Monday, December 26, 2011

Lavender Dreams Cancer Anthology


Ten short stories in this anthology to entertain you. More importantly, the authors and cover artist have generously donated these stories and their royalties to help raise funds for cancer research each year.

Authors:

Barbara Ehrentreu, Gloria Oren, Lisa J. Lickel, Nan D Arnold, Nathaniel Tower, Rosemary Gemmell, Suzannah Safi, Tanja Cilia, Vicki Batman

Back Cover:

MuseItUp Authors dedicate this book to all who have been affected in one way or the other by cancer. All royalties from the sales of this book will be donated each year to a cancer research organization, or hospice in order to further combat and find a cure.

The book is divided into three sections: non-fiction, fiction based on true stories, and fictional stories—ten stories generously donated by the authors to help raise funds for cancer.

This book is dedicated to the memory of one of our dear editors who passed away in 2011 from cancer, Karen McGrath.

You will always be remembered.

Contents:

Tributes and Dedications

NONFICTION

A Blessing in Disguise by Gloria Oren

FICTION BASED ON TRUE STORIES

Cancer Didn’t Get Him by Barbara Ehrentreu
Taking Flight by Vicki Batman
Camp Chemo: The Last Laugh by Nan D Arnold
Waiting by Rosemary Gemmell

FICTION

Stories from the War by Nathaniel Tower
Testing…by Lisa J Lickel
The Cancer Tree by Nathaniel Tower
Behind A Closed Heart by Suzannah Safi
The Book by Tanja Cilia



I suppose I should review each story individually, but I am not going to do so.  I will, however, caution you to read the stories one at a time, as they can become overwhelming if you try to read too many at once.  Each piece holds to the high standards of MuseItUp Publishing, Inc.  Each piece will move you—make you laugh, cry…think.  I highly recommend this book, not just because the proceeds will hopefully help to wipe out this horrible disease, but because it’s a darned good read.

Price:  $1.99

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Tales of a Texas Boy by Marva Dasef



How do you handle a crazy jackass? Eddie knows. If you ask Eddie, he'll tell you pigs can fly and show you where to find real mammoth bones. Take his word for it when he tells you always to bet on the bear. These are things he learned while dreaming of becoming a cowboy in West Texas during the Depression. Through Eddie, the hero of "Tales of a Texas Boy," we find that growing up is less about maturity and more about roping your dreams. Hold on tight. It's a bumpy ride. A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys books like "Little House on the Prairie" or "Tom Sawyer." A great bit of nostalgia for seniors, too.



West Texas during the Great Depression comes alive in this collection of short stories told from the point of view of a boy growing up there.  Chores come first, but there’s time to play and be a boy, as well.  There are also special times like when the carnival comes to town with the fighting bear, or when he gets to visit relatives over by the New Mexico border and collect bones with a real archeologist.  There’s danger like when he and his sister try to ford a flooding river on the way to school because there’s no cutting when an education is a precious thing.  I was immersed in Eddie’s life, and if the book had been much longer, I suspect I’d have picked up his idoms.  Thnak you, Ms. Dasef, for introducing us to your father in such a wonderful way.

Prices:
E-Book:  $0.99
Print:  $6.49

Sunday, December 11, 2011

A Scuffle for a Wrinkle by Luke Evans



Vonnel offers a proposition to his skilled team of thieves: make off with the most technologically advanced gadget on the planet, and earn more money than they can imagine. The gadget known as "the wrinkler" lines up the rifts in space-time and thrusts you through it, but there's a catch. They're not the only ones after it.

They set up a sting in a skyscraper hotel on the edge of The City. Vonnel's right-hand man is dressed as a woman, his techie can't get the volume right on his communications, and his bumbling diversion is doing things better left unknown. Vonnel intercepts the target in his hotel room. Problem is, the wrinkler is not inside, and the man who stole it, his old nemesis, has already used it to disappear.

Now Vonnel must use all his wits to determine where his nemesis has gone, and how to procure the wrinkler for his client. It's a race up skyscrapers and through space-time for the ultimate gadget, and only one person can stop him: a man he has never before bested.


When I read “A Scuffle for a Wrinkle,” I forgot it was a short story.  For some reason I thought it was novel length.  Maybe that was because I’m not used to world-building complete with an alternate language (at least for cuss words) in a short story.  Maybe this story takes place on Earth; maybe not.  But it wasn’t an Earth I recognized.  Buildings were hundreds of stories tall and the land outside the city was a desert.  People mostly flew—in carts, luxury vehicles or harnesses.  I wasn’t sure I liked Vonnel, but if this were a movie, I could see George Clooney playing him and winning women’s hearts while making men want to be him.  Yeah…he kinda grows on you.  And major kudos to Luke Evans for a top-notch job of world-building in thirty-four pages.

Price:  $2.50

Buy Link:

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Lurkers by Lindsay Below






Blurb:
To say Kayla is bad at science would be a colossal understatement. So why does she carry the responsibility to figure out what went wrong? In the blink of an eye, everything she knows has changed. Her parents -- along with the rest of the adults in Toronto -- have disappeared, leaving her saddled with her whiny little brother. Luckily, she meets Jackson Sullivan, a fifteen-year-old scientific genius bent on finding out what happened. But he wants her help. How is she supposed to help sort out all this science stuff when she can barely pass her tenth grade science class?

As Jackson’s sidekick? Not in a million years.

Excerpt:

“What are we going to do?” she whispered.

She figured he knew what she was talking about—their parents. “I need more information,” he muttered. “We should go out into the city and find more people like us.”

“More people?” she gaped. “You think there are still people out there, besides us?”

He laughed. It was quick, and he covered his mouth with his hand, but she heard it. “You thought we were the only people left in the city,” he mumbled through his fingers.

She scowled. He made it sound like she was an idiot. “I didn’t see anybody else,” she snapped. It wasn’t so far-fetched to think that she, Josh, and Jackson were the only people left.

“I’ve had three separate calls today,” he informed her. “All from kids. None could find their parents. Not everybody is gone, only the adults. How many other kids do you think there are in the city?”

“You think this is happening to everybody?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Of course.” He lifted his hand, listing the points on his fingers. “No buses. No cars. No television. No radio.” He leaned back. “I’m almost surprised we have electricity. Although, depending on how many people use it, we should have enough stored up for a while.”

Kayla frowned to herself, thinking. “But why would all the adults leave? Why wouldn’t they take us with them? They’re our parents.”

“I don’t know yet,” Jackson admitted. “That’s what we need to find out.”


All of the adults have gone, but where?  Jackson thinks he can find out with Kayla’s help.  But it’s all she can do to keep herself together and ride herd on her eight-year-old brother—who happens to have diabetes, and need insulin.  Not an easy job.  Especially after she burns down the house the first night.  I never have liked electric stoves.  You can’t tell whether the burners are on or off.

This is another Young Adult book from MuseItUp Publishing, Inc., and it was written by a very young author.  I guess it takes what it takes to get us where we are, but I’m a smidge jealous that Ms. Below (pronounced Bay-low) has gotten there already at the tender age of twenty-one.  How wonderful to be getting paid to do what you love at such a young age, and to do it so well!  You can fill the bottom of your children’s Christmas tree with or stockings with copies of Lurkers.  But since it’s rather gauche to give away books that have already been read, I suggest you wait until after Christmas to borrow your child’s copy, or better yet, buy one for yourself!  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did.

Price:  $5.50