The Book Stacks

Join Dana Dorfman, author of the spirit/new age novel, The Pink Forest: A Woman’s Intimate Confessions (Banderae Publishing, Apr. ‘08), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in July on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

Dana Dorfman is an author who gravitates to the signs of life. In tune to the emotions surrounding her, she insists she can still see the first star she wished upon. Dorfman was raised as an only child and has been writing since the age of four. She graduated from the University of Southern California and considers herself a “life writer” who is able to tap into the blush of the earth. She resides in Los Angeles with her mystical spirit. You can visit her website at http://www.danadorfman.com/.

The Pink Forest Synopsis:

In the netted light, a face very recognizable stares out at me. I do my best to look casual. I gaze at her chiseled outline. Her high cheekbones are distinctly familiar. As the figure slowly disappears her delicate shadings pause in a pinkish glow. “You can be absolutely infuriating at times. I cannot take the subject seriously.” She half-smiles and then vanishes in the curls of her breaths.

A woman tries to teach her conscience about love.

The pink forest is her story.

This biography is about a woman who wants to throw a pillow at her conscience for trying to run her life. Set in the vividness of a kiss this courageous feminine read goes far beyond bug-jeweled sandals and striped pumps and applauds an ordinary woman in her super-hero moments.

For every woman who has ever wanted to stop her life and let her conscience hop out at the curb, you will welcome the power you gain in The Pink Forest.

Dorfman writes about the hunted soul. The part of us that we travel through from a distance, the part of us that cannot slip away untold. There are few authors that can catch the soul of a story like Dorfman. Her charm lies not just in her artistry but in the way she leads your presence on to the written page. If you would like the author to unpack the pages of your life visit her at SoulBiographer.com DanaDorfman.com, The Lollipop Chronicle and the Here And There Gazette.

Join Tom Samuels, author of the satire/humor book, Stop Making Music Workbook, as he virtually tours the blogosphere in July on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

Tom was born in Allentown, PA, twenty-two years ago, and attends West Chester University where he will graduate this year with a B.A. in Communication. He plans to study the field of Creativity in graduate school. He has a comprehensive library on the history of American music, including biographies, recordings and sheet music. He plays the guitar and ukulele. He strives to find a good balance in his life through meditation, eating well, learning and creating.

Tom Samuels has published his second book, Stop Making Music, based on a character he created who is guaranteed to provoke a response with the reader. The book contains 136 essays written in the voice of an arrogant nitwit who wrestles with “evil” musicians, songwriters and producers. He developed this persona through essays he wrote on a blog, http://www.last.fm/user/bigsexyshaq/. Two years ago he published a book called Talm Psalms: The Complete First Season. It is a collection of futuristic, silly stories that incorporate humor and philosophy.

About the Book:

Tom Samuels’ book, Stop Making Music, contains 136 essays that deliver contrary opinions on the music business. They are written in the voice of an arrogant nitwit who wrestles with “evil” musicians, songwriters and producers. Read each essay carefully because you will be asked if you “agree” or “disagree.” No one goes unscathed…not even the beloved Beatles.

Where else could you find an Off-Broadway play based on the life of KoRn? You will be required to actually think about the current state of the music industry. Reading this book is an illuminating journey that will help you to understand why you are a music fan. There is a lesson to be learned in each chapter…a satirical, funny lesson that you will never forget.

I love smoothies. Yummy. The local ’smoothie shack’ even has a loyalty program. So today I got a free smoothie, and who doesn’t love free stuff?

Speaking of…

Remember to play the Monday game for your chance to win an Aussie postcard from me.

If you would like to try your hand at reviewing, please feel free to contact me using the contact me button under the site description on the right. I’m more than happy to put up guest reviews. I’m also thinking of a best book review contest, but it’s just an idea floating around in my brain at this point.

Reading:
Sabriel – Garth Nix
Savage Survival – Darrell Bain
In Bad Dreams – Horror Anthology – Edited by Mark Deniz and Sharyn Lilley
Xenocide - Orson Scott Card

Going to Read:
Dead Ringer – Mary Burton
I’m Watching You – Mary Burton
Supernatural – Graham Hancock
Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist – Aram Schefrin
Neutron Star – Short story collection – Larry Niven
Firebirds – Fantasy/Sci-fi Anthology – Edited by Sharyn November
The Lab – Jack Heath
Remote Control – Jack Heath
The Foreshadowing – Marcus Sedgwick
The Jaguar Legacy – Maureen Fisher
Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hilary Clinton – Kathleen Willey
To Truckee’s Trail – Celia Hayes
The Redemption of Althalus – David and Leigh Eddings
The Serpent Bride – Sara Douglass
Loving the Goddess Within – Nan Hawthorne
Bad Girls Club – Judy Gregerson
Stand – Debbie Williamson
Season of Sacrifice – Tristi Pinkston
Copper Star – Suzanne Woods Fisher
Copper Fire – Suzanne Woods Fisher

Upcoming Reviews:
Eon – Greg Bear
Sword Dancer – Jennifer Roberson
Prosperity - by Deborah Woehr

So what’s on your list?

I meant to do an update on this over the weekend, but I never quite got to it. The huge project I have mentioned many times over many sites needed the last of its tweaking and, after that, I couldn’t get my mind to function for more writing. It’s amazing how much something can take out of you when it involves sitting in front of a computer most of the day.

Anyway, I’m going to do the honorable thing and take myself out of this challenge while I still can. Hah. Maybe it’s not really all about honor, but with work and everything, I highly doubt I’ll be able to finish up with the book I’m reading and read five more before the month is done.

Maybe I could do it if I had nothing to do for the rest of the week, but the sad fact is I have oodles of work to catch up on from what I got behind on doing the Massive Project. (I’ll tell you what it is when it’s up and live.) So, yes, it’s time to bow out and become a cheerleader for the rest of the participants.

I feel a bit bummed over not completing my first reading challenge, but so it goes. I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo for three years and have yet to complete that. I’ll just use it as motivation to find another challenge and participate in it. Next month if I can get myself all sorted out.

Or maybe I’ll just create my own challenge.

You’ll have to come back and find out if I actually do…

Have a great day!

Welcome to this week’s A Book By Any Other Name!

The game works like this: Each week I will choose a word and offer a few titles that I’ve come up with containing that word in the title. Then it’s your turn to come up with book titles containing the same word, without duplication (yes, that includes my titles.) I would also like the author, but that is just so I can find the book if I want to read it.

The current challenge: I challenge you all to reach 32 titles containing the weekly word by midnight Friday, (with no more than 10 titles commented per person and not including *my* titles in the total.)

My forfeit? For this challenge I’d like to do a little something different that will hopefully have the both of us smiling. If you all work together and reach the goal, I will send each of you who participate a post card.

Whoo-hoo right? Right! For those of you who don’t know, I live in Australia so you will be getting a postcard featuring the lovely, lovely city of Melbourne. (If you’re willing to give me your postal address, which I promise to delete as soon as I write it on the postcard.)

So if you’d like a post card, join in!

If you don’t reach the goal, we’ll try again next week. If you reach the goal, I’ll have a brand new challenge for you next Monday where you’ll get another chance.

(If you’re feeling pouty about the ten titles per person limit, why not get a friend to come and comment as well? The more, the merrier.)

The word this week is:

Friend

I Say: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

You Say…

In Organic for Health, Sandy Powers gives you a no-fuss introduction to why going organic could improve your health significantly. With sections on everything from seafood to immune boosters, she briefly introduces you to what works best for your body – and what doesn’t.

I liked this book because it got straight to the point with things. You read about what works, what doesn’t, and what’s wrong with non-organic foods. She even includes recipes for you to try out and a section on meditation as well so you can look after your mind health.

I have two criticisms for this book, however. The first is that I would have like to have seen footnotes. When you have so many facts and figures in a book, it makes it a lot easier for the reader to follow up specific information with footnotes. While Powers does include a bibliography, footnotes still would have been helpful. Holly Fretwell’s book on global warming is an excellent example of footnotes used well.

My other criticism is that Powers advises the reader not to take vitamins and minerals but doesn’t advise the reader to talk to their doctor first. While it is possible to get your daily needs out of what you eat, there are some of us who need to take vitamins because of deficiencies. One of the more common ones is iron for women.

A lot of people simply don’t take vitamins, but I would still recommend talking to a doctor about your diet and especially if you are thinking about stopping taking vitamins and minerals.

Overall, I recommend this book. It’s a quick read and introduces you to the ‘darker’ side of the food industry without skirting around the issue.

Hello everyone and happy Thursday. Welcome again to yet another slightly late Booking Through Thursday. I reckon I should just start calling it “Booking Through Thursday Afternoon” or “Booking Through Close to Friday” just to make it more accurate. But neither of those sound nearly as nice, so we will just ignore them, shall we?

You’ll have to ignore my slightly mad ravings and rantings. I have been working on a massive project since last Saturday and I think it’s finally starting to fry my brain. The sad thing is that it isn’t even done yet… Hm.

Anyway, on to the lovely question prompt for this Thursday. As always, you can respond in the comments section or leave me a lovely linky so I can read what you have to say on your blog.

Here’s another idea about memorable first lines from books.

What are your favourite first sentences from books? Is there a book that you liked specially because of its first sentence? Or a book, perhaps that you didn’t like but still remember simply because of the first line?

There is a first line of a book and I have no idea what the book is, but the line(s) is something like: “I like being dead. I don’t have to answer the telephone that way.” I found that line one day while searching for… something years ago, and I haven’t been able to forget it since.

While I truly love first lines, no others really pop right into my head at the moment. They can truly make a book that much better, but a first line certainly won’t carry a bad book.

What do you think?

Hi! I’m Kamilla Reid and I’m here today to talk about my new book “The Questory of Root Karbunkulus” Actually, I’m here to talk about why I chose to write a teen fantasy.

Well, the best answer to that is that I didn’t.

I just wanted to write a story that came to me, pretty much in a flash and got cooler and cooler as I scrawled it out over pages and pages of scrap paper. It was only once it was done that I was told it was a fantasy.

When I started writing “The Questory” I was as green as it got when it came to knowing any of the publishing lingo, especially genre. And, in fact my opinion on fantasy was quite low. To me it conjured book covers of virile, half naked men and women with ginormous swords. And hard to pronounce names. Just not my thing. I had no idea there were other, I guess you could call it sub-genres within fantasy.

And to be quite honest, even now I don’t even know what the sub-genres are or aren’t. I mean, aren’t the Arthurian tales of Camelot fantasy? Or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or The Princess Bride or Cinderella? Or are they myths, legends and fairy tales? Y’see what I mean?

To me they were magical adventures. That’s all. Magical adventures that I loved. Magical adventures that I wanted to write. And so that is what I set out to do.

As to “teen”, well that was more confusing. Some people were convinced “The Questory” was Young Adult and some that it was Middle Grade. Being that Root is 14 years old, I liked the term Tween but there, too it seemed a bit controversial. Eventually it seemed to be referred to as teen more often that not and that’s where it took up space in the shelves.

Maybe a better question is why did I choose a fourteen-year-old as my main character. Most likely it was because there is still so much magic at that age, still so much hope and assurance of who you are. Yet it also seems to be the time when that same assurance is kicked around the most, bullied, questioned, fought for, doubted Those teen years are sort of like an all important trial that will wholly influence who you are when you finally walk out of its alley and move down the road to Adult Hood.

Oh what juicy promise! To me, it was a no-brainer.

Today I am still facing a cold and have a big work load to boot. I have a massive project to finish under a deadline, so lets hope that I don’t end up having to work too many late nights to finish it…

Otherwise, things are going well. Not much has changed from last week. I’m reading my third book for the July Book Blowout. I know I have to get a move on if I want to make it to eight by the end of this month! I’m beginning to have doubts about whether or not I’ll make it…

I’ll be updating on my progress for that on Saturdays. (Or on Tuesdays if the mood strikes, but I don’t have time to do an update today.) If you are participating in the challenge, let me know.

Remember to play the Monday game for your chance to win an Aussie postcard from me.

If you would like to try your hand at reviewing, please feel free to contact me using the contact me button under the site description on the right. I’m more than happy to put up guest reviews. I’m also thinking of a best book review contest, but it’s just an idea floating around in my brain at this point.

Reading:
Sabriel – Garth Nix
Savage Survival – Darrell Bain
In Bad Dreams – Horror Anthology – Edited by Mark Deniz and Sharyn Lilley
Xenocide - Orson Scott Card

Going to Read:
Dead Ringer – Mary Burton
I’m Watching You – Mary Burton
Supernatural – Graham Hancock
Marwan: The Autobiography of a 9/11 Terrorist – Aram Schefrin
Neutron Star – Short story collection – Larry Niven
Firebirds – Fantasy/Sci-fi Anthology – Edited by Sharyn November
The Lab – Jack Heath
Remote Control – Jack Heath
The Foreshadowing – Marcus Sedgwick
The Jaguar Legacy – Maureen Fisher
Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hilary Clinton – Kathleen Willey
To Truckee’s Trail – Celia Hayes
The Redemption of Althalus – David and Leigh Eddings
The Serpent Bride – Sara Douglass
Loving the Goddess Within – Nan Hawthorne
Bad Girls Club – Judy Gregerson
Stand – Debbie Williamson
Season of Sacrifice – Tristi Pinkston
Copper Star – Suzanne Woods Fisher
Copper Fire – Suzanne Woods Fisher

Upcoming Reviews:
Eon – Greg Bear
Organic for Health – Sandy Powers
Sword Dancer – Jennifer Roberson

So what’s on your list?

Welcome to this week’s A Book By Any Other Name!

The game works like this: Each week I will choose a word and offer a few titles that I’ve come up with containing that word in the title. Then it’s your turn to come up with book titles containing the same word, without duplication (yes, that includes my titles.) I would also like the author, but that is just so I can find the book if I want to read it.

The current challenge: I challenge you all to reach 32 titles containing the weekly word by midnight Friday, (with no more than 10 titles commented per person and not including *my* titles in the total.)

My forfeit? For this challenge I’d like to do a little something different that will hopefully have the both of us smiling. If you all work together and reach the goal, I will send each of you who participate a post card.

Whoo-hoo right? Right! For those of you who don’t know, I live in Australia so you will be getting a postcard featuring the lovely, lovely city of Melbourne. (If you’re willing to give me your postal address, which I promise to delete as soon as I write it on the postcard.)

So if you’d like a post card, join in!

If you don’t reach the goal, we’ll try again next week. If you reach the goal, I’ll have a brand new challenge for you next Monday where you’ll get another chance.

(If you’re feeling pouty about the ten titles per person limit, why not get a friend to come and comment as well? The more, the merrier.)

The word this week is:

Chocolate

I Say: Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause (I need to get a copy of this)

You Say…

Thank goodness for the weekend, that’s all I can say. And now for my latest July Book Blowout update.

Books Read: 2/8
Pages Read: 560

Well, I’m still quite behind in the challenge, but I’m actually quite proud of what I have done so far. I have some ‘emergency’ reviews stashed away and I haven’t had to use even one of them this month so far.

I have yet to say whether or not I think I can read the remaining six books in the time I have left, but I’ll try. Unfortunately, I have a bunch of big projects that have popped up all the sudden - the biggest of which has a July deadline - so we’ll just have to see how things go as far as getting everything done on time.

The books I’ve read so far - Don’t You Marry The Mormon Boys and Janeology - were both good, and I’m very happy for the run of good books. I’m confident that my third book - Sabriel won’t disappoint on that end. The only trouble there is that it is making me get in the mood to work on my fantasy novel, which I certainly don’t have time for right now.

I also received a few books to review recently, so those should be a lot of fun to read.

If you are participating in the July Book Blowout, be sure to let me know how you’re doing in the comments. Leave a link to your blog/site where you are documenting your progress.

Have a great weekend! I’ll be back here on Monday with the new Monday game.

It seems the fun isn’t quite yet over at 451 headquarters.

451 management recently purchased all kinds of new equipment and is in the process of switching everything over to those new systems. As you can imagine, doing all that isn’t easy and comes with its own hiccups.

I’ve been told that the blogs shouldn’t experience a lot of down time, but you can expect hiccups, burps, and maybe even the occasional fart in the next few days. Be assured that everything will still be puttering along and you should definitely come back!

I promise you that we are just as tired as you when it comes to the sites’ down time. Hopefully everything will be switched over by the end of this week and next week we will be running back to normal next week. (Or maybe even starting this weekend…)

Again, I’m so, so sorry for the down time. I know that, even when it’s out of your hands, a blog having down time can reflect negatively on the blogger. I have some interesting things coming up in the future, though, so I hope that is enough to keep you coming back.

And, just to keep you entertained while things are getting taken care of (not that I think you can’t entertain yourselves), here is the link to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along blog. There is a lot of fun to be had and the final installment is coming soon!

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Be well and have a fantastic rest of the week.

When mothers kill their children, people want to know why. People want to know how it happens under the watchful eyes of the loved ones who live by their sides. So, when Jane, loving mother of two, one day does the unthinkable and drowns their toddler son, her husband Tom is devastated.

Aided by a woman with the power of retrocognition – the ability to see past events through objects once owned by the deceased – the dark-biology theory takes form as we meet eight of Jane’s colorful ancestors spanning decades and continents.

In Janeology, Karen Harrington treads in territory we shudder in horror about when we hear about it in the news. Yet, despite the gruesome topic, her writing style is clear and sweeps us into Tom’s tortured world.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting when I started reading it. Instead of courtroom drama, this is more of a look into family histories and exploring what negative influences passed down through the generations can do to shape our lives. In that context of biology, heredity, and nature versus nurture, this book is quite interesting. The stories are filled with strong characters who inspire strong feelings in the reader.

She takes you back through time and around this family tree, so things can be a tiny bit confusing at times, but it doesn’t distract from the actual text too much, so you can still enjoy the book.

Overall this is a good book but not for everyone. If you’re interested in biographies, genealogy, and the nature versus nurture argument, you’ll be more likely to enjoy this book. However, even if you’re not, this book could be a great introduction for you.

Hello and welcome to another Booking Through Thursday. This one is, again, a little late due to technical difficulties, but I hope you’ll bear with me just for a little bit longer, as things are almost completely sorted out at 451Press

Another question inspired by the Bunch of Grapes on Martha’s Vineyard having burned down on the Fourth of July.

I’m still devastated about the Bunch of Grapes, even though I usually only got to visit it once or twice a year–it was such a vital part of my trips to Martha’s Vineyard. Its (hopefully temporary) loss won’t affect my day-to-day book habits, but it was such a wonderful store on one of my favorite places. Stopping there was such a strong tradition, and I’m going to miss it as part of my vacations. But it made me think–I always buy books when I’m away from home. They’re as much of a trip-souvenir as any t-shirt or trinket. Better, even! And it occurs to me that I can’t be the only one of us who does that, huh?

I have been known to buy books when on vacation, but I don’t exactly make it a point to. I definitely don’t buy books from big bookstores because books are so expensive here in Australia. However, I do like fun little bookshops and if I see one on vacation, I’ll poke my nose in. I’ve made some great finds this way.

But as for favourites and whatnot, not really.

How about you?

Hello all. Today I have decided to not only test out Skribit but to give you the chance to have a bit more say about the things you would like to see more of on this site. I’m going to leave this up for at least all of Wednesday (today), so feel free to suggest for all sorts of things, vote for them, etc.

I’m not completely sure this is going to work the way I’d like it to, so if you encounter any problems, leave a comment. If I take this post down, don’t worry - I’ll read all the suggestions first. Let me know if you think having this suggestion box here is useful or not. (I think it will be useful, but hey, you never know, and I do like getting my readers’ opinions.)

Have an excellent day.