan&#8217;s eyes to not only  what his life has become but what it might have been. He discovers what he&#8217;s  missed out on, what other people are really thinking and the true nature of the  universe which, as you might imagine, is nothing like he would have ever  expected it to be.</p>
<p>By the end of the book, having  learned far more about himself than he ever wanted to know, Jonathan discovers  that it&#8217;s usually never too late to start again. Only sometimes it is.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><div id="attachment_3614" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 205px"><a href="http://www.jimmurdoch.co.uk/" target="_blank"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3614" title="Living-with-the-Truth" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Living-with-the-Truth-195x300.png" alt="" width="195" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text"> </p></div>
<p>What Murdoch presents us in <em>Living with the Truth</em> and its follow-up  <em>Stranger than Fiction</em> is a mixture of  bittersweet comedy, philosophy, science fiction and fantasy; booksellers will  struggle to know what shelf to stick this on. He has created in a few deft  strokes a completely different take on life as we know it comparable to the  writings of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman with a good dollop of  Kafka and Dickens mixed in for good luck. Just as Terry Pratchett’s Death gets  all the good lines so does Murdoch’s Truth. It’s amazing just how funny telling  it as it is can actually be.</p>
<p>This is a character driven work  though that focuses on two days in Jonathan’s life but a lot can happen in two  days when you have the personification of truth as a companion. The ending is  striking and tragic but raises only one really important question: What on earth  is Murdoch going to do with his sequel after <em>this</em> ending? Talk about writing yourself  into a corner.</p>
<p>The book is listed on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Living-Truth-Jim-Murdoch/dp/0955063612/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and can be ordered from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Truth-Jim-Murdoch/dp/0955063612/" target="_blank">Amazon.co.uk</a> but the best place to order it is directly  from the <a href="http://www.fvbooks.com/jmurdoch/index.htm" target="_blank">FV Books</a> site where they have an offer on both books.  An eBook version is due out later this year.</p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth+http://bit.ly/bI0HTD" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth+http://bit.ly/bI0HTD" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;submitHeadline=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;t=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/&amp;title=Read+My+Book%21%7EJim+Murdoch%E2%80%99s+Living+with+the+Truth" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/read-my-bookjim-murdochs-living-with-the-truth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Celebrate with Linda Welch</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:49:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>LK Gardner-Griffie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Kindle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LK Gardner-Griffie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Linda Welch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success Stories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[along came a demon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amazon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Gottlieb]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Demon Hunters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trident Media Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whisperings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=3536</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is nice to be able to celebrate the good news of a friend, and I am very happy to say that we have reason to celebrate. The landscape of publishing is changing, in particular with the advent of the ebook, and self-publishing is increasingly becoming a viable option, and one which is beginning to grow legs as a door opener for other opportunities, as <a href="http://www.boydmorrison.com/" target="_blank">Boyd Morrison</a> proved with his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1439181799/?tag=nwswk-20" target="_blank"><em>The Ark</em></a>, as was discussed in previous post <a href="http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/who-needs-a-publisher-anyway/" target="_blank">Who Needs a Publisher Anyway?</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify;"><img class="alignleft" src="http://dl7.glitter-graphics.net/pub/684/684687az24rhrc85.gif" width=80 height=156 border=0>It is nice to be able to celebrate the good news of a friend, and I am very happy to say that we have reason to celebrate. The landscape of publishing is changing, in particular with the advent of the ebook, and self-publishing is increasingly becoming a viable option, and one which is beginning to grow legs as a door opener for other opportunities, as <a href="http://www.boydmorrison.com/" target="_blank">Boyd Morrison</a> proved with his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1439181799/?tag=nwswk-20" target="_blank"><em>The Ark</em></a>, as was discussed in previous post <a href="http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/who-needs-a-publisher-anyway/" target="_blank">Who Needs a Publisher Anyway?</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I first came across the writing of <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net/" target="_blank">Linda Welch</a> early in 2009 when I reviewed her first book in the Whisperings series, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Along-Came-Demon-Whisperings-1/dp/1449590845/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&#038;s=books&#038;qid=1281039289&#038;sr=8-3" target="_blank"><em>Along Came a Demon</em></a> (<a href="http://llbookreview.com/2009/04/review-70-along-came-a-demon-by-linda-welch/" target="_blank">review 70</a>). I knew of Linda from the Lulu forums and that is one of the reasons I chose to review her book when it was posted on the Pick Me tab. I was very happy to have read the first book, and jumped at the chance to read and review the second book in the series, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Hunters-Whisperings-2/dp/1448697433/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;s=books&#038;qid=1281039289&#038;sr=8-1" target="_blank"><em>The Demon Hunters</em></a>, as soon as Linda made it available to us (<a href="http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/" target="_blank">review 105</a>). Since that time, Linda and I have become regular correspondents and critique partners for each other, and Linda has graciously reviewed a few books for LL Book review as well. I am very fortunate to call this talented woman my friend, and had the pleasure of meeting her this year on my vacation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3024" title="Whisperings" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Whisperings-300x289.jpg" alt="Whisperings" width="300" height="289" />A few months ago, Linda&#8217;s <em>Whisperings</em> series took off in Kindle sales and her books were number 1 &#038; 2 respectively in their category. I couldn&#8217;t have been more thrilled for her, or so I thought. The week following their rise to number 1, she received an email that she flipped to me to get my take on it. The email just happened to be from <a href="http://www.tridentmediagroup.com/robert_gottlieb.html" target="_blank">Robert Gottlieb</a> of <a href="http://www.tridentmediagroup.com/" target="_blank">Trident Media Group</a> (number one agency in sales since 2004 by Publisher&#8217;s Marketplace) enquiring whether she had representation for her <em>Whispering </em>novels and whether she would be interested in growing her business in the US and abroad. After I finished dancing on the ceiling on her behalf and doing a quick round of research, checking <a href="http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/rgottlieb/" target="_blank">Publisher&#8217;s Marketplace</a>, <a href="http://pred-ed.com/" target="_blank">Preditors and Editors</a>, and other sources looking for what the feedback was about Trident and Robert Gottlieb specifically, I sent back my response advising her to express interest. <em><strong>NOW!!</strong></em> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">After discussing how Trident would be able to help Linda potentially increase her sales, Linda sent both of her current books, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Along-Came-Demon-Whisperings-1/dp/1449590845/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&#038;s=books&#038;qid=1281039289&#038;sr=8-3" target="_blank"><em>Along Came a Demon</em></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Hunters-Whisperings-2/dp/1448697433/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;s=books&#038;qid=1281039289&#038;sr=8-1" target="_blank"><em>The Demon Hunters</em></a> to Robert, and he provided some inital editorial feedback. Over the past couple months, Linda and Robert have been working out the details of their agreement. Linda did seek out the assistance of a literary attorney to review the agency contract, which is always a good idea. A reputable agency will recommend you have someone look over the agreement, which Trident did. Once the minor changes to the contract were agreed upon and changed, Linda signed and with a few deep breaths, sent the contract back to the agency. So it is official, <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net/" target="_blank">Linda Welch</a> is now represented by <a href="http://www.tridentmediagroup.com/robert_gottlieb.html" target="_blank">Robert Gottlieb</a> of Trident Media Group.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As happy as I am for Linda, and I truly don&#8217;t know who has sounded more excited about this venture&#8230;I think it might be me, the more exciting aspect to garner from this is that one of the major New York agencies is actively looking for talent amidst the self-published pool based on sales. And if a respected CEO and agent like Robert Gottlieb is taking the time to watch the Amazon sales rankings to scoop up talent, then will it be long before more and more agencies are doing the same?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">If you want to pick up a copy of the books which earned her the deal, you&#8217;d better check <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&#038;field-keywords=linda+welch&#038;fsc=-1&#038;x=18&#038;y=20" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> fast, as they will soon disappear for awhile. <em>Oh, and the reason we don&#8217;t have a picture of the smiling author is that such a thing does not exist on the web. The closest we can get is a picture of Tiff Banks, her main character from the Whisperings series.</em> </p>
</p>
<p><strong>CONGRATULATIONS LINDA!!!</strong></p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch+http://bit.ly/bhLUzM" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch+http://bit.ly/bhLUzM" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;submitHeadline=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;submitHeadline=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;title=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;title=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;title=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;title=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;t=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;t=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;t=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;t=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;title=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;title=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;title=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/&amp;title=Celebrate+with+Linda+Welch" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2010/08/celebrate-with-linda-welch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Terrific Writer &#8211; Linda Welch</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:59:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>LK Gardner-Griffie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Linda Welch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success Stories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alien Romances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[along came a demon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jacqueline Lichtenberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Demon Hunters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whisperings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=3025</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is always wonderful when we hear of someone who has been reviewed on the LL Book Review having some success, either through sales or critical acclaim. Today it is <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net" target="_blank">Linda Welch's</a> turn. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify;"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3024" title="Whisperings" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Whisperings-300x289.jpg" alt="Whisperings" width="300" height="289" />It is always wonderful when we hear of someone who has been reviewed on the LL Book Review having some success, either through sales or critical acclaim. Today it is <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net" target="_blank">Linda Welch&#8217;s</a> turn. Linda is the author of the fabulous Whisperings series, of which book 1, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Along-Came-Demon-Whisperings-1/dp/1449590845/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1261516986&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank"><em>Along Came A Demon</em></a> (<a href="http://llbookreview.com/2009/04/review-70-along-came-a-demon-by-linda-welch/">review 70</a>), and book 2, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Hunters-Whisperings-2/dp/1448697433/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1261517026&amp;sr=8-3" target="_blank"><em>The Demon Hunters</em></a> (<a href="http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/">review 105</a>), have been published and are available through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=linda+welch" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a>. Linda is currently working on book 3 in the series, and I, for one, can&#8217;t wait until it is available as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net" target="_blank">Linda</a> was invited by none other than <a href="http://www.jacquelinelichtenberg.com/" target="_blank">Jacqueline Lichtenberg</a>, an acclaimed author of science fiction romance, to guest blog on <a href="http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Alien Romances</a>, A by-invitation group blog for busy authors of SFR, Futuristic, or Paranormal romances in which at least one protagonist is an alien, or of alien ancestry. Linda was thrilled by the honor of being asked to guest blog, but then when the post was published, she was amazed to find the flattering introduction written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg. In the intro, Ms. Lichtenberg states: <em>&#8220;Linda Welch is a byline to memorize. Linda Welch is a terrific writer. And what&#8217;s more, Linda Welch is definitely on our wavelength with Alien Romance.&#8221;</em> These are only a few of the complimentary things Ms. Lichtenberg had to say about paranormal mystery writer, <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net" target="_blank">Linda Welch</a>. To read the entire article, including Linda&#8217;s post on <a href="http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/12/is-that-really-you.html" target="_blank"><em>Is That Really You?</em></a> in which she discusses the confusion between her avatar (pictured above) which is of her main character, Tiff Banks, and Linda herself, click <a href="http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/12/is-that-really-you.html" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The blog post itself is definitely worth a read as well, because Linda delivers in her own quirky fashion some amusing anecdotes of the confusion. My favorite phrase? <em>“Is that really your butt?” followed by: “I find it very relaxing.”</em> Congratulations to Linda for receiving such high and well-deserved compliments on her writing.</p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch+http://bit.ly/54mqss" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch+http://bit.ly/54mqss" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;submitHeadline=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;submitHeadline=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;title=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;title=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;title=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;title=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;t=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;t=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;t=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;t=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;title=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;title=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;title=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/&amp;title=Terrific+Writer+%E2%80%93+Linda+Welch" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2009/12/terrific-writer-linda-welch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Review 109: Tightening the Knot by Amanda Hamm</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:00:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Reviewers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Linda Welch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships/Women's Lit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amanda hamm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lulu.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[romance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[romantic distractions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tightening the knot]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=2624</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tightening the Knot by Amanda Hamm is all about relationships: Meredith’s relationship with her husband Greg, her sibling, her in-laws, her friends and to a lesser degree her co-workers and students. We know from the book’s blurb that Greg and Meredith go to a Tightening the Knot seminar but they don’t arrive there until Chapter 22. Until then, have fun getting to know Meredith and a whole cast of characters complete with their little quirks.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/tightening-the-knot/6464791" target="_blank">Tightening the Knot</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0557056586?tag=shanyarbauthp-20&amp;camp=213381&amp;creative=390973&amp;linkCode=as4&amp;creativeASIN=0557056586&amp;adid=1GJSEY9PDSJPCVPVXPQC&amp;" target="_blank"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2625" title="Knot" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Knot.jpg" alt="Knot" width="306" height="452" /></a><br />
by Amanda Hamm<br />
Lulu.com<br />
Copyright:  © 2009<br />
165 Pages<br />
$11.98 Paperback<br />
$3.98 E-Book<br />
ISBN: 9780557056583</p>
<p>Review by guest reviewer and author <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net/" target="_blank">Linda Welch</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/tightening-the-knot/6464791" target="_blank">Tightening the Knot</a> by Amanda Hamm is all about relationships: Meredith’s relationship with her husband Greg, her sibling, her in-laws, her friends and to a lesser degree her co-workers and students. We know from the book’s blurb that Greg and Meredith go to a Tightening the Knot seminar but they don’t arrive there until Chapter 22. Until then, have fun getting to know Meredith and a whole cast of characters complete with their little quirks.</p>
<p>Meredith and Greg have been trying to have a baby for two years. When Meredith asks Greg to take a fertility test and he refuses, things start to go downhill. Meredith is at the point of signing papers to start divorce proceedings when she decides to give the marriage another chance. Being Meredith, she must be the instigator, the controlling force in the reconciliation, but she is so occupied with agonizing over Greg’s reaction to anything she might say she doesn’t get around to making that first move.</p>
<p>I remember one of those emails which went around years ago. After a date, a woman spends the rest of the night dissecting every aspect of the date and everything said. That woman surely is Meredith and being inside her mind and over-active imagination while she obsesses and agonizes is for me one of the best aspects of the story:</p>
<p><em>She spent the entire ride to work neurotically obsessing over this simple phrase. Did he realize he hadn’t given her so much as a “goodbye” in the morning for quite some time? Was that why he said it? Could there be even the slightest chance that he also wanted to prove they didn’t need his mother in the room to have a conversation? Then again, “Have a nice day” was hardly a conversation. It could have been a reflex. The odds of it having been a reflex actually seemed greater than the odds he had suffered over not saying anything the first time she left the house. How Meredith wished he had suffered over it. Not really suffered of course, but just agonized a little over it, like she would have.</em></p>
<p>Meredith interacts with a pregnant friend who is a reminder of what Meredith herself wants but cannot have, another friend who wants nothing more than to get married and have babies and a mother-in-law who drops enormous hints about her desire for a grandchild. Add an escapee pet, annoying students and their cantankerous parents and other personalities to the mix and you have to admire Meredith’s outward appearance of cool while she inwardly deliberates ways to save her marriage.</p>
<p>When the right words won’t come, Meredith resorts to other methods of letting Greg know she wants to heal the wound:</p>
<p><em>When he noticed her brushing her teeth, he asked, “You’re going to bed now?”<br />
She nodded.<br />
They crawled under the covers facing opposite walls as usual. Then she moved an inch or two toward the middle and waited for him to notice.<br />
She fell asleep waiting and woke up seriously annoyed.<br />
A new box of cereal absorbed most of her wrath. It got a bit mangled as she opened it with significantly more vigor than was necessary, shooting Greg a few withering looks as though he might be responsible for making the box so uncooperative. He was accustomed to being more or less ignored over breakfast and the obvious hostility left him at a bit of a loss.<br />
“Is there…” he started. “I mean, did I do something recently?”<br />
Meredith was silent. She ate quickly and then finished getting ready for work. He tried one last quizzical look as she reached the door. She answered pointedly, “I went to bed early last night.”<br />
He looked unsure, but also hopeful. “Oh, so you’re just tired?”</em></p>
<p>Meredith thinks Greg should automatically know what she wants him to do. Greg knows nothing of the sort.</p>
<p>Amanda Hamm manages to subtly infuse humor into even the most mundane situations: Meredith’s days at school where she teaches fourth grade students, lunches with girlfriends, entertaining her in-laws over the holiday season; even Greg and Meredith’s sudden foray into the mysteries of cleaning house and tidying up the yard. You won’t want to miss a single word.</p>
<p>Some scenes made me chuckle, one of which involved Katie, a dog Greg is pet-sitting for a friend, who eats everything she can get her mouth around, including batteries.</p>
<p><em>Meredith laughed. She was only slightly concerned for the dog and already had the feeling this was going to make a good story, one that she and Greg could tell together. It was not exactly a romantic story, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it would still be something they would share. She loved making new memories, but her reverie was short. It was rudely interrupted by a horrible gagging sound. She turned quickly away. “I’m not watching; just tell me when you see batteries.”<br />
“Um… yeah, there they are. Wait, no! No, no, NO! I don’t believe this!”<br />
“What?” Meredith spun around to see Katie licking the floor.<br />
“She just ate them again.”<br />
“Ewww… again? That’s so gross.”<br />
“What do we do now?”<br />
Meredith shook her head. She didn’t need to answer because it was obvious that Katie was about to give up the batteries a second time. Greg quickly put the leash on her and pulled her away as the mess hit the floor.<br />
Meredith grabbed the leash. “Good idea. But this time I’ll hold her and you deal with that.” She pointed at the centerpiece of the less than delightful new memory.</em></p>
<p>And so Meredith picks up a church bulletin and sees an ad for Rejuvenate Your Marriage, a one-day marriage enrichment seminar. While she hesitates to show it to Greg and suggest they attend, Greg himself suggests it. They book into the hotel on New Year’s Eve and participate in the seminar’s somewhat absurd activities. Does Tightening the Knot bring Greg and Meredith back together again?</p>
<p>This is an entertaining read. If you like your humor a little dry, a little wry, a little droll, a little winsome with the occasional touch of pathos, you’ll enjoy <a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/tightening-the-knot/6464791" target="_blank">Tightening the Knot</a>.</p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm+http://bit.ly/2WdQeI" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm+http://bit.ly/2WdQeI" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;submitHeadline=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;submitHeadline=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;title=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;title=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;title=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;title=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;t=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;t=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;t=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;t=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;title=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;title=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;title=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/&amp;title=Review+109%3A+Tightening+the+Knot+by+Amanda+Hamm" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2009/09/review-109-tightening-the-knot-by-amanda-hamm/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Review 106: The Red Fog by Nicole Tanner</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Reviewers</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Horror/Supernatural]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Linda Welch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[horror]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[murder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nicole tanner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[psychological thriller]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the red fog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thriller]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=2453</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I looked at the first chapter, before I got into the story, I was immediately impressed by a writing style which is highly descriptive and manages to express such atmosphere. This is what draws me into a story more than anything else. Deana, the protagonist and narrator, talks in a casual, natural manner, and (I feel) projects a somber sense of foreboding appropriate to her tale.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.createspace.com/Customer/EStore.do?id=3379996" target="_blank">The Red Fog</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1442141115?tag=shanyarbauthp-20&amp;camp=213381&amp;creative=390973&amp;linkCode=as4&amp;creativeASIN=1442141115&amp;adid=1Q1WHCAS5BNTG9RF87CT&amp;" target="_blank"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2505" title="redfog" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/redfog.JPG" alt="redfog" width="275" height="417" /></a><br />
by Nicole Tanner<br />
Copyright:  © 2009<br />
CreateSpace<br />
$9.99 Paperback<br />
$5.99 Kindle E-dition<br />
ISBN: 1442141115<br />
168 Pages</p>
<p>Reviewed by Guest Reviewer and author <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net/" target="_blank">Linda Welch</a></p>
<p>Apart from noticing that the content would benefit from right alignment and some tidying up, I found The Red Fog by Nicole Tanner to be skillfully written, intense and mesmerizing.</p>
<p>When I looked at the first chapter, before I got into the story, I was immediately impressed by a writing style which is highly descriptive and manages to express such atmosphere. This is what draws me into a story more than anything else. Deana, the protagonist and narrator, talks in a casual, natural manner, and (I feel) projects a somber sense of foreboding appropriate to her tale.</p>
<p>In chapter one, college student Deana drives to her local store one bitterly cold evening and on the way back as she stops at a red light she sees Brent, the man who raped her and several other girls, standing in the crosswalk right in front of her car. As is the case with many rape victims, Deana and the other girls blamed themselves for the rape and therefore did not report Brent to the police. Brent recognizes her.</p>
<p><em>He twirled the blade around, tossing it over and through his fingers, still smiling and leaning to the side, putting his weight on one foot. My lungs still refused to work properly, and I opened my mouth in an attempt to successfully breathe. He looked right at my eyes and ran his tongue over his lips. His smile grew wider. Then my vision started to cloud, started to take on a reddish tint, like the light of a lamp with a red scarf draped over it. I suppose it could have been from the blood rushing to my head because of my difficulty breathing, but I’ve come to believe now it was much more than just that.</em></p>
<p>Overcome by terror, Deana deliberately runs into him and then drives over him to make sure he is dead.</p>
<p>At first Deana is torn by guilt. Visions of Brent increasingly intrude into her life. When she makes love to her casual boyfriend, Jon, she atypically takes control and finds herself identifying with her rapist, and sees Jon as herself, as the victim. She feels an incredible sense of power. From thereon, while she holds internal arguments with herself, one moment justifying the murder and the next feeling guilty and appalled, the feeling of unparalleled power takes over her life.</p>
<p>Weaving through the narration are flashbacks to earlier, significant events, including traumatic incidents of child and spousal abuse, giving you insight into what motivates Deana’s behavior. You realize that the rape was not the beginning, it was the climax, the catalyst, the point at which her subconscious cried, Enough!, taking Deana in a tragic direction.</p>
<p>Deana witnesses an off-duty cop kill a prostitute who refused to supply sexual favors and discovers he has murdered other prostitutes for the same reason. She decides to keep quiet about the murders but her inner demon won’t let her be.</p>
<p><em>I became confident and malicious, feelings my life up until that point had never given me the pleasure of experiencing. My vision blurred. I wasn’t really thinking about anything but getting that bastard back for what he had done. I started to plan, very methodically, very carefully. I had to go to the park that night. That was clear. I had to pose as a prostitute and accept the proposition put forth by Officer Kalowski and then at the perfect moment, I would strike, avenging the death of all the other women. That was the right thing to do.</em></p>
<p>Officer Kalowski will not be her last victim.</p>
<p>The pressure on Deana’s fragile sanity builds when Jon leaves her for his old lover, and when she confesses all to her best friend Brian, the one steady influence in her life, his fear and rejection of her sends her over the edge and to a final, fated confrontation.</p>
<p>This is a fascinating look into the mind of a victim become perpetrator as we watch her disintegration. It is not light reading but it is enthralling. It is also not a story for the faint-hearted. Scenes of sex, rape and murder are fairly explicit, but not gratuitous.</p>
<p>By the end of the book, although I could not condone Deana’s actions, neither could I condemn a person who clearly was no longer in her right mind. I thought, how sad, the poor girl never stood a chance. She was doomed since childhood, and eventually the red fog of insanity claimed her.</p>
<p>The Red Fog is an impressive debut novel by Nicole Tanner. I stayed up far too late reading it each evening and laid it aside with reluctance. I hope to see more from her.</p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner+http://bit.ly/mXZBk" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner+http://bit.ly/mXZBk" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;submitHeadline=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;submitHeadline=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;title=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;title=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;title=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;title=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;t=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;t=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;t=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;t=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;title=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;title=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;title=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/&amp;title=Review+106%3A+The+Red+Fog+by+Nicole+Tanner" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-106-the-red-fog-by-nicole-tanner/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Review 105: The Demon Hunters by Linda Welch</title>
		<link>http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/</link>
		<comments>http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:00:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>LK Gardner-Griffie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Horror/Supernatural]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kindle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LK Gardner-Griffie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Linda Welch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mystery/Suspense]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ghosts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ll book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mystery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[supernatural]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Demon Hunters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whisperings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://llbookreview.com/?p=2438</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify;">We first met Tiff Banks in <a href="http://llbookreview.com/2009/04/review-70-along-came-a-demon-by-linda-welch/" target="_blank">review 70</a> of <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449590845?ie=UTF8&#38;tag=grifworl-20&#38;linkCode=as2&#38;camp=1789&#38;creative=390957&#38;creativeASIN=1449590845" target="_blank">Along Came a Demon</a></em>. During the course of the first book, Tiff Banks is established as a person with the ability to talk with ghosts, who are referred to as shades. Tiff used her gift to assist the Clarion Police Department with murder investigations. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1448697433?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=grifworl-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1448697" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-571" title="TheDemonHunters" src="http://www.griffieworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Banner_Image_for_CS-198x300.jpg" alt="TheDemonHunters" width="198" height="300" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1448697433?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=grifworl-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1448697" target="_blank">The Demon Hunters</a><br />
By <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net/" target="_blank">Linda Welch</a></p>
<p>Copyright © 2009<br />
CreateSpace<br />
$ 8.50 Paperback<br />
$ 1.99 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Demon-Hunters-Whisperings-ebook/dp/B002WYJPKI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;s=digital-text&#038;qid=1259982327&#038;sr=1-1" target="_blank">Kindle edition</a> &amp; <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/6622" target="_blank">Smashwords edition</a><br />
248 pages</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">We first met Tiff Banks in <a href="http://llbookreview.com/2009/04/review-70-along-came-a-demon-by-linda-welch/" target="_blank">review 70</a> of <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449590845?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=grifworl-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1449590845" target="_blank">Along Came a Demon</a></em>. During the course of the first book, Tiff Banks is established as a person with the ability to talk with ghosts, who are referred to as shades. Tiff used her gift to assist the Clarion Police Department with murder investigations. That career came to an abrupt halt when she accused one of Clarion PD&#8217;s golden boys, Royal Mortenson, of being a murderer based on the say so of the ghost of a little boy. The actual murderer was Royal&#8217;s brother, who looks so much like him Tiff had difficulty in telling them apart, so she couldn&#8217;t blame the shade of a little boy for getting it wrong. The police department was a little less forgiving. And Tiff didn&#8217;t even tell the police department that Royal is a demon. Okay, so that is what Tiff has been calling those beings which have metallic looking hair, glittering eyes, and pointy teeth. Although, Royal has had his teeth capped.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Since Royal is now Tiff&#8217;s lover and partner in the detective agency they have opened, Tiff learned Royal is actually a Gelpha. But she continues to think of him and others of his kind as demons. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1448697433?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=grifworl-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1448697" target="_blank"><em>The Demon Hunters</em></a> opens with a comic scene in which Tiff convinces Royal to go after a kidnapped cat for the reward money, because she was feeling the pinch of being out of a semi-regular consulting fee. After speaking with a rather nasty ghost called Freddy, they got a lead on where the catnappers were located. Tiff then uses her bad-tempered Scottie, MacKlutzy to bring the catnapper out of the apartment while Royal, who has the ability to move at lightning speed, rushed in and out with the cat. Having little dogs of my own, I identified with the description of MacKlutzy squaring off with the catnapper.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>If there’s one thing Mac hates worse than cats, it’s being threatened. He recognized that tone of voice. Terriers are fearless. They literally do not perceive any distinction in size or bulk. Something stood between him and a cat and that something threatened him. Mac attacked.</em></p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Following this fun, lighthearted case, Royal calls Tiff to come meet some new clients, Gia Sabato and Daven Clare. Gia Sabato just happens to be an enormously successful author who sprang out of nowhere eighteen months prior to the start of the story. Tiff is surprised when the case ends up being about the abduction of a Clarion Latino former gangsta, who is the lover of Gia Sabato. Tiff doesn&#8217;t really like her new clients and suspects them of being Gelpha in disguise. On top of that Royal is acting very strange and keeping secrets from her. Add to the intrigue, the mysterious arrival of a nineteenth century journal kept by a fifteen year old British girl on the travels to Burma, and you have a case getting more bizarre by the moment.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When Gia and Daven unexpectedly arrive at Tiff&#8217;s house and waltz right in, Jack and Mel, Tiff&#8217;s resident ghosts, go ballistic and try to attack them and force them to leave. And even stranger, MacKlutzy, who never met an ankle he didn&#8217;t want to bite, runs away from them as quickly as he can and acts scared out of his wits. Even though she is the one who hired Royal and Tiff to find Rio, Gia Sabato doesn&#8217;t want Tiff to have too much information about the disappearance. Frustrated by being kept in the dark by her clients, and fearful her relationship with Royal could be on the way out, Tiff just wants this case to be over. Once Tiff finally gets them to let her in on what is really going on, she finds out someone is seeking out and killing demons and their <em>Dark Cousins</em>. No one will tell Tiff exactly what a <em>Dark Cousin</em> is, but she quickly figures out that they really don&#8217;t get along with Gelpha and that it is taboo to even mention what a dark cousin is. Join Tiff and Royal on their hair-raising adventure to find <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1448697433?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=grifworl-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1448697" target="_blank"><em>The Demon Hunters</em></a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://blog.griffieworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/demonhunters.gif"><img class="alignright" title="Demon Hunters" src="http://blog.griffieworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/demonhunters-203x300.gif" alt="Demon Hunters" width="203" height="300" /></a>I first read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1448697433?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=grifworl-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1448697" target="_blank"><em>The Demon Hunters</em></a> toward the beginning of the year, put together a draft of the review and scheduled it. <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net/" target="_blank">Linda Welch</a> contacted me and requested we postpone the review as she was making some changes to the manuscript. I was very interested in seeing what those changes might entail. Being a confirmed tweaker of my own novels, I completely understood the request and tried to wait patiently for the changes to be completed. Before I received the revised manuscript, I noticed the cover had been changed. The original cover is depicted to the right, and I think the cover pictured at the top of this review is a definite improvement. After reading the book, I understood what the original cover illustrated, but I don&#8217;t think it would have immediately grabbed the attention of potential readers.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The bulk of the changes to the actual content of the book are additional scenes which definitely add to the overall story. There is an added scene which takes the reader back to the first time Tiff ever saw a ghost. This was good back story information, and something I had been wondering about. Since Tiff didn&#8217;t see ghosts until she was an adult, the shock of it had to have an impact. <a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net/" target="_blank">Welch</a> also takes the time to tie up a loose end or two from the first novel in the series, as well as building some additional animosity between Tiff and her client, Gia Sabato. All in all, the revisions were definitely worthwhile, and worth the wait for the now completed product.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The first time I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1448697433?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=grifworl-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1448697" target="_blank"><em>The Demon Hunters</em></a>, it was in PDF format on my laptop. This time, I transferred the PDF to my Kindle to read it. The PDF conversion did okay for the most part, but there were a few issues, such as anything in italics appeared to have removed the appropriate spacing. Any dashes showed up as some sort of character in a box, and some of the formatting was off, such as paragraph indents, and some carriage return issues. Nothing significant enough to drive me back to the laptop to read the book. One of the benefits of using the Kindle to read the book over the PDF format is the ability to highlight text and input some notes, so I was able to bring up my notes to help me construct the review, a very useful feature.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.lindasworlds.net/" target="_blank">Linda Welch</a> pens her characters with authority, and you are instantly taken into the world of Tiff Banks and her demon lover, Royal. Her story contains action from start to finish. You feel like you know Tiff from the instant you pick up the book and want to stay with her as she jets all over this world and through otherworlds in search of answers. I&#8217;ll be anxiously waiting for the next installment in the Whisperings series.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">To preivew <em>The Demon Hunters</em>, click the <strong>Read Now</strong> button below:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img style="visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNDY2Mjk5NTQxNTYmcHQ9MTI*NjYzODUwOTUwMCZwPTU*OTI4MiZkPSZnPTImdD*mbz*1ZjYyZjNmYTA*Mjc*MWE3OWZiZmUwMjc1MGMyNGE3YiZvZj*w.gif" border="0" alt="" width="0" height="0" /><object id="bookwidget" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="328" height="220" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="name" value="bookwidget" /><param name="book" value="http://www.freado.com/bookwidget.swf?document_Id=1642_617_40" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allownetworking" value="all" /><param name="src" value="http://www.freado.com/bookwidget.swf?document_Id=1642_617_40" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed id="bookwidget" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="328" height="220" src="http://www.freado.com/bookwidget.swf?document_Id=1642_617_40" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" book="http://www.freado.com/bookwidget.swf?document_Id=1642_617_40" name="bookwidget"></embed></object></p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch+http://bit.ly/bbI8Fd" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch+http://bit.ly/bbI8Fd" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;submitHeadline=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz.png" alt="Post to Yahoo Buzz" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/submit?submitUrl=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;submitHeadline=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Yahoo Buzz">Buzz This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;title=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Delicious"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-delicious.png" alt="Post to Delicious" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;title=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Delicious">Delicious</a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;title=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Digg"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-digg.png" alt="Post to Digg" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;title=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Digg">Digg This Post</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;t=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Facebook"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-facebook.png" alt="Post to Facebook" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;t=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Facebook">Facebook</a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;t=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to MySpace"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-myspace.png" alt="Post to MySpace" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://www.myspace.com/Modules/PostTo/Pages/?l=3&amp;u=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;t=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to MySpace">MySpace</a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;title=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Reddit"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-reddit.png" alt="Post to Reddit" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;title=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to Reddit">Reddit</a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;title=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to StumbleUpon"><img class="nothumb" src="http://llbookreview.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su.png" alt="Post to StumbleUpon" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/&amp;title=Review+105%3A+The+Demon+Hunters+by+Linda+Welch" title="Post to StumbleUpon">Stumble This Post</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://llbookreview.com/2009/08/review-105-the-demon-hunters-by-linda-welch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
