Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Movie Review: Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses


Director: Seth Gordon
Stars:  Jennifer Aniston
              Collin Farrell
              Kevin Spacey
              Jason Bateman
              Charlie Day
              Jason Sudeikis
         
Ratings:


★  


My thoughts:


Looking for a funny movie to rent, a friend suggested this one to me. Three friends, Dale, Nick, and Kurt "terrorized" by their bosses, paid someone (for five grand) to kill their bosses. This hit man they paid, known as Motherfucker Jones turned out to be just a "murder consultant" with no "killing experience". With no money left to hire a real hit man, the boys had no choice but to follow Motherfucker Jones' advice - they just have to kill each other's bosses and to make the deaths look like accidents. 


I actually enjoyed the movie but not as much as expected. I had horrible bosses before so I really enjoy watching movies with the same storyline, makes me appreciate my job now, yay! The movie was good but there were some boring parts that I almost fell asleep watching it. The lines are funny but I think they were not delivered right to make me LOL. Not good enough to recommend it to friends. Glad that I only rented the movie.



Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Guest Author: Diane Echer



The sinking of the Titanic was not an accident. It wasn’t even the result of poor judgment or over-confidence. 


It was a carefully planned murder. An assassination. 


Three thousand innocent people were deliberately sacrificed on April 15, 1912, to cover up the elimination of just three of them: Isador Strauss, John Jacob Astor, and Benjamin Guggenheim.




In 1912, Strauss, Astor and Guggenheim were three business magnates among America’s richest and most influential. Their character and positions naturally brought them to influence decision-making in the country, either through elected office, the various positions they held, or the sheer power of their stature.


Why were they killed? Because their views for the future of America did not match the interests of a powerful group of people.


A handful of disparate events took place on separate continents in 1912. Like the sinking of the Titanic, they’ve long been put away in the dusty drawers of History.


They’re back in Vaults of Power, an action thriller that takes place nowadays. Here’s from the back cover:


One independent woman. Robyn Gabriel, a young historian turned treasure hunter with a taste for one-night stands and a strained relationship with her twin.


Two duty-driven men. A senior executive of the Federal Reserve, and a Chinese triad member.


Six days for an impossible ransom.


It took me a few years to write the book—partly because it was my first novel and I could not give it the time it deserved, partly because the plot required a lot of research. While the book is fiction, the underlying story (in which my main character stepped in) is based on recent history, and on events, schemes and conspiracies I witnessed during my years as a business lawyer in France. Plot-wise, what excited me most was to come up with an idea I thought was over-the-top… to check if it could actually stand the test of history… and discover that actual events proved my point.


Like the sinking of the Titanic not being an accident.


I will be happy to send a free chapter (Chapter 19, where you’ll get more on the Titanic) to the readers of this blog who will drop me a note at www.DianeEcher.com. Just mention Bookingly Yours! First three requests, I’ll also snail mail a signed print-out of Chapter 19.


You can start reading Vaults of Power for free on my website (I post a chapter a week). Vaults of Power is also available in paperback for $12.99 and all ebook readers for 99 cents (if your favorite ebook format is not yet available, it will soon be).


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Monday, November 28, 2011

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?



"It's Monday! What are you reading?" is a fun meme hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey. This is where we share the books we have read last week and our reading plans for this week. 

Last Week Read and Reviewed



Book for Posting Review



Currently Reading:


The first book in Richelle Mead's brand-new teen fiction series - set in the same world as Vampire Academy. 

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning. 

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.





The Wicked Wives is based on the true story of the 1938 Philadelphia murder scandals in which seventeen wives were arrested for murdering their husbands. 

Mastermind conspirator Giorgio DiSipio, a stunning lothario and local tailor who preys upon disenchanted and unfaithful wives, convinces twelve of them to kill their spouses for insurance money. 

The murder conspiracy is very successful until one lone assistant D.A., Tom Rossi, uncovers the plot and brings the perpetrators to justice. 

The Wicked Wives is a story made for Hollywood, combining murder, corruption, treachery, love, lust and phenomenal detail as it vividly captures Depression-era Philadelphia.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Guest Author: Bob Brink



A DYSPEPTIC WRITER

A newspaper review by a former longtime creative writing professor praised the writing style of my novel, Breaking Out, for its "polish and grace." That observation has lent me sufficient authenticity, I think, to expound on a subject that causes me increasing dismay: the breakdown of standards in English grammar and usage.

At the risk of seeming insufferably snobbish, I will further quote the reviewer, Philip K. Jason, Ph.D., (philjason.wordpress.com): "His sentences and paragraphs are well turned."

I must say that the sentences and paragraphs in public communication these days are often turned inside out, upside down, topsy turvy – anything but straightforward and clear.

Let's see ... . Here are a couple of items from the Palm Beach Post, same day, same section: "It's got a bright taste," the writer said of a wine. Removing the contraction, the phrase becomes, "It has got a bright taste." Is there any reason in the world to include the word "got"? Then there's this sentence by a Post editor: "They walked everywhere, including to their new high school at 15th and Tamarind." How awkward. "Including" screams out to be followed by a noun, not a preposition.

The mishandling of "including" is ubiquitous. Even columnists for the New York Times occasionally are guilty of it.

Another endemic problem is the dangling modifier. A perfect example is this one, also from the Post: "Located across the street from the Blue Heron Bridge, Jaeger said the new store is in the perfect spot." One wonders how Jaeger enjoys the view in his location across the street from the bridge.

Here's a doozy by a columnist in The Condo News in Palm Beach County: "Being a member of my town's Code Enforcement Board, at our last meeting water violations seemed to fill our agenda." I kind of, sort of think she meant to say that as a board member, she noticed an awful lot of water violations on the agenda.

Speaking of "sort of," Chris Hayes of The Nation magazine surely holds the record for most frequent use of the phrase on a television network – namely, MSNBC. A few days ago, I decided to count during a conversation he had with a host. After he used it four times in about about one minute, I switched to CNBC, where watching my stocks fall was less painful.

Even more grating to the ear is TV's omnipresent "if you will." A political talk show host says the politician was "stretching the truth, if you will." Instead of calling the pol a liar, the host already has hedged with the "stretching" language. Is the added phrase necessary? Do these people have to qualify almost everything they say with that God-awful appendage?

Close behind "if you will" in frequency is "literally." "This house at 200 Pine Street was literally destroyed by fire," the TV reporter announces as the camera takes in the scene. And you think, Aw c'mon, I see a couple of charred studs still standing. You sure it wasn't just figuratively destroyed?

A mistake made by virtually every writer I've read involves items in a series in the first part of a compound sentence. Usually, the word "and" is omitted before the last item in the series, as though the second part of the sentence, which follows "and," were the last item in the series. Two "and"s are needed. Example: "I bought fruit, vegetables, milk, and went home." Wrong. That's two sentences, the verbs being "bought" and "went." So it's "... vegetables and milk, and went home."

A few more that stick in my craw: (1) "both X as well as Z." Nooooo. It's, "both X and Z," or "both X and Y, as well as Z." (2) "between X to Z." Does that sound illiterate, or what? It's, "between X and Z," or "from X to Z." I've heard "between ... to" on National Public Radio, and seen it often in the Palm Beach Post. (3) "I'll do it, however, I'm not happy." Wrong. Does "however" go with the first, or second, part of the sentence? It's, "I'll do it; however, ... ." Or, "I'll do it. However, ... ."

There are many others, but I've run out of space. In another spot, I'd especially like to offer my alternatives to use of the plural pronoun forms (they, them, their) when the gender isn't known. I've come up with a new set of pronouns. 

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Book Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly

Author: Cynthia Hand
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (Re-print Edition November 1, 2011)



Ratings:


★ ★ ★ 




My thoughts:

Clara is part angel and all those human with angel-blood should fulfill one purpose. Clara needs to save a boy in a forest fire. In order to do this, her family moved from California to Wyoming to be close to Clara's purpose, Christian. She has to focus on her purpose, and it means she needs to be with Christian all the time, wait for the fire to happen and save him. It's really easy especially Christian just broke up with his girlfriend and he's asking her out! Everything is great until Christian went away on a vacation. Clara accidentally falls in love with another guy - Tucker. Things became much more complicated when she's about to save Christian, it turns out that there were two forest fires. Now, Clara must choose between two guys: save Christian and fulfill her purpose or save Tucker, the one she loves.

I went to the bookstore to buy Fallen by Lauren Kate but the book wasn't available so I picked this up instead. This is my first angel book and I expected to love it since I've seen a lot of 5-star reviews for Unearthly. I liked Clara's character. She's nice and friendly, a typical teenager and being close to her mom and brother made me like her more. I liked the conflict of the story, having to choose between what you "have" to do and what you "want" to do. I enjoyed reading this book though to be honest, I didn't get the ending especially the part where even Clara couldn't understand her real purpose. I know this is part of a series but it's so frustrating not to get the ending. I don't know if it's just me or what? Did anyone get the ending? What was Clara's real purpose?

About the book:

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.


About the author:



Cynthia Hand grew up in southeast Idaho (very near the Wyoming border). Currently she lives in southern California with her husband and two small children. She teaches courses in creative writing at Pepperdine University. Unearthly, her debut YA novel, was published by HarperTeen in January 2011, out in paperback on 11-1-11. The sequel, Hallowed, will be released on January 17.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Guest Author: Karen Charlton


Researching a two hundred year old mystery


If the truth be told, most people who look into their family roots are not just hoping to discover where their ancestors came from but what they might have got up to. Nobody really believes that they will stumble across a forgotten ‘family pile’ or an unclaimed inheritance, but the prospect of a bit of mystery or gossip and the odd skeleton in the cupboard, does add spice to the search.


My husband and I had always shared a mutual interest in genealogy.  For me, an aspiring historical novelist, what we discovered during our family history research was like winning the jackpot. 


When we shook our family tree, a convict fell out and I quickly realised that the perfect plot for a historical novel had just landed in my lap.  


I’d wanted to write a book since I was eight years old and used to scribble down stories in old exercise books. Unfortunately, real life got in the way of literary ambition.  Work commitments and raising a family took a large chunk out of my time and I just never got around to writing that bestseller. 


In August 2004, when we made our amazing discovery, I was chatting on a genealogy message board with another forum member.  He directed us to an online document which suggested that hubby’s four x great-grandfather was a convicted felon, sentenced to transportation to New South Wales, Australia.


We were stunned. Transported? If so, what had James Charlton done?  


It took years of painstaking research at The National Archives in Kew and the local libraries in Northumberland to uncover the truth.  What started as a hobby quickly became a quest. 


James Charlton had been convicted of stealing over £1,157 from Kirkley Hall in 1810. He had allegedly been involved with the biggest heist Northumberland had ever known. The mystery of the burglary at Kirkley Hall had never been properly solved.   Even by Regency standards James’ conviction was dodgy and there was a public outcry amongst the influential and literate middle-classes following his imprisonment.


Bit by bit, the story came together.  By January 2009, I had enough information to start writing the novel – and then the real hard work began. It was bought by Knox Robinson Publishing and will be published on 8th December 2011.


We are absolutely delighted.  Two hundred years after James’ conviction, the real story of the notorious Kirkley Hall robbery will finally be told.





Catching the Eagle
by Karen Charlton
(Based on a true story)


Easter Monday, 1809: Kirkley Hall manor house is mysteriously burgled. When suspicion falls on Jamie Charlton, he and his family face a desperate battle to save him from the gallows.


When £1,157 rent money is stolen from Kirkley Hall, it is the biggest robbery Northumberland has ever known. The owner sends for Stephen Lavender, a principal officer with the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court in London, to investigate the crime.  Suspicion soon falls on impoverished farm labourer, Jamie Charlton, and the unpopular steward, Michael Aynsley.


Jamie Charlton is a loving family man but he is hot-tempered and careless.  As the case grows against him, it seems that only his young brother, William, can save him from an impending miscarriage of justice.  


But William is struggling with demons of his own. Desperate to break free from the tangled web of family ties which bind him to their small community, he is alarmed to find that he is falling in love with Jamie’s wife. 


Set beneath the impenetrable gaze of a stray golden eagle whose fate seems to mirror that of Jamie's, Catching the Eagle, the first novel in the Regency Reivers Series, is a fictionalised account of a trial that devastated a family and divided a community.


‘Catching the Eagle’ is available to pre-order from amazon, Knox Robinson Publishing, The Book Depository and selected Waterstones’ branches in the UK.



Road to success pointed north
The Karen Charlton story


Karen Charlton was born in Sheffield and grew up in Leeds.  She completed an English degree at Hull University.  After a few years of roaming between various jobs in Harrogate, Ripon and Scarborough she finally settled in Teesside.
She completed a post graduate teaching certificate at Durham University. Since then, she has combined a teaching job at Grangefield Secondary School in Stockton, with her writing and raising her own pair of ‘little villains’.
Apart from her interest in genealogy, Karen enjoys reading, the theatre and a weekly trip to the village pub quiz.
Catching the Eagle is based on the true story of her family's notorious ancestor, Jamie Charlton.  


Karen Charlton:  Redcar, Cleveland
Karencharlton1@gmail.com
www.karencharlton.com



Sunday, November 20, 2011

In My Mailbox



IMM (In My Mailbox) is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristi at The Story Siren

This is a way to share books we received for review, bought, and borrowed from friends or library.

Received for review



"Wicked Wives" is based on the true story of the 1938 Philadelphia murder scandals in which seventeen wives were arrested for murdering their husbands. Mastermind conspirator Giorgio DiSipio, a stunning lothario and local tailor who preys upon disenchanted and unfaithful wives, convinces twelve of them to kill their spouses for insurance money. The murder conspiracy is very successful until one lone assistant D.A., Tom Rossi, uncovers the plot and brings the perpetrators to justice. "Wicked Wives" is a story made for Hollywood, combining murder, corruption, treachery, love, lust and phenomenal detail as it vividly captures Depression-era Philadelphia.



My story about Tip attempts to convey to the readers about how the love of a dog can be so entertaining. Watching him provided a distraction from the seriousness of my husband's illness and sitting with him watching TV gave me the opportunity to spend time writing about Tip as he went about his merry way. I've never attempted to write a book, but when Tip came into my life


After three heartbreaking miscarriages, Tom and Jenny Callahan are happily anticipating the birth of their sixth child. Their neighbor, however, is secretly hatching a sinister plot which will find Jenny and her unborn baby fighting for their lives.



Seventeen year old Pride is a tracker—a werewolf with a hunger for blood. Taught to trick and to lure, she is the perfect killing machine. 

Kept leashed in the cellar by a master who is as ruthless as he is powerful, Pride dreams of freedom, of living a normal life, but escape from the compound is near impossible and disobedience comes with a price.

When she learns her master intends to breed her she knows she has to run.

Pride soon learns if she is to survive in the wild, she must trust in the boy who promises her freedom, the same boy she was sent to hunt.

With life and death hanging in the balance the two find themselves on the run from the Paranormal Task Force—officers who shoot first and ask questions later—as well as her master’s handlers.
Can Pride flee the man who has held her captive since birth and find sanctuary in the arms of a boy who has captured her heart? Or will her master find her first?

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Book Review: Zor by J.B.

Zor: Philosophy, Spirituality, and Science

Author: J.B.
Paperback: 268 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (November 9, 2010)

Note: I received this book free from the author, J.B. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings:

★ ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

Zor, is a thought-provoking book that will make you stop and ponder about the meaning of love, friends, marriage... life in general. The book tells the story of a successful business man, Jonathan Brewster. He has almost everything in life but at the end of the day, he gets lonely. He feels that his life is getting boring day by day. Even being considered having a successful life, he feels empty inside. He loves his wife but it seems everything is routinary in his marriage. Meeting Zor is like meeting a genie in a bottle. They easily became friends and with the help of Zor, he eventually realizes that a successful man can also commit mistakes.
    
Once in a while, I read books like this. You know, reading about life lessons. I have met a lot of successful men and women in my life, even though they have all the goods things in life, I know deep inside something more is missing. The discussion here seems real, like two people you know talking about life. Though I must admit that I didn't get some of the discussion, they are too deep for me to understand. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, it was an easy read, a good book to read when having a "me" time.

About the book and author:


Having grown up in rural New Hampshire, I was fortunate to attend the cultural melting pot of Boston University in the early 70's. As president of the senior class I graduated with both a major in Business Administration and a concentration in Philosophy/Religious Studies.

Since graduation I have spent over 30 years trying to balance corporate success with the "summer of love"; tempering capitalism with peace, love, and understanding. To that end I offer my new novel, "Zor".

"Zor" explores the relationship between philosophy, spirituality, and science by asking one simple question; where do you turn when life's core beliefs become suspect?

That is the dilemma confronting Jonathan Brewster, a middle aged money manager from Boston, whose "chance" meeting with a Haitian dwarf named Zor, spirals out of control. Forced to defend his life in a series of intense debates concerning negative ch'i, emotional addictions, neuron networks, placebos, vipassana meditation, the collective unconscious, laws of attraction, sub-atomic entanglement, Nietzche, metta, God, and happiness; John is reluctantly drawn to a new reality.

Rising above his crisis of conscience he restructures his life for the greater good, only to be challenged by the ultimate betrayal.

Currently living seaside, in a picturesque New England community with my wife and son, I am convinced the movement that captured our nation in the late 60's is still very much alive. Zor says it best, "no one can save the world, but anyone can change it. Let's change the world together."

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Guest Author: Jayne Grey


It seemed like a great idea at first.  I’d always had at least one job since I was 13, so driven that I was back to work precisely six weeks to the day after giving birth to my daughter even though it was a Sunday. Years later, a lawyer-saturated divorce and custody battle while attempting to hold a senior level corporate position had left me exhausted and running on fumes.  I knew it and so did everyone else around me.   I was ready for a change.  


When I found myself unemployed in April 2009 I was surprised at the sense of relief that washed over me.  I updated my resume and applied to a couple of jobs but truth be told, I was in no hurry to brush my teeth before noon.  I felt like I was on Summer Vacation again and this time it was with my amazing seven year old daughter and a nifty little severance package!


There is something to be said for going to sleep at night knowing that you don’t have to wake via an alarm.  We spent the summer making Mickey Mouse pancakes each morning (and sometimes for dinner).  I watched in awe as my daughter learned how to do back flips in gymnastics class while the other seasoned stay-at-home moms played on their iPhones.  We took golf lessons together and spent ridiculously long amounts of time splashing in the pool and reading trashy magazines.  OK…I read the trashy magazines…Holly just splashed around.  She’s seven, remember?


Before long it was Back to School time and I decided that I was ready to join the workforce again.  Little did I know that my timing was tragically flawed; apparently while I was busy sleeping in each morning dreaming of back flips and pancakes there was a nation-wide economic downfall going on.  Instead of landing a serious interview my Inbox was filled with news of friends who had lost their jobs as well.
  


I’m not sure which of us first used the term “FUnEMPLOYMENT”, however it quickly caught on with my motley crew of corporately displaced friends.  Sure, we were all scared to death at first.  That first COBRA bill is a reality check on steroids.  Despite the loss of everything material we’d ever accumulated (401K plans, luxury cars, monster credit limits and what I like to call “Mc Mansions”), somehow it felt better knowing my colleagues were in the same boat.  Besides, I’m not so sure that I would have found the discipline or inner strength to downsize and re-evaluate what truly means most to me in life had I been able to immediately renter the workforce.  Yes, to me a half-filled glass means it’s time for a refill.


So what does one do with their bad ol’ self after applying for every single job on the Internet just short of door-to-door perfume sales?  Online dating you say?  Funny you should mention that because that’s exactly what all of my single unemployed friends and I did, for better or for worse.  Let’s just say that after sharing some of our collaborative stories I can honestly say that very little shocks me.  


It was right about that time that a promo for The Office came on smack in the middle of the nightly news featuring record unemployment.  I found myself wondering how many people just like me were watching a show about people at work and about to have their cable shut off?  Where was our story?  


After ten months of an empty Inbox and hearing nothing but crickets chirping in mockery, I was thrilled to land a great job even if it was a 110 mile of round trip commute. Who was I to be picky?  Holly had four new cavities and I hadn’t paid the COBRA bill (gulp).  So as much as I hated to do it, I rejoined corporate America.  Farewell, FUnEMPLOYMENT…and thanks for the “Do Over”.  Let’s catch up later!


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Monday, November 14, 2011

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?



"It's Monday! What are you reading?" is a fun meme created and hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey. This is where we share what we have read last week and our reading plans for this week. 





Last Week Read and Reviewed






For Posting Book Review



Currently Reading



Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Next 



Guest Author: Spargo Postle


Why on earth would you buy my book…???


I could tell you all about my new book Alone Among Many…  I could cleverly link enticing snippets and pieces of the work to this guest post so that it urges you to read it, makes you want to buy it… I could explain to you why the first poem in the book intentionally uses words that are repeated too often… I could provide reasons as to why most of the poems use words very sparsely… I could perhaps give a background to each and every poem and why I wrote it… I could… I really could… Perhaps you think I really should… But I won’t…


You see the problem I have with poetry, and poetry has with me, is that once the work has been read it no longer belongs to poet. It is now in the possession of the reader, to own and think what they like about it. They can hate, loathe, love or appreciate each poem ever written in equal measure. If you find no connection with the words used then you will hate or loathe it. But, if you connect with the words you may appreciate what is being articulated, you might even love it.


Poetry is a unique and eccentric form of literature; it has rules and layouts, forms and structures that must be abided by so that poets conform, it is as open and accessible as you want it be so that it can be written in any way, shape or form you wish to use, and it can be as long or as short as you want it to be. Poetry style then, in essence, is as totally contradictory as the thoughts that tumble around our busy minds. The only thing that can be said about poetry with any certainty is that people will loathe or appreciate a poet from one poem to the next. The balance that every poet has to consider is do I write for my own vanity or do I care what the reader thinks???




Well… Do I care what readers think…??? As the English poet John Keats is quoted as saying “Poetry should… should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance.” So yes… I do…!!! Once I have passed my thoughts to paper, and they find someone to connect with, the meaning and understanding conveyed in the poem belongs to the reader. Any emotional impact a poem once had for me, when I penned it, is now connected in some esoteric way to the reader. But, if the reader hates the poem, it is all mine and mine alone.


From my experience poetry, not just my book but all poetry needs to find a connection with the reader more than any other writing medium. “Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal which the reader recognizes as his own” a quote from Salvatore Quasimodo. 




So… Why on earth would you buy my book, or any other poetry book for that matter…??? Poets sit alone among many waiting for someone with a poetic mind such as theirs to connect our thoughts with theirs, and then a reader may just buy our book. Because as W.B. Yeats is quoted as saying “The true poet is all the time a visionary and whether with friends or not, as much alone as a man on his death bed.” 

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Guest Author: Carl Ray


Fiction is another word for escape.


It can take the reader to another world, providing the imagination with the tools to paint a picture of exquisite beauty, nightmarish horror or anything in between.


It's almost magic, really.  Within a few pages, a good author can make characters seem like people you've known for ages.  In just a few chapters, decades of time can pass and yet you feel as though you've been with them through all of it.


Yes, I just mentioned pages and chapters.  I did it because, to me, books are the ultimate "delivery system" for storytelling.  Just like smoking is the delivery system for nicotine, books are the delivery system (and a much healthier one, at that) for the high that comes from finishing a satisfying story.  It's why the book is always better than the movie.


Like many fans of the arts, be it dancing or singing, sketching or storytelling, sometimes I can be so inspired by what I see as to try my own hand at it.  Watching the movie "Strictly Ballroom" inspired me to try ballroom dancing.  I've been told that you are always supposed to find a least one positive from any experience you've had.  In the case of ballroom dance, I learned that I could save a lot of time and frustration by not doing it.  


Same with singing.  My daughter has a beautiful voice.  I guess it must skip a generation.  My positive?  Trying to sing with little success made me appreciate my daughter's gift that much more. 


It's the same with trying to write The Great American Novel.  When I read the works of some of the really great authors of our time I think, "I could never write like that." 


But one thing I can do is draw cartoons.  I also like to tell jokes, even write my own (with mixed results).  And I love to tell stories.  Not a novel or even a novella.  Just light entertainment that can be enjoyed for what it is.




I decided to challenge myself to put my strengths together and create something.  For me, drawing, jokes and storytelling added up to writing a comic.  I wanted it to be light and funny, with likeable characters in outrageous circumstances; just like the old Looney Toons characters that inspired me to start drawing when I was a pre-schooler.




Then I set out to draw Fish Tank.  It's the story of three aquarium fish (one of which is a super-genius) and their adventures.  It taught me that it takes a lot of work to make a story flow.  An effortless cartoon, one that tells a story and is funny in all the right places, is actually quite a chore to create.  But I love to create them and the results made the work that much more rewarding.


For the first time in my artistic exploits, I finally feel like I've put together something that I can be proud of, something I can share with you.


If you'd like to learn more about Fish Tank, even look over some free samples of the eBooks, you can go to my website at http://fishtankcartoon.wordpress.com.  There is even a complete story there that you can read.  Give it a try.  It's fun!


Maybe it's not a steak, but sometimes a little piece of chocolate can be satisfying, too!



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