Review of FARM DOGS by Janet Vorwald Dohner

Farm Dogs: A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners by Janet Vorwald Dohner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review of FARM DOGS by Janet Vorwald Dohner

"Farm dogs" are not only the kind we might see in Western films, herding livestock; or in photos of the British isles, with sheepdogs guarding. Farm dogs can be many disparate breeds, sizes, and of distinct categories of abilities. Author Janet Vorwald Dohner presents a well-thought-out guidebook to this topic, which is of use to pet owners and dog lovers everywhere, as well as to those who live and work on farms. Commencing with "A Short History of Man and Dog Together," author Dohner explores the nature and qualifications of the "working dog." She then delineates several major categories including dogs to guard livestock; dogs who herd; "terriers and earthdogs"; and a category of other breeds comprising "Multifunctional and Traditional Farm Partners." When the reader has completed the book, he or she will know much about the categories of working dogs, and which breed to choose for greatest effectiveness, according to the reader's need for a "farm" dog.



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BROKEN Series Box Set by Maegan Abel_Pre-Release Celebration!

Join Forever Red Publishing and Barclay Publicity in celebrating Maegan Abel’s bestselling The Broken Series by pre-ordering THE BROKEN SERIES BOX SET today for just $0.99! This sizzling box set includes 3 full length novels and one novella. Titles included are Perfectly Broken, Unforgivably Broken, Broken Holidays - A Broken Series Novella, and Silently Broken! Rafflecopter for The Broken Series Box Set Giveaway: Forever Red Publishing is offering one (1) lucky grand prize winner a Kindle loaded with selected Forever Red Publishing Titles! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29262/ About The Broken Series Box Set: Title: The Broken Series Box Set Author: Maegan Abel Publisher: Forever Red Publishing Release Date: August 23, 2016 Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance ISBN: 9781941853375 “Sometimes, when you take the broken pieces and combine them, you get something even more beautiful.” Life will never be the same. People always say things like that and you never really believe them, but it’s the truth. One day, you think you have your life all figured out and then a single event starts a chain reaction you can’t seem to stop… Zane Tishler and Lili Cortez fit in perfectly with the party crowd of Sin City locals. They’ve spent two years honing a finely tuned system to bag and tag tourists with no strings attached. Sex is just sex, after all. But when dangerous shadows from the past start to reappear, things get complicated. Best friends and roommates, they never expected to find what they’d both been searching for in each other, but sometimes those who know us best forgive our sins the easiest. Through shootings, fires, and a multitude of secrets and lies, can they both survive? Even if they do, can their love? Add to your TBR List: Goodreads Pre-Order Your Copy Now for $0.99 Today! Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes Excerpt: I stared as Lili moved with almost mechanical motions, making it seem like she was pausing for small fractions of a second between movements. When she pulled this off perfectly, the sound of the crowd around us surged. I was completely entranced as she continued dancing and her eyes landed on mine. She moved to me and pulled me to her before spinning to press her ass against me again. I wrapped my arms around her waist, resting both my palms flat along her stomach and abdomen as I bent my knees to lower myself while we swayed together. She was so close I could see the beads of sweat running down her neck, the tiny hairs curling along her hairline in an unruly fashion. I felt the bare skin of her stomach when her shirt rose and my fingers slid underneath, tugging her even closer. She threw her head back and I gripped her hips. Turning her to face me, I lifted her up, my fingers on her backside as she used the position to move against me. Wrapping her legs around my waist, she grabbed the back of my hair with both hands, her nails grazing my scalp. I groaned and pressed my lips to hers again without another coherent thought. The crowd went crazy when the song ended and Lili blinked, seeming stunned as she looked around. I glanced up from her to a sea of camera phones that no doubt captured Lizzie's embarrassing ass stomping by Lili. I grinned at her and let her slide slowly down my body but she looked past me. "And it's EX-wife, you… repulsive tramp!" Lili stuttered as she spat the words. With an irritated huff, she moved quickly through the crowd. I could barely see the top of her head as she passed through the door toward the street. I glanced at the table to see Tish and Kas were already moving that way so I turned to follow Lili. "Zane!" Lizzie whined, grabbing my arm. Half an hour ago, I would've fought myself not to fall About Maegan Abel: Maegan despises writing about herself in the third person. She also hates touting her accomplishments like she thinks she’s really done all this amazing stuff… Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I’ll tell you what you need to know. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I went to college in my late twenties and studied Stage Production Technology. I now work full-time in an alterations shop of a major department store and part-time backstage in the various theaters around the area. I’ve been an avid reader from a very young age and the top goal on my list of things to accomplish in my life was to write and publish a book. During the summer of 2013, while working backstage on The Lion King, I read eleven books in four weeks. It was during that time that the character of Lili was born and after the show left Tulsa, I sat down and began writing my first published book, Perfectly Broken. Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Publisher’s Website

Review of HOW TO WRITE A BOOK LIKE A PRO

How to Write a Book Like a Pro: Top 10 Mistakes Beginners Do And How To Avoid Them by James Holtenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review of HOW TO WRITE A BOOK LKE A PRO; TOP 10 MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM by James Holtenson

This inspiring short book will appeal to those who want to write, but have not yet begun, beginner writers, and any writers who wish to improve their craft. Author Holtenson breaks down ten types of mistakes, and then carefully addresses each, providing not criticism, but positive praise with every sentence. You will go through this book realising that you, too, can and should write, to follow your desires. I especially appreciated the author's emphasis on the importance of reading much as well as writing much. Polish your craft and work toward excellence!


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Review of MOTIVATION: 8 SIMPLE STEPS TO MOTIVATION

MOTIVATION: 8 Simple Secrets to Motivation: Find Inspiration, Shift Mindset & Create Success by K. I. Cobarrubias


Review of MOTIVATION: 8 SIMPLE SECRETS TO MOTIVATION by K. Cobarrubias

The author offers 8 steps to increasing one's motivation, pointing out throughout that happiness and success are neither the same, nor exclusive of each other. A simple lifestyle can be abundant in joy and generosity while a wealthy lifestyle can be lonely. Instead, each of us needs to recover the wonder and ability to imagine and create that we possessed in childhood, then use that to intuit, feel, and proceed.

This short book can be read in one sitting, but will provide food for further thought and examination.

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Review of SIREN by Celina Grace (Kate Redman Mysteries #9)

Siren by Celina Grace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review of SIREN by Celina Grace (Kate Redman Mystery #9)

I always enjoy this series because author Celina Grace has such a smooth, conversational, style, sort of in the cozy-mystery vein, yet with deeper understanding of character and some really ingenious plotting. In this newest, for example, a suspenseful opening leads to the discovery of the corpse of an upper-middle-class English entrepreneur, a man with a loving wife and three children and a sizable residence, in a compromising and very unpretty situation. While Kate Redman, her Detective Superintendent, and the others on the homicide team are tossed into the investigation, racking up long hours, viewing CCTV tapes, and conducting numerous interviews, all the team still have to maintain their personal lives and relationships, and their relations in terms of the team as an entirety and as individuals. So while this is a police procedural series, it is also much more, a series with real characters in real lives. I don't often say this, but I think the Kate Redman series would be an outstanding, long-running, television series if well casted.

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MRS. LEE AND MRS. GRAY by Dorothy Love_Spotlight and Review

MRS. LEE AND MRS. GRAY by Dorothy Love_Spotlight and Review

Spotlight:

Centered on the extraordinary lifelong friendship between Mary Anna Custis Lee -- a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington and the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee -- and Selina Norris Gray -- a black woman born into slavery at Arlington who became Mary Lee's personal maid, head housekeeper, and confidante -- Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray explores the dynamics of a powerful alliance that transcended race, culture, and the turmoil of war, and paints  “a sympathetic portrait of these two women that both engages and educates the reader” (Publishers Weekly.)

 

Like Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings and Jennifer Chiaverini’s Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule, Dorothy Love’s Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray is the story of a complex relationship between mistress and slave that left an indelible mark on our common history.

 

Told in alternating voices, Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray reveals:

 

•    The unfolding of a lifelong friendship between mistress and slave

•    Selina Gray’s courageous act that resulted in the preservation of historic American treasures

•    The hidden strengths and accomplishments of Mary Anna Custis Lee

•    The crushing losses and sacrifices both women endured during and after the war

A general’s wife and a slave girl forge a friendship that transcends race, culture, and the crucible of Civil War.

Mary Anna Custis Lee is a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and heiress to Virginia’s storied Arlington house and General Washington’s personal belongings.

Born in bondage at Arlington, Selina Norris Gray learns to read and write in the schoolroom Mary and her mother keep for the slave children and eventually becomes Mary’s housekeeper and confidante. As Mary’s health declines, Selina becomes her personal maid, strengthening a bond that lasts until death parts them.

Forced to flee Arlington at the start of the Civil War, Mary entrusts the keys to her beloved home to no one but Selina. When Union troops begin looting the house, it is Selina who confronts their commander and saves many of its historic treasures.

In a story spanning crude slave quarters, sunny schoolrooms, stately wedding parlors, and cramped birthing rooms, novelist Dorothy Love amplifies the astonishing true-life account of an extraordinary alliance and casts fresh light on the tumultuous years leading up to and through the wrenching battle for a nation’s soul.

A classic American tale, Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray is the first novel to chronicle this beautiful fifty-year friendship forged at the crossroads of America’s journey from enslavement to emancipation. (

Review:

In this contemporary culture, when Image is Everything, and History is literally a thing of the past, ignored and underappreciated, it is important to bring History to vivid and identifiable life. As we tend to forget, History was made by humans living in their present, humans who had emotions, thoughts, fears, needs, just as do we. Author Dorothy Love shines a beautiful light on two very disparate women who were nonetheless simultaneously products of their divergent cultures, and fast friends throughout. Kudos to Ms. Love for bringing this pair to our reckoning, and for humanizing a brutally heartwrenching era in American history.

MAYAN BLUE_review

Review: Mayan Blue

Mayan Blue by Michelle Garza
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Review: MAYAN BLUE by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason

I so appreciate the Lovecraftian resonance of this story: modern research scientist [archaeologist, professor, cancer survivor--at odds with other faculty and peers in his specialty] determines to prove what to most is a wild, far-fetched notion. So [In keeping with so many of H. P. Lovecraftian' s foolishly reckless characters] he proceeds, on his own, opens what should be avoided, and pays the consequences. His risk-taking opens a dangerous can of worms--err, owls; and releases what, millennia ago, had been sealed by multiple self-sacrifices. Of course, others will now suffer too.

Plenty of blood, gore, dismemberment, and enucleation here to satisfy those devotees of extreme horror, and an intriguing weaving of ancient Mayan mythology. Plus, for fans of 80's horror films, there are university students, some of whom are so airheaded one wants them gone just to shut them up. 

Review: furtl By Strobe Witherspoon

Review: furtl

furtl by Strobe Witherspoon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Review: furtl by Strobe Witherspoon

So you think privacy, personal and global, suffers too many inroads these days? Think governments [everywhere] know too much and abuse that knowledge? HA! Read furtl: a very-near future, very societally-dystopian, very "sell to the highest bidder," very mentally-ruined citizenry, narrative. Beware: dumbing-down is NOT a slow process; and the setting of furtl is NOT far ahead. Beware. 

Review: SCHISM by Brett Holewinski

Schism by Britt Holewinski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: SCHISM

When society collapses, for whatever reason--war, disease, invasion--humanity resorts to its basest motivations. Looting, pillage, killing, are rampant. Such is the case even when the survivors are all youngsters, as in Brett Holewinski's dystopian tale, SCHISM. When six billion of the global population fall prey to plague, the survivors are those in early adolescence or younger. Those with character and moral integrity strive to not just survive, but to persevere and rebuild. Others live only to destroy. SCHISM is the first in a trilogy.

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MOTORMAN by Robert E. Dunn_Tour

Review: MOTORMAN by Robert Dunn

When I read author Robert Dunn 's RED HIGHWAY, I was blown away by its power and range. MOTORMAN also impressed me strongly, but for me it resonated more for the various individuals than for its general apocalyptic impact [as In RED HIGHWAY].

 I too live in a community whose economy is collapsing. In some regions, economic issues result in individuals joining gangs or selling drugs. There is some of that here, but the community in which fugitive Johnny finds himself has adopted a massively different solution, one that is both bizarre and pragmatic. Mr. Dunn deftly blends horror, science fiction, literary fiction, and a deep understanding of humanness in a beautifully crafted story.

THE INVASION by Brett McBean_Tour

Review:  THE INVASION by Brett McBean

The author has exhibited so much talent and interwoven so many layers of meaning into this novel that not once did I panic due to the nature of the plot--planned multiple home invasions by a technologically spiffy "cult." Okay, a couple of scenes and references really perturbed me. But we are so thoroughly introduced to the characters before the ugly events commence, that I just breezed along, wrapped up in the family and friends, cheering them on, rather than focusing on the pain and terror. Also, none of the "victims-to-be," as the terror squad perceives them, are wimp-outs, each in her or her own way has character strength and determination, compassion and empathy--all traits missing in the cult members, who are all human-shaped voids, commanded by a Black Hole with a metaphysical bent.

Mr. McBean, bring it on. You've far surpassed expectations in this supremely rapid-paced thriller.

The Invasion, Synopsis

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Print Length: 235 pages

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Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

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Publication Date: May 15, 2016

It was supposed to be a quiet end to a long day: five close-knit family and friends settling in for some much-needed sleep after coming together for an early Christmas party.

Instead, it’s the beginning of a shocking night of brutality when six intruders break into the sprawling residence of Debra Hillsboro, a middle-aged romance novelist with a fierce devotion to her loved ones and a strong kinship with her home of almost thirty years.

Armed with smartphones and a modern brand of madness, the intruders – an internet-age cult disconnected from humanity and addicted to causing fear and mayhem – have come to the secluded property for one purpose: to terrorize, and ultimately kill, everyone inside all while filming their heinous crimes.

Outnumbered and cut off from the outside world, the terrified occupants find themselves trapped in a fight for survival as a once place of safety is turned into a deadly maze of darkened rooms and forbidding hallways. On this sweltering summer night, they must somehow find a way to escape before the cult turns the beloved home into a house for the dead.

 

Brett McBean, Biography

Brett McBean is an award-winning horror and thriller author. His books, which include The Mother, The Last Motel and Wolf Creek: Desolation Game, have been published in Australia, the U.S., and Germany.

He’s been nominated for the Aurealis, Ditmar, and Ned Kelly awards, and he won the 2011 Australian Shadows Award for his collection, Tales of Sin and Madness.

He lives in Melbourne with his wife, daughter and German shepherd.

Find out more at: brettmcbean.com

Praise for Brett McBean

"McBean’s voice is one that should be heard – a hint of Laymon and Koontz, yet distinctly his own.” —Brian Keene, author of The Rising and Terminal

“Brett McBean is as brash and brutal as a young Jack Ketchum. He visits the dark rooms inside us all.” —Scott Nicholson, author of The Manor and The Farm

"The Invasion, by Brett McBean, is a startlingly bleak home invasion story, but one that is wonderfully written. McBean relies on his characters and atmosphere to bring the biggest scares, along with the frightening threat of home invasion that many readers will bring to the reading all by themselves." -Michael Patrick Hicks, author of Convergence

Purchase Links

Amazon (U.S)

Amazon (Australia)

Amazon (U.K.)