The Zombie Cookbook, edited by Kim Richards

If you like zombies, I have a book for you! It's full of poems and short stories and, yes, zombie-based recipes.

Grab a fork, pull up a seat, and enjoy. :)

I can't unbiasedly review it since I have a poem and short story in it, but I can point you to some reviews and our (the contributing writers') website and you'll quickly see how much you want to check this book out.

After you learn about the authors and read story synopses I dare you to not want to see what is behind the cover.

We're having a Virtual Book Tour to promote The Zombie Cookbook too. Check out dates and web site locations. Come chat with us!

I'll be interviewed here and here on Oct 9th.

Other sightings throughout the month. Hope to see you!

Kudos!! Arrival by Christopher Hoare

Back in March I reviewed Christopher Hoare's newest novel, Arrival.

On Aug 15th, the novel was announced as a science fiction finalist for the 9th Annual Dream Realm Awards. Here's the link to the full listing of winners.

Congrats to Chris,and I look forward to reading more about Gisel and her travels. :)

Review - The Road Not Taken by Goodwill U. Onwuchekwa

Falling in love is a difficult process to describe, can take many forms, and often doesn't happen when one expects it. Love is also more than just a feeling between two people and it seems hard to know whether to follow what is in your heart or what is in your head.

The Road Not Taken is a romantic adventure story about how two individuals find answers to tough questions. An impossible partnership at the start, Maggie and Emeka find their hearts wrapped together and see a future together, until a past love surfaces.

Emeka struggles between his love for two women, but eventually makes the tough choice. Maggie is overwhelmed with emotions, but chooses the road that is right for her.

Goowill Onwuchekwa's descriptive voice brings the reader into the action. He uses multiple senses in each scene to give the reader a feeling of watching a movie instead of reading text on a page. His characters are intelligent and emotional. The characters are multilayered, intersting, and unpredictable. It is great storytelling with tight prose.

Goodwill U. Onwuchekwa was educated at the Teacher's College, Azaraegbelu, in Imo State, Nigeria. He taught as a grade II teacher, and later read law at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Nigerian Law School, Lagos. This is his first novel.

The Road Not Taken is a great read for anyone who enjoys well-written prose.

Title: The Road Not Taken
Author: Goodwill U. Onwuchekwa
Publisher: Publish America
ISBN: 1-60813-751-1
Pages: 202
Price: $24.95

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - Liquid Reflections by B. M. Song

Poet B.M. Song has delivered a book of poems that encompasses many aspects of every day life. Her poems paint vivid pictures and express familiar emotions that can evoke smiles, dreams, fantasies, as well as tears and new concepts to consider.

Liquid Reflections is a collection of personal reflective poems that give the reader something to relate to. The poems are easy to relate to in that they touch on common subjects such as love, passion, grief, anger, and spirit. Each poem has a different rhythm and feeling, similar to a river that ebbs and flows, the poems move along a path that is personal to the author. The reader is along for a fluid ride of an emotional landscape.

B.M. Song writes from a part deep within herself. Each word in each poem is purposely chosen. Song has produced a work of varied poems that will touch each reader in a different way.

B.M. Song resides in Fort Worth, TX. She is the mother of a six-year-old beautiful daughter and lives with her wonderful, handsome man, Eric. She has been writing since the age of twelve when she started as a young lyricist and songwriter. She enjoys singing, dancing, writing, camping, hiking, and fishing. This is her first published work.

Liquid Reflections is a recommended read for anyone who enjoys, or is interested in, poetry that works to evoke a rainbow of emotions.

Title: Liquid Reflections: A Stream of Fluid Prose
Author: B.M. Song
Publisher: Publish America
ISBN: 978-1-60749-445-4
Pages: 82
Price: $14.95

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - Arrival by Christopher Hoare

Arrival
Written by: Christopher Hoare
Science fiction / Fiction / Time travel
Rated: Very Good (****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Gisel Matah is sixteen. She’s on a starship with her father, brother, and a small entourage of explorers no longer able to get back to their home world. Being female and the youngest on board are not complimentary attributes for this spitfire, but she has skills that no other crew member has and her importance becomes apparent to everyone.

Being on board the Iskander with supersmart engineers and scientists, Gisel is challenged to be a ‘typical teenager.’ She was brought on board as personal trainer because her father, the engineering chief, pulled strings and having high-level connections doesn’t win her any friends. She’s headstrong and persistent, and, of course, knows everything.

She finds a way to be a part of the first landing party to the planet passing below the starship, and although most of her adventure doesn’t go smoothly, the crew discovers that she is the only person able to communicate with the natives they have run into.

Iskander technology is years ahead of the planet they must rely on for survival. The crew quickly learns that no matter how advanced you are, when you only have the basics to deal with, you have to adapt or perish. Creating alliances when you don’t know if the people can be an asset to you or not is a tough political position to be in. Gisel finds herself front and center while the General of the Iskander works to create relationships with the people on the planet, and she enjoys it.

She may only be a teenager, but Gisel has an inner strength, the intelligence, and the youthful wit to survive in just about any situation she finds herself in. Sometimes survival turns out to be luck, but in a brand new world, as long as you can keep your wits about you, you have a great chance to succeed.

Arrival is fun to read. It’s interesting to see how Gisel’s start within the Iskander crew relates to the first two novels. Her energy is contagious and comes through the pages. The reader, at times, wants to reach out to protect the young girl from danger, but Gisel quickly figures out a solution so the reader can breathe a sigh of relief and continue reading.

Christopher Hoare’s third novel, Arrival, brings the reader into the past. It fills in the details of the time before Deadly Enterprise, the first book in the series featuring Gisel Matah. The story continues in The Wildcat’s Victory and now the reader can see how Gisel became a young military leader at such a young age.

I recommend reading Arrival to anyone who enjoys exploring old worlds through time travel, politics behind creating alliances, battles, strategy, survival, and a small dash of romance. Arrival is a great story that gives the reader the scoop behind Gisel’s life.

I’ve enjoyed all three novels in this series and look forward to more novels from this writer. I think any of the three novels would be great on the big screen.

Title: Arrival
Author: Christopher Hoare
Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-55404-620-1
Pages: 354
Price: $16.99

Review - Second Bloom by Anne Marie Smith & Michelle Gamble-Risley

If you are ready to put in some effort, you can learn how to break through the Big Blank in your life with the help of two women who have been-there-done-that.

Second Bloom is a collaborative effort between a pair of successful women who each reached a point in their lives where they knew they needed to follow their passions, or let their souls whither. They chose action and now share their experiences. You'll aslo read stories of other women who learned how to reinvent, rejuvenate, and realize a new life.

Anne Marie Smith and Michelle Gamble-Risley use straight talk and real life examples to show that any goal, any dream, and any desire that a person has, can be achieved with a little bit of work. They describe each of the ten steps in the process, give examples, and then send you on your way. Workspace is given within the book, and a wall chart is included in the back for a visual display of your tasks once you work them out.

Anne Marie Smith is a professional writer, successful business consultant, and entrepreneur who hit the Big Blank at forty. She devised and executed her plan, sold her business, and started doing what she loves: write. Michelle Gamble-Risley is a professional writer and marketing, and public relations expert. Her passion for life reignited after her Big Blank in her late thirties. One day, she quit her job and started her own business. Second Bloom is the amazing collaboration between these two women.

Second Bloom is a highly recommended read for anyone looking for a creative way to set goals and conquer the Big Blank.

Available through Amazon, other online venues, and www.second-bloom.com/store.html.

Title: Second Bloom
Author: Anne Marie Smith & Michelle Gamble-Risley
Publisher: Kaabrah Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9818322-0-3
Pages: 128
Price: $19.95

Reviewed for Allbooks Review

Review - The Courier by James R. Vance

Detective Inspector Massey and Detective Sergeant Turner are long-time friends and partners. They've seen a lot in their careers and need all of their combined experience to unravel the strange coincidences stemming up from a seemingly simple incident.

What starts off as a case of someone mistakenly grabbing the wrong briefcase quickly becomes the catalyst to a large and entwined web of subterfuge. Time is of the essence when the young owner of the stolen briefcase disappears. Each new piece of evidence the police finds, forces them to call for additional support in order to cover all the unexpected directions they get pulled in. They quickly learn to not interpret everything at face value.

Vance's passion for this genre is apparent with his sharp writing and solida attention to detail. His words brush the city landscape onto the page like a roadmap. By using omniscient point of view, he gives the reader insight into the characters that the protagonists don't have, which allows the reader to play investigator right along with the lead characters. Vance balances dialogue with narrative without wasting a word.

Author James R. Vance lives in southwest France. His first published novel, Killer Butterfly, was inspired from his knowledge of London and northern France. The Courier, his second novel, features the same two detectives. His third novel in the trilogy, Animal Instict, will be completed in 2009.

The Courier is a sold, well-paced, engaging crime thriller. It's a highly recommended read for lovers of the genre.

Available through Amazon.com, and other online outlets such as http://www.theebooksale.com/.

Title: The Courier

Author: James R. Vance

Publisher: RealTime Publishing

ISBN: 978-81906-806965

Pages: 396

Price: $16.95

Reviewed for Allbooks Review