This Just In… Arrival of the Prophecy by Robin Renee Ray

Shape-shifters have lived in chaos for centuries, fighting clan against clan and breed killing breed. All Were-beings knew of the prophecy that spoke of the “ones” who would come and bring peace to those who lived among the humans in secrecy and to those who lived under the thumb of an overbearing ruler.

Werewolf and clan leader Anthony Michelle meets the beautiful Sky Delaney and quickly realizes that she carries the other half of his soul, his one true mate and the “one” that can set the prophecy on its foretold path, only to find that she is a frail, pure ... human.

You can order Arrival of the Prophecy here. Visit author Robin Renee Ray on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

New Today: Island Girls by Nancy Thayer

It would perhaps be an over-statement to call Nancy Thayer queen of the beach read. Even so, 16 novels into a fantastic career, one would not go far in saying that about the Nantucket-based author.

Just in case you don’t believe me, have a look at the first edition cover of her latest book, Island Girls (Ballantine). As you can see: ocean, a horizon line, a beach umbrella. If ever a book were designed to tempt you onto the strand, this is it. And the content? Well, the cover informed it. And whichever Ballantine publicist who, in the press release that accompanied the book into reviewer’s hands, warned that, “Thayer’s newest tale will have readers at the edge of their beach towels.”

Like many of Thayer’s novels, Island Girls is set on Nantucket. The girls in question are Meg, Arden and Jenny, three half-sisters who are forced to spend the summer on the island when their dashing father dies and they come home to spend the summer in the house together, as their father insisted so that they might sell it. The trio have old issues that need resolution before they can live together harmoniously and having them forced to work things out seems to be their late father’s unspoken last wish.

Though I liked Island Girls well enough, it lacked some of the grit and substance of a few of Thayer’s earlier titles. Heat Wave, for example. Or The Hot Flash Club. That said, Island Girls is a perfect book to chill with. The conflict resolves itself acceptably, and the characters are engaging enough to warrant spending some time with. ◊

Sienna Powers is a transplanted Calgarian who lives and works in Vancouver, B.C. She is a writer and conceptual artist.

This Just In… The Kingdom of Hope by James Roberts

What Price Loyalty?

What Price Justice?

What Price Love?

It's 1986, the Soviet and American Governments are about to complete an historic spy swap. Bill Reynolds, the CIA agent who has spent the last seven years in Soviet custody, is coming home. Haunted by the memory of his dead wife and seeking answers, he is pursued by shadowy assailants. But from whom does he have the most to fear? The shadowy KGB agents, or his own people?

And what startling revelation will turn his whole world upside down?

You can order The Kingdom of Hope here. ◊

This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Reading Goes to the Dogs

Should you read to your dogs? Maybe. That’s what a group of students in Hamilton, Montana, have been proving once a week when they troop down to their local animal shelter to spend some quality time reading to the canine inmates. From The Huffington Post:

Once a week, students from the Keystone to Discovery Enrichment program, a nonprofit summer and after-school project for behaviorally or academically at-risk youth, head to Bitter Root Humane Association to read to shelter animals that are waiting for adoption. The program not only gives the kids a chance to work on their reading skills, but also helps soothe the animals.

"The dogs really respond to the kids. It really helps to have somebody talk to them," Bitter Root's lead animal care attendant, Charlotte, told HuffPost. Charlotte chose not to disclose her last name.

As terrific as the program sounds, it’s not revolutionary. The powerful impact reading to pets can have -- on both the reader and the readee -- has been under study for some time. In fact, in 2010 Medical News Today reported that a study had recently been completed that proved that “reading to dogs helped children improve their fluency by up to 30 per cent. Many animal organizations and libraries in the US already have reading improvement schemes where they pair up children and dogs, but until now the evidence has been more anecdotal than research-based.”

Part of the Library Dogs program, this collie
seems to be paying close attention to the story.

A program called Library Dogs has put these thoughts into strong and successful action. From their web site:

Children reading storybooks to dogs -- what could be cuter? But every day we’re learning there’s more than just cuteness when this happens. The smiles on a child’s face, the wagging tail of the dog, the excitement of doing something different (even forbidden in some public places) proves there’s anticipation when it comes to reading in this particular setting. And that’s what it’s all about. Youngsters of all ages are not only learning to read, they’re looking forward to it. They’re learning to love to read!

Meanwhile, back in Montana, Ria Overholt, the director of the program that brings student to the shelter reports that it isn’t just the kids who benefit. “We’ve seen that the sound of their voices is soothing for the dogs and cats.” Overholt said to the Ravalli Republic. “It is relaxing to the dogs to hear those calm and steady voices."

This Just In… Desolation Row by Kay Kendall

It’s 1968. The Cold War is hot, the Vietnam War is raging, and the women’s movement is beating a far-distant drum. When Austin Starr’s husband decides to protest the war by emigrating from Texas to Canada, she goes along.

No activist herself, Austin is homesick, drowning in culture shock, and now, her husband has been accused of murdering a fellow draft resister, the black-sheep son of a U.S. Senator. Alone and ill-equipped to negotiate in a foreign country, she is befriended by the daughter of Austin’s Russian history professor.

The Mounties aren’t supposed to harass draft-age boys but the truth is very different, especially when political pressure is applied by both the victim’s father and the Canadian prime minister’s office. They may have a reputation for always getting their man, but Austin is convinced this time they have the wrong one.

Once courted by the CIA, and a lover of mystery and espionage novels, Austin launches her own investigation into the murder. When ominous letters warning her to stop her sleuthing turn into death threats, Austin must find the real killer or risk losing everything. Her love -- and her life -- are on the line.

You can order Desolation Row here. Visit author Kay Kendall on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Cookbooks: Guy Gourmet by Adina Steiman and Paul Kita

There was a time that a cookbook aimed entirely at men were comprised of stacks of recipes for huge portions of fatty foods -- mostly meat -- and how to put them together easily into different, now edible stacks. And, truly, that time wasn’t so very long ago.

Despite its manly appearance, Guy Gourmet (Rodale) is a different sort of animal. While the design, presentation and even food choices all seem pretty testosterone-led, the emphasis here is on lean and healthy. Not surprising, in a way, considering the book was prepared by the editors of Men’s Health. But even that phrase has different, deeper connotations than it used to. Men have different expectations of themselves these days and most often “strong” and “lean” are included in the definition. And though the recipes are top-knotch and spot-on -- carefully selected for flavor, leaness and ease of preparation -- in some ways, they are not the heart of this book.

What, for me, took center stage was the bright new way in which food was talked about and shared. For instance, I loved a section called “Unhealthy” Stuff That’s Actually Good For You. Among other things, it lets you know why pork rinds, alcohol, beef jerky, sour cream and other “treats” can actually be good for you. Another interesting spread offers powerful small snack alternatives to the hundred-calorie snack pack trend. A very good section on the home bar includes not only drink recipes and bar staples but also discussions on health and alcohol and even the caloric content of popular drinks. (Your classic Tom Collins is only going to set you back 115 calories while a delicious Margarita will hit you with a whopping 237.)

For all of that, the recipes are tough to beat: and all perfectly selected for this particular collection. There is very little here that is predictable and even classic male “standards” are given new -- and often undetectably light -- twists.

Of the recipes I made, there were a few I enjoyed that I know I’ll make again. I especially loved the Caramelized Onion Dip which is a modern take on an American classic that here manages to be light and rich at the same time. The Asian Dumpling Bowl is fast food made at home that’s so good and so quick, I know I’ll make it again and again. And, from the Date Night section, I can’t think of a more perfect meal for a man to make the first time he cooks for a woman than Seared Scallops with White Beans and Bacon. It sends the perfect message of sensitivity and strength… plus you don’t need to spend all night in the kitchen.

I liked this one a lot. I can’t imagine changing a single thing. ◊


Jones Atwater is a contributing editor to January Magazine.

This Just In… First Kiss (Heavy Influence #1) by Ann Marie Frohoff

Mature Young Adult: A sexually charged coming of age.

Jake, an up and coming teenage rocker on the verge of stardom, reconnects with Alyssa, the younger girl next door. When she becomes something more they're forced to face the harsh realities on his road to fame and the expectations of their friends and family. Sacrifices are made as everything changes as they know it.

You can order First Kiss here. Visit author Ann Marie Frohoff  on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Biography: Official Truth: 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera by Rex Brown and Mark Eglinton

A decade after they were torn asunder, super metal group, Pantera, has more than seven million Facebook fans. Numbers like would be a major feat for an active group, never mind an essentially dead one. And make no mistake, though three of the original four bandmembers are still alive, Pantera is no more, nor will it be. That much is clear from Official Truth: 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera (DaCapo).

Of course, the pivotal moment in Pantera’s story comes near the end. It’s a part that was documented in Zac Crain’s very compelling Black Tooth Grin: The High Life, Good Times, and Tragic End of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott.

Abbott was the founder of Pantera, an act that seemed as turbulent and fraught as the decade that gave the band its biggest success. Pantera was metal in the age of grunge and they were unapologetic.

What helps give Official Truth its authentic ring is the voice of co-author Rex Brown, the bass player who joined the band in 1982, just a year after the mercurial Abbot brothers put the outfit together. The fact that the voice grates at times is apparent almost from the very beginning. And though he’s earned -- he can walk that walk -- Rex Brown’s rock god arrogance can be a little hard to take.

Though it doesn’t sound like life in Pantera was ever much of a party (other than the very nastiest kind),
in 2004, Darrel Abbot was killed by a deranged fan while he was onstage, putting a dramatic finale on a story that seemed headed for tragedy almost since the very beginning.

Official Truth is a proper rock biography, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Some readers will find it a little too gritty and a little too real and, certainly, the F-bomb gets thrown around sometimes more than one would ever have thought possible. But it’s a portrait, of sorts. And if you ever thought the world of a rock god was sexy and golden, read Official Truth and think again. ◊


Lincoln Cho is a freelance writer and editor. He lives in the Chicago area where he works in the high tech industry. He is currently working on a his first novel, a science fiction thriller set in the world of telecommunications.

This Just In… Pitens Alley by Brian Luckett

A message from the author:

“The sign is labeled Pitens Alley and bears the name of the savvy cat who is a metaphor into the psyche of dreams. Join me while we go to a place in our minds where Pitens and company resides at an address I call Pitens Alley. An ode to bookworms inputting a few transient thoughts to accompany you down Pitens Alley that, like the fable Mr. Hommes, strolls down the alley virtually awake on the heels of another page between a rock and hard place on the same page of a fable labeled Pitens Alley.”

You can order Pitens Alley here or here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Novelizations: Why Bother?

There are plenty of good reasons to go to the movies when our favorite book is transformed for the screen. Even when we don’t love what Hollywood does to our beloved works of prose, we have reason to expect a different artistic experience. And there is always the possibility (though slight) that it might be even better than the book. A lot of people (certainly not all) felt that way about The English Patient. Almost no one felt it about Reacher. Still, it was a different experience. It was meant to be. But novelizations? They’re different. As Christopher Shultz explains in Litreactor:

For those of you in the dark, a novelization is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a transformation of a movie into a book, whereby the original narrative is delivered to audiences not through images, sounds and special effects, but through prose—or, the exact opposite of a novel's adaptation to the big screen.

And because, more often than not, a novelization’s big purpose is not to fill your heart or illuminate your soul, but rather to empty your pockets, there is not much hope for art. Even so, as Shultz points out, for some readers, novelizations can have a certain charm and, perhaps especially for younger readers, a definite strong appeal.

You can read Shultz’s well-stated thoughts here.

This Just In… Shardfall by Paul E. Horsman

Muus is only a thrall, a chattel without rights, but he knows the small, blue shard he picked up belongs to him alone.

Kjelle, heir to the Lord of a rich mininghold, is strong, and covetous of his thrall’s tantalizing find. The one’s greed causes an avalanche that leaves both young men marooned on an icy mountain slope. The other’s commonsense saves their lives from cold and starvation.

Now the antagonists are bound together on a danger-laden journey to a lost and burning land, where Muus needs to connect the skyshard to the Kalmanir, the standing stone that is the world’s fount of all magic. The Kalmanir’s time is almost up and it urgently needs to be replenished before the magic of Gods and men runs out. The two antagonists have to learn to trust each other, for all around them, enemies abound. Rebels threaten both the kingdom and Kjelle’s holding, and a tribe of mad idolaters is trying to recall the banned primordial Old Gods.

Even more imminent is Muus’ danger, for it comes from nearby, from the shard itself. Muus is the only person in the world who can wield the powerful skyshard. Will he succeed with Kjelle’s help to reach the standing stone before the world’s magic dies?

Shardfall is an epic, non-gritty journey through a wild, snowy land. Each of the four main characters, Muus, Kjelle, the young wisewoman Birthe with her baby son Buí and the naive Tuuri, who serves the enemy, will have to overcome not only the dangers of their journey, but also their own shortcomings.

You can order Shardfall here. Visit author Paul E. Horsman on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Official Salinger Video Released

It may be one of the most anticipated films of the year and the newly released official trailer sure makes it look interesting... if a little odd. Though, after all, with this topic and these players, how could you go wrong?

Armageddon screenwriter Shane Salerno directed this feature-length Weinstein Company-distributed documentary which enjoyed successful screenings recently at Cannes. Tom Wolfe, John Cusack, Martin Sheen, Edward Norton and others appear in the trailer for Salinger, which will be released in early September.

January Magazine previously talked about Salinger the movie here.

This Just In… The Legend of the Bloodstone by E.B. Brown

In 2012, a woman cuts her hand and picks up a strange colored stone and suddenly she is staring into the eyes of an angry Powhatan warrior... and the only town nearby is Jamestown, circa 1622.

Maggie McMillan wakes up one day as a college student, yet ends the day as the Red Woman: A legendary time walker that every loyal Powhatan brave wants to kill. Captured by Winkeohkwet, a warrior who is torn between his duty to kill her and his desire to keep her, she is thrust into a life she had only read about in history books.

Hunted and feared by both the Powhatan and the English, she struggles to find a way home while Winkeohkwet plots to keep her there. Maggie fights to survive as she finds herself entangled in the Indian Massacre of 1622, and Winkeohkwet sees everything he ever believed in shattered by the knowledge she holds.

As they battle against each other and the message she brings from the future, she must decide whether to return to her own time, or to make a life in the past with the man who holds her heart captive.

You can order The Legend of the Bloodstone here. Visit author E.B. Brown on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Self-Published Books “Terrible”

How could this headline in Good E-Reader not catch your eye?

“The Overwhelming Majority of Self-Published eBooks Are Terrible”

In a piece about the lack of gatekeepers in the current self-publishing model, Michael Kozlowski writes:

At the Writing in a Digital Conference in London, Andrew Franklin, founder and managing director of Profile Books, blasted authors who self-publish. “The overwhelming majority of self-published books are terrible—unutterable rubbish, they don’t enhance anything in the world.”

Franklin went on a verbal tirade against the vast majority of self-published authors saying, “These books come out and are met with a deathly silence, so the principle experience of self-publishing is one of disappointment.” He went on to voice his increasingly disparaging remarks by saying “I was very shocked to learn you can buy Facebook friends and likes on social media. That is what passes for affirmation in what I think is the deeply corrupt world of self-publishing.”

You can read the full piece here.

Scarlett Johansson Looks to Avenge Use of Her Name

Though the very latest news featuring Avengers star Scarlett Johansson is about her wearing head-to-toe Saint Laurent at the Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night, the biggest Johansson hullabaloo may still be to come.

The 28-year-old actress recently embarked on a lawsuit that could upset the creative applecart throughout authordom. According to The Independent:

The American star is challenging writer Grégoire Delacourt, and his publisher JC Lattes, after he described a character in his novel as being her “doppelgänger”, or exact double. The case – if it comes to court – could make legal and literary history.

Despite the author insisting that the comparison is meant as a compliment and tribute to Ms Johansson’s beauty, the actress, famed for her role in Lost In Translation, is demanding compensation and damages from the publisher for the “breach and fraudulent use of personal rights”.

She is also seeking to ban all foreign translations and film adaptations of the book – despite the fact that Scarlett Johansson is the perfect choice of actress for the role of a woman who looks like Scarlett Johansson, this being the most obvious job opportunity in cinema since John Malkovich appeared in Being John Malkovich.

La première chose qu’on regarde (The First Thing We Look At) has been a bestseller in France since its release in mid-March. Author Gregoire Delacourt told Le Figaro that he was stunned when informed of the suit Friday morning. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the author “also noted that he compared the main male character to Ryan Gosling and his boss to Gene Hackman in the book as an almost immediate way to invoke recognition of characteristics for readers.”

“This corresponds with the fantasies of our times. All these famous people live with us,” he said, noting that many personal details of Johansson’s love life have been revealed on the Internet and the public feels as if it knows her. “But I wrote a book of fiction. My character is not Scarlett Johansson, it is Jeanine Foucaprez!”

He describes the novel as an exploration of the “dictatorship of appearances and the true beauty of women,” and says he chose Johansson, currently the face of Dolce & Gabbana and previously Louis Vuitton, because she is considered the “epitome of beauty today.”

This Just In… The Last Refrain by John Abbott

Losing a record deal can be devastating for a band, especially a family band. After this setback, rock band Shiloh Red decides to head out on the road, touring the fairgrounds of the Midwest, instead of calling it quits. Through a series of miscommunications, Ken, the band’s front man, gets everybody believing that they really do have a record deal which transforms their performances, their relationships and, ultimately, the attention they receive from reporters, disc jockeys, rock critics and fans.

Told from the point of view of various band members, The Last Refrain follows the complex relationships as the band tries to finish out their tour.

You can order The Last Refrain here. Visit author John Abbott on the Web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Iain Banks Dies at 59

Two months after announcing he had terminal cancer, Scottish author Iain Banks has died. He was 59. From The Guardian:

In an email to friends, his widow said that he had died peacefully and was in no pain. The couple had been hoping for a few more months together.

His friend and fellow writer, Ken MacLeod, told BBC News: "He was still in good spirits and concentrating on his plans and projects and expecting to have another few months. But his situation took a turn for the worse." 

He added: "What Iain brought to his writing was himself. He brought a wonderful combination of the dark and the light side of life, and he explored them both without flinching.

Just a few weeks ago, Banks submitted his final novel, The Quarry, to his publisher. The book will be released in June of this year. The Guardian says that The Quarry “describes the final weeks of the life of a man in his 40s who has terminal cancer.”

This Just In… All the Way Home: Building Recovery That Works by David Berner

All the Way Home is about addictions and how to get past them.

The book is a personal memoir, a cultural history, an instructional manual and a polemic against all the enabling policies that have such unfortunate currency. It illustrates in dramatic and comic detail that the antidote to addictions is rigorous engagement of the whole person. An enormous Valentine to the millions of men, women and children who have recognized their addictions and moved on. It is also a swift kick in the rear to the countless politicians, mandarins and enablers who have never invested a single penny in treatment or an ounce of human energy in providing the hope and guidance that allows the afflicted to live as citizens.

“Everyone who cares about those who are suffering the hells of addiction or about public policy should go out and get this book,” says The Vancouver Sun, “as should anyone who values sentences that are well written, pungent and charged with conviction, passion and wit.”

You can order All the Way Home here. Visit author David Berner on the Web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

On the Floor: Book Expo 2013

This year’s annual convention of all things publishing was held at the Javits Center in New York City from May 31st through June 1st. A few things set it apart from other years’ events. The show seemed a bit smaller this year, more compact, with booths, meeting rooms, even shipping condensed into the center’s massive main-floor rooms.

There were plenty of authors and books around, of course. There’s a new Scott Turow legal thriller coming. A new Jacqueline Mitchard in the YA space. A new seven-novel series from a British woman who’s just 20 and already is making global buzz. And about 27 new James Patterson novels (a slight exaggeration, perhaps).

Advance copies were everywhere, and so were authors. I spotted a few: Turow, Mo Willems, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Chelsea Handler and Lemony Snicket. I heard Donna Tartt was there; her third novel is coming soon. Wally Lamb, too, and Diana Gabaldon. Amy Tan, who has a new novel coming this fall. Jim Carrey, in a mode I can only call manic but gracious, greeted a mob of thousands on day two, then another, smaller mob on day three. Even his smaller group was pretty massive, and he had more bodyguards and crowd control than anyone in recent memory. Jessica Lange was there, radiant as ever. Jim Gaffigan spoke for a bit, then signed copies of his book.

I attended a breakfast (along with a thousand other people, including fellow January contributing editor Ian Buchsbaum) where Octavia Spencer, Oscar-winning actress from The Help, spoke about how books were her first love; she’s written one for young readers. Fellow panelists included Mary Pope Osborne, who shared letters she’s received from kids who have loved her Magic Tree House series and spoke about how important it is to get young people to read. Rick Riordan was hilarious, speaking about the road from school teacher to novelist. And Veronica Roth spoke brilliantly about the importance of reading with the right attitude: to learn.

Day three of this year’s event was open to the public, which is a new wrinkle for this trade-only trade show. There was something kind of wonderful about sharing this usually closed space with people off the street. They came from near and far, each there to feed their desire for books. I saw packs of friends, whole families, and many wandering singles, all with bags of books in hand, all marveling at this world where books happen. In the end, I think, they weren’t that different from everyone else at Book Expo every year: they’re curious, they love the written word, and they crave a new adventure.

This Just In… The Guardian Chronicles: The Return (Volume 1) by Craig Gaydas

Gabriel Crane was on his way home from a bar when someone tried to kill him. It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.

After the incident he discovers that a chain of events has been set into motion which will pit the forces of hell against the heroes of Olympus. The fate of the world is at stake and only he can restore the balance between order and chaos. In a race against time, the Olympians hurry to help him become who he was born to be -- The Guardian.

You can order The Guardian Chronicles here. Visit author Craig Gaydas on the Web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Wild Things Author Celebrated With Google Doodle

Caldecott Medal-winning author, Maurice Sendak, was born on this date in 1928. Polish-born Sendak was best known as the author of Where the Wild Things Are, which was first published in 1963 and has sold some 17 million copies since.

Sendak, who died in May of 2012, is celebrated today with a Google Doodle, making him one of a handful of authors to be honored in this way. 

While we’re talking about the Caldecott Medal, the 2013 winner was This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen and pulished by Candlewick Press.

This Just In… From Hell to Heaven to Hell by Jim Grundy

Growing up poor in West Virginia, the son of a coal miner, drifting after graduation trying to find his way in the world, moving with his family back to the state of Texas and leaving behind the girl he planned to marry.

Life for him was tough: the breakup of his first love, the end of romance in Texas. When he couldn’t take any more he joined the Marines for a life of hell that would result in injuries he still lives with today. But more was to follow. Upon his return home, he drifted, trying to become successful in life using his fists as an amateur boxer. And success came. He managed to win the West Texas Golden Gloves Championship. 

They say he has lived the life of twenty men. From being poor to working his way up in the business world of sales. He would own and operate several retail businesses that would make him a millionaire. This sounds pretty good until you get to the part that he loses it all. Pain and hunger, love and divorces, poor then wealthy, romance and heartache, sexual assaults and murder, custody battles that granted him full custody of two children and co-custody of one. Enough? Not a chance. The story has just begun.

Readers say that From Hell to Heaven to Hell is addictive and that once you start reading you can’t put it down.

You can order From Hell to Heaven to Hell here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Laidlaw’s Father on the Record

Seventy-six-year-old Irish crime novelist William McIvanney, the so-called Godfather of Tartan Noir, was recently interviewed for The Rap Sheet by Australian-born Scottish author Tony Black. The results of their discussion can be found today in our sister blog.

Here’s how Black sets up the piece:

A good friend of mine recently described McIlvanney as “like meeting a statue that’s come to life,” and that does kind of sum up the reverence with which he’s treated in his home country. But crime writers didn’t always attract such rapturous plaudits.

When McIlvanney wrote Laidlaw, back in the late 1970s, Scotland was not well-known for its crime fiction -- something he was to change singlehandedly. McIlvanney’s curmudgeonly cop, Glasgow Detective Inspector Jack Laidlaw, provided the imprimatur for the Scottish best-sellers lists, and our longest-running television drama, Taggart, is a very heavy homage to the work.

You’ll find the complete post here.

New This Week: The Boleyn King by Laura Anderson

What if Anne Boleyn had given her king a son? That’s the premise of this debut novel from an author who seems likely to give the likes of Phillipa Gregory and Alison Weir a run for their Tudors.

In an inclusion to the review package, author Laura Anderson describes how her young Tudor king came about:

In the summer of 2003, while reading a biography of Anne Boleyn, I was haunted by Anne’s final miscarriage in 1533: a baby boy that she lost on the very day of Catherine of Aragon’s funeral. Less than four months later, Anne herself would be executed -- in no small measure because of that miscarriage.

“What if?” I wondered for months afterward. What if Anne had not lost her son, but gone on to give birth to the male heir Henry VIII had so desperately sought?

And on this fanfic premise, Anderson began.

The Boleyn King (Ballentine) is an absolutely gorgeous manifestation of that urge to bring an intriguing story forward. Sure, there is history but, in so many ways, this is history-plus-more and Anderson’s Henry IX is a winning young man born to be a king beyond all others. There are empires to secure, of course. And, before long, love to consider.

The Boleyn King is the first in a trilogy, so brilliantly conceived and richly executed, fans of bold, historical dramas are likely to gobble them up as soon as they appear. ◊


Monica Stark is a contributing editor to January Magazine. She currently makes her home on a liveaboard boat somewhere in the North Pacific.

This Just In… Vibrations by Lorena Wood

Whitney Bentley, a gifted psychic, is tracking a serial killer targeting young boys in Phoenix. The side effects of absorbing so many violent images begin to take their toll on her body and she is forced to rely on a local detective to keep her safe.

Nick is not only unwilling to work with the psychic, he’s furious that her phony tricks will waste time and inevitably cause more deaths. Falling fast into a world he never believed could exist, he soon finds he needs Whitney, and not just for the case.

Whitney knows from experience that no one can tolerate her freakish skills long enough to fall in love with her, but the rugged detective sparks feelings she thought had died long ago. Nick’s world is turned upside down as the hunt for a killer becomes a struggle to protect the woman he can longer live without.

You can order Vibrations here. Visit author Lorena Wood on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Blade Runner Sequel Heads to Big Screen

More than 30 years after its initial release, a sequel to Ridley Scott’s cult favorite Blade Runner is being prepared for the screen.

Blade Runner was the first of science fiction great Philip K. Dick’s novels to be adapted for the film. It was based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, a title moviemakers likely figured wouldn’t gain the quirky film much traction. Other adaptations of Dick’s work have included Total Recall, Minority Report, Paycheck and The Adjustment Bureau. From Variety:

A sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is gaining momentum, with Michael Green in talks to rewrite the script from Hampton Fancher, who wrote the screenplay for the 1982 original.

Alcon Entertainment has been working on the project for over two years, since announcing in early 2011 that it had secured film, TV and ancillary franchise rights to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic thriller. In August 2011, Scott committed to direct. 

Alcon has noted that Scott and his Blade Runner collaborator Fancher originally conceived of Blade Runner as the first in a series of films incorporating the themes and characters featured in Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, from which Blade Runner was adapted.

The full piece is here.

Cookbooks: Virgin Vegan: The Meatless Guide to Pleasing Your Palate by Linda Long

In a world grown newly concerned with the ethics of eating animals and animal products, more and more people are coming to veganism. At first, it can seem a daunting journey. It’s one thing not to eat the flesh of animals. But also take away cheese and eggs and butter and milk and whey and… well, you get the idea. On the surface of things, there’s not a lot left.

Twenty years ago -- perhaps even 10 -- veganism was a radical choice. Increasingly, however, with a world becoming ever more damaged by mankind’s need for more, people are looking for alternative ways of living. Food, obviously, is a big part of that and certainly the food production practices that became common in the west during the 20th century are having an impact here in the 21st… and it’s usually not pretty.

I don’t need to go on. If you are considering veganism or have already made that leap, you’ve already examined the reasons why. And closely. What remains may well be just how to make it work in your life. A vegan start-up guide is called for. Enter Linda Long, the author of Great Chefs Cook Vegan and herself a long time vegetarian.

If you’re going to take a single book into your new vegan lifestyle, Virgin Vegan (Gibbs Smith) would not be a bad way to go. Long starts things off with concisely shared basics: a few thoughts on the ethics of it all. A few more on what veganism actually is. Then on to the basics of the vegan pantry. Then what to do when you’re in a restaurant or traveling.

The largest of these pre-sections is given to the nutrition of the whole thing, which is terrific because, even if you don’t have a lot of questions about your new vegan lifestyle, everyone else in your life probably will. Where do you get your protein? What about vitamins and minerals? All of these things -- and more -- are covered very well.

Then on to the highlight of the hour: all of the wonderful food (with color pictures!) that you can look forward to eating. Truthfully, in that regard, Virgin Vegan is not the most exciting vegan cookbook we’ve seen. That said, not only are there many really solid recipes here, more importantly there are some really fab basics. I loved the Broccoli and “Cheese” Sauce (not cheese at all, of course. But in this case a very good substitute, both visually and for flavor). Salisbury Steak and Gravy is a fun vegan rendition of a classic meat-based dish. Creamy potato salads, coleslaw, and cream-style soups all seem intended to make the transition easier.

For new vegans just starting on what can be a challenging journey, Virgin Vegan is a terrific first step.

This Just In… Sometimes We Ran by Stephen Drivick

Our hero had it all: A great job, a beautiful wife, and even a nice car. As he approached middle age all the comforts of a fantastic life were within reach.

Then the zombies came, destroyed the world, and it all disappeared in a flash.

Now he walks in a shattered world filled with hungry undead, dead towns, and desperate survivors. He is low on supplies, running out of time, and with slim hope of long-term survival.

His long walk to escape the dead is slowly becoming a death march.

Then one day he meets another survivor. A young, starving former college co-ed walking the other way.

This is their story.

You can order Sometimes We Ran here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Non-Fiction: Strange Rebels by Christian Caryl

There are banner years. Years that make all the difference. Years that somehow count more than others and, according to journalist, scholar and all around brainy guy Christian Caryl, 1979 was the nexus. “History has a way of playing tricks,” Caryl writes in Strange Rebels (Basic Books), pretty much undoing everything anyone ever learned in grade 11. “As events unfold around us, we interpret what we see through the prism of precedent, and then are amazed when it turns out that our actions never play out the same way twice.”

Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century, is mind-blowing stuff. Writes Caryl:

Rarely has the oats proven a more deceptive guide to the future than at the end of the eighth decade of the twentieth century. If youtake a certain pleasure in seeing the experts confounded and the pundits dismayed, then 1979 is sure to hold your interest.

As Caryl points out, in 1979, after 37 years in his comfy chair, the Shah of Iran “got on a plane and left his country, never to return.” Also in 1979, Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister just a few months after Chinese Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping had “heaved himself into the top job” in China. These and other things combined to make an irreversible difference. As Caryl tells us, “Like it or not, we of the twenty-first century still live in the shadow of 1979.”

Strange Rebels is both dense and staggeringly eye-opening. It is no one’s idea of a beach read, but take it with you anyway. It’s possible that only surf and sand will be able to quell your pulse as you follow the connections Caryl brings his readers to. This is a deeply thoughtful and thought-provoking book. ◊


Jones Atwater is a contributing editor to January Magazine.

This Just In… Shadows and Ghosts by Barbara Froman

Ida Mae Glick, a critically acclaimed filmmaker, has lived and taught in the small town of Willow Bend, New York for five years without drawing attention to her troubled past. But when she suffers a near fatal heart attack, the result of trying to live on the same meager rations as a group of homeless people she is filming, she winds up in intensive care under the scrutiny of a neurotic psychiatrist who believes she’s unstable. To make matters worse, her mother’s ghost has appeared at her bedside with old gripes, and her angry, estranged identical twin, Lisa, is heading toward town intent on having her committed. Ida Mae is desperate to escape with her freedom intact, but knows she’ll have to get past her psychiatrist first. The only question is, can she?

Shadows and Ghosts is Ida Mae’s tale of artistic passion, fierce sibling rivalry, failed love affairs, substance abuse, and the magical redemptive power of cinema.

From the author: “I wrote Shadows and Ghosts because I love movies and I wanted to give readers a cinematic experience, but, more specifically, the kind of cinematic experience one finds in classic women's movies.  So, I fashioned a tale about a critically acclaimed, slightly crazy, Bohemian filmmaker, and gave her a conservative, uptight, identical twin sister. Then, I surrounded her with a cast of women as smart, mouthy, and neurotic as she is, and framed her story with screenwriters' directions and images from the films that shaped her life.”

You can order Shadows and Ghosts here. Visit author Barbara Froman on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

The Ethical Book Reviewer

Are book critics due for a code of ethics? According to a panel held at Book Expo America, running now through June 1 in New York City, whether one is needed or not, getting critics to agree on what’s missing is no easy task. Lily Rothman reports for TIME:

It was a topic that, because of one obvious reason, provoked lots of spirited debate, As of now, book reviewers have no set of guiding principles. Sure, publications and individual writers have vague ideas about what’s okay, but the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) has not adopted a set of ethical guidelines. Yet. After conducting a survey of members of the industry—the data from which will be available in the fall—and holding events like the BEA panel, the NBCC will issue its ethical best practices.

It’s difficult for anyone to even agree on some of the basics. For example, what does the word “objective” really mean?

For one thing, even the words that might be used need definitions. In the world of criticism, where opinion is key, what does it mean to be objective? Maureen Corrigan, a participant and the book critic for NPR’s Fresh Air, clarified that objectivity, impartiality and fairness are three very different things: a critic can be honest and up-front about her biases without abandoning her personal taste. The survey (a few tidbits of which were revealed at the panel) also revealed that different people have different ideas about which part of a reviewer’s background would cause him to be automatically biased.

You can see the full piece here. Meanwhile, BEA continues at the Javits Center until Saturday.

This Just In… Moonlit Nights by Jacob Parr

A crime spree of horrendous proportions is just beginning in the Washington Metropolitan Area as bodies begin to turn up horribly mutilated and torn to pieces.

Aidan Preston, a homicide detective for the Montgomery County Police Department, delves into the case, finding himself immersed in a dark and dangerous world, the likes of which he has never seen.

What secrets do these moonlit nights hold?

The author explains that, while fictional, his narrative calls on scientific fact to take readers on a vivid and very real journey.

“It is a fresh new take and offers a well-researched perspective on not only these creatures of legend but the psychological condition of lycanthropy as well while making it a pulse racing thriller that continues to build all the way until the climax,” says Parr, who set his book in his native East Coast of the United States. “It’s being compared to NY Times bestselling authors’ work such as Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s The Relic, many of Michael Crichton’s science-laced novels like Congo and Jurassic Park and others as well. It takes a supernatural/mythological character and bases it in science and reasoning to make it a very real and horrifying possibility.”

Since its release, the book has garnered a consistent string of rave reviews.

“It is a fresh new perspective in a world where people seem to keep rehashing the same tired storylines over and over again. One of the greatest strengths of Moonlit Nights is the author’s development of the characters, their individual storylines and particular arcs. It devotes just the right amount of time to every person in this book and actually makes you care about what happens to them,” says reviewer, Mark Kyle.

You can order Moonlit Nights here. Visit author Jacob Parr on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Graphic Novel: War Brothers by Sharon E. McKay, Illustrated by Daniel LaFrance

Though I’m still slightly torn about whether or not the making of a child soldier is appropriate fodder for a graphic novel aimed at young adult readers, the combination of Sharon E. McKay’s powerful prose and Daniel LaFrance’s luminous illustrations is just right in War Brothers (Annick).

War Brothers was originally written in traditional novel form and published in 2008. Storyboard and graphic artist LaFrance brings the story to life with richly vivid illustrations shown us the abduction, training and ultimate escape of 14-year-old Ugandan Jacob, an apparent composite of children McKay interviewed several years ago who had been kidnapped then trained as soldiers for the Lord’s Resistance Army under the infamous Joseph Kony.

These components -- strong story, powerful storyteller, talented artist -- make for a winning combination. I’ll be very surprised if War Brothers doesn’t pick up its share of awards this year. ◊

Monica Stark is a contributing editor to January Magazine. She currently makes her home on a liveaboard boat somewhere in the North Pacific.

Worshipping at the Feet of Goddess Librarians

I don’t know how I’ve missed Librarian Avengers for oh so very long. Because the site rocks. Deeply. An example: on the FAQ page under “What is this site about?” the cheerful response is, “This site is about kicking your butt if you don’t start saying thank you at the reference desk.”

Right?

Librarian Avengers was started by user experience designer Erica Firment in 1997. Firment writes that she was “a young English Major when I wrote an essay called Why you should fall to your knees and worship a librarian and hooked it up to the domain name I got for my birthday. The positive response from the library community was one of the forces that propelled me into graduate school.” And the rest, as they say, is Internet history.

The essay, “Why You Should Worship A Librarian” is still at the core of the site. It’s mind-blowingly on-target, reminding us in no uncertain terms about why librarians rocks. Here’s a teeny excerpt:

Ok, sure. We’ve all got our little preconceived notions about who librarians are and what they do.

Many people think of librarians as diminutive civil servants, scuttling about “Sssh-ing” people and stamping things. Well, think again buster.

Librarians have degrees. They go to graduate school for Information Science and become masters of data systems and human/computer interaction. Librarians can catalog anything from an onion to a dog’s ear. They could catalog you.

You can read the whole piece -- and surf the whole site -- here.

This Just In… The Adventures of Billy Chicken Toes & the Wolf: Add Your Own Art Children’s Books by Jeannee DeWolfe

This is the story of Billy Chicken Toes, a young but inquisitive barnyard chick who one day finds himself shooed out of the henhouse to make room for new hatchlings. He is told to stay close to home, but Billy’s curiosity and innocent free spirit lead him far from the safety of the Jones farm and cause him to tumble down a dark, damp rabbit hole, where he encounters one adventure after another. He meets a not-so-clever wolf who deceives poor Billy and tricks him into leading the hungry old scallywag back to the hen house. When Billy learns the truth about the wolf and the threat he poses to his loving family, Billy discovers that even a little chick like himself can possess daring and courage far beyond his tiny size. In the end, Billy learns the true meaning of friendship.

Jeannee DeWolfe is from Jamestown, New York, the hometown of Lucille Ball. “While this is my first book, I anticipate Billy Chicken Toes and I will have many more adventures to come.”

You can order The Adventures of Billy Chicken Toes & the Wolf here. Learn more about author Jeannee DeWolfe here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Books on the Street

Flying Books jazz mural by artist Bill Weber on Jackson Square, San Francisco. 

Here’s something fun from EBook Friendly: “25 hilarious street art and mural works about books, libraries and reading.” 'Nuff said: here’s the link.

This Just In… Under the Linden Tree by Cassandra Krivy Hirsch

From a trunk in an old house in Rockport, Massachusetts emerges the yellowed pages of a journal and a clutch of letters. Marianne Parsons, a young mother and the wife of a sea captain, made her first entry in that journal on a spring evening in 1855. Her recorded days revolved easily around her husband, James, and their little son, Henry.

Marianne lived an exemplary life, did good works in the village, was dutiful to the demands of an affluent, well-mannered upbringing. All this would come to an end.

Under the Linden Tree is the story of a vanished time and sensibility. Marianne Parsons finds herself faced with a decision she never wanted to make. Now she must struggle against the propriety that once held her in a comfortable embrace. Now she must ask herself questions that her family -- and her own past -- have not equipped her to answer.

You can order Under the Linden Tree here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Fiction: Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan

“Forget the cud, they want blood!”

Somehow that coverline puts the nature of Apocalypse Cow (St. Martin’s Griffin), Scottish journalist Michael Logan’s debut novel, into perspective. Because even if you were about to wonder if Logan’s lighthearted tale of a bovine zombie apocalypse was meant seriously, you have to know that any time someone rhymes “blood” and “cud” on any book cover anywhere, someone’s tongue must be jammed firmly into their cheek.

And so it is here. What surprises is that, despite the morbidly screwball presence, Logan’s dark take on mad cow disease is actually surprisingly entertaining.

Apocalypse Cow mines the same vein as the comedic British film that launched Simon Pegg’s career, 2004’s Shaun of the Dead. Like that film, Apocalypse Cow takes a decidedly unfunny premise and (ahem) milks it for all it’s worth, ringing laughter from situations one would not think could hold any. And amid the madness of a plague of cow zombies threatening the future of the world, Logan manages to insert an unexpected stylishness as well as some very real humor: both sly and otherwise.

Let’s face it: a book featuring bovine zombies is not going to have many socially redeeming qualities. But if you’ve ever liked the sort of humor that skates you right to the edge and tries to push you over, this is one that you’re likely to enjoy. ◊


Lincoln Cho is a freelance writer and editor. He lives in the Chicago area where he works in the high tech industry. He is currently working on a his first novel, a science fiction thriller set in the world of telecommunications.

How to Diagnose a Book Addiction

Like a lot of Buzzfeed’s reportage, “25 Signs You’re Addicted to Books” looks more like a series of Facebook timeline images than anything else. Even so there are still a few things here to chortle at. And, certainly, if you are one of the addicted and afflicted, you’re likely to add your own self-deprecating laugh.

You can see the Buzzfeed piece here.

This Just In… Why Me by Robert Mulolo

Renee is a young woman who has yet to understand the true meaning of happiness. Her reasons vary from never knowing who her father was to having a mother who shows her nothing but contempt to an absentee sister who indulges more in her partying than acknowledging her baby sister. Renee’s loneliness perpetuates through the pestering of her mother to the point where jumping off a ledge seems terribly alluring.

Yet, with all these emotions spreading through her; Simon, Richard and Christopher come along. They will have a strong and powerful impact on Renee’s life, attempting to heal the wounds of a past love. This bares the question: Will they salvage a young woman’s life or will they push her off the edge?

You can order Why Me here. Visit author Robert Mulolo on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Art & Culture: Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Okay, so who didn't love The Mary Tyler Moore Show? Just as I thought: no one. The iconic 1970s TV program was must-see TV back in the day, and for good reason. It starred Mary Tyler Moore in a role that would redefine her (after her first defining role, that of Laura Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show).

The featured the likes of Ed Asner and Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman, and it stood on the shoulders of creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. The show started out as a way to showcase Mary Tyler Moore's talent, then quickly became a showcase for many issues of the day (as well as a springboard for other shows produced by the fledging MTM studio, including Newhart and the Rhoda spin-off). And though the show’s voice was never as sharp or in-your-face as that of Normal Lear’s All in the Family, it held its own for five years and became one of the greatest achievements in TV history.

Now the program’s creation has been captured in a book by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: All the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic  (Simon & Schuster). I pretty much tore into this book, hungry for all the juicy secrets, and I suppose they’re all here. Read it and you’ll learn about how the show was born, how it developed, some of the tensions that threatened the show and then helped to shape it, and much more. You’ll read about casting. You’ll read about certain episodes in depth, notably the pilot, the last episode, and the one about the death of Chuckles the Clown, in which Mary can’t stop herself from laughing at the funeral. You’ll read about the show's number one fan -- and how its creators embraced him.

To gather all this material, Armstrong spoke with Asner, Harper, Gavin MacLeod, Leachman, Brooks, Burns, and many others, including script writer Treva Silverman. The one person she did not speak with is Mary Tyler Moore. Now, biographies are written every season without any direct interview material from the subjects themselves, but somehow the missing voice and perspective of Mary is a pretty obvious hole in this narrative, and it left me hanging and frustrated.

While fascinating, I found the book only an okay read. Armstrong, a well-known entertainment journalist, obviously put this book together with all kinds of care, but she should have paid closer attention to her writing. I mean, how many times do we need to be told that Valerie Harper was married to Dick Shawn? (You’ll read that many times in this book.) Beyond what comes across as just sloppy writing, the tone is much more reportage than insight. I wanted more of the latter, not just a bullet list of facts. I wanted more sizzle, more punch, more passion. It’s clear that the author loves this subject, but her love doesn’t come across in her treatment of it. Unfortunately, her style here is a lot of “this happened, then this happened, and finally that happened.”

Nevertheless, the story behind The Mary Tyler Moore Show is worth telling and worth reading. The show itself was groundbreaking, and it held the attention of a nation at a time when virtually everything in the culture was changing. While All in the Family covered the issues of the day with anger and controversy and by stepping out of the accepted bounds much of the time, Mary Tyler Moore covered them through the eyes of an almost innocent character, a young woman simply trying to find her place in a world. It stayed within the accepted bounds, yet found ingenious ways of nudging beyond them before anyone thought to notice.

This Just In… Delusions of Grandeur by Jason Najum

“Reads almost like a poem …. An earnest, soulful book about the world’s woes.” -- Kirkus Reviews

Delusions of Grandeur asks the big questions facing today’s generation. It is part dark and humorous memoir, part relentless cultural critique. How can a people who have so much still feel dissatisfied? How does an educated but jaded society reconcile what they know with what they see happening around them?

Thousands protesting in the streets of New York. Revolutions across the Middle East. Millions of people plugged into social networks, searching for a connection, longing for a sense of community. This is not the trailer for a movie, not the hook of an epic novel; this is what’s happening today, all around us.

Using a familiar backstory and well-known cultural examples, revisiting our history to better see where we came from, Delusions of Grandeur is a passionate and personal examination of that “something” that is missing in our lives, why this something continues to eat at us, and why we need a different approach to how we deal with it.

In a modern and fast-paced style, a compelling and common sense argument is presented for the next stage in our cultural evolution.

You can order Delusions of Grandeur here. Visit author Jason Najum on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Book Titles That Weren’t

As almost everyone knows, a rose by any other name is still a rose. Even knowing that (and knowing it well), if someone were to try to tantalize you with a book called Something That Happened, what would you think? Well, you probably wouldn’t think about the literary mastery of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Something That Happened just lacks that essential snap, does it not?

There are more examples of classic books with original titles that missed the mark. Many of them.

The working title of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice was First Impressions and Frances Hodgson Burnett magical children’s classic The Secret Garden was originally entitled Mistress Mary. (“Mistress Mary Quite Contrary...” Any connection?)

Good old Philip Roth apparently had not one but three preferred titles for the book that would become Portnoy’s Complaint, none of them good: The Jewboy, Wacking Off, or A Jewish Patient Begins His Analysis. (Clearly, the editor responsible for the name change should be thanked for that one. If nothing else, one can’t imagine Wacking Off would have had quite the same panache on the shelf.)

The heavy lifting here was done by the Huffington Post who dug up 24 classic books that ended up with titles mostly pretty far from the ones originally intended. You can see all of them here.

This Just In… Bobby Convict, School of Hard Knocks by Bobby Wilhelm and Faye Higbee

Note: It is suggested that readers of the print version of Bobby Convict, School of Hard Knocks read with a UV light in order to see the invisible ink entries scattered throughout the book.

Drop the book and no one gets hurt! Ahh, so you’re a rule breaker yourself. Ok, fasten your neck brace for the rollercoaster ride of disbelief or neck-breaking laughter at the antics of a misguided youth. Grandpa Louie passed down his legacy of bootlegging, gambling and pool sharking to me, and I one-upped him by becoming the Drug Kingpin of the Northwest. I was chased by the cops as a six year old kid, a wild teenager, and a major drug trafficker.

These nefarious adventures take you through the underbelly of the drug world where readers meet notorious criminals, including three made Mafia members, the Spokane Serial Killer, the accused Tylenol Killer, an Aryan Brotherhood shot caller and the Oklahoma City Bomber. My domestic terrorism of drug trafficking cost me 16 years in the School of Hard Knocks (prison) and eventually saved me from myself through redemption. 97 people were interviewed for this book. Don’t believe them. They’re jealous and out to get me. I sure hope the Statute of Limitations is up or I’m screwed.

According to Idaho State Police Drug Agents, Bobby was considered one of the highest level drug traffickers Idaho law enforcement ever pursued. “He was a real challenge and we enjoyed the hunt.”

You can order Bobby Convict, School of Hard Knocks here and here. ◊

This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.

Hemingway: Each Book a New Beginning

“For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.”

In 1954, Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, a prize which, at the time, he said he felt unworthy of. Hemingway said publicly that Isak Dinesen, Bernard Berenson and Carl Sandburg had each been more deserving than he.

Eventually, Hemingway gave in and accepted both the honor and the award (thoughts are, he needed the money) but he didn’t personally attend the ceremony, opting instead to have the US Ambassador to Sweden read a lovely acceptance speech which Hemingway had written for the occasion.

Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings reproduces a transcript of the speech here, as well as an excerpt of it recorded in Hemingway’s own voice at a later date.

This Just In… Coeur d’Alene Waters by Ned Hayes

A dark literary thriller, Coeur d’Alene Waters follows Matt Worthson, a northern Idaho Sheriff's deputy searching for a murderer and along the way finding out the truth about the never-solved Sunshine Mine disaster. Coeur d’Alene Waters is the debut offering from Northwest journalist Ned Hayes.

Coeur d’Alene Waters is the first novel in the Bitterroot Series, set in the panhandle of northern Idaho. The series focuses around Matt Worthson, a Sheriff's Lieutenant and one-time candidate for Sheriff. Matt’s family has a long history in corrupt politics and in the powerful mining industry.

“What is it about the Pacific Northwest that leads some into dark worlds of violence and despair? Had one-time north Idaho journalist Ned Hayes made this tantalizing question the centerpiece of his debut novel, he might have only created a derivative retelling of an all-too-familiar serial killer plot. Instead, he takes the idea for this well-written literary thriller from the historical facts of the still-unsolved Sunshine Mine disaster in 1972, and winds it tight around the troubled central figure of Matt Worthson, a one time candidate for Sheriff in Coeur d’Alene…. a solidly written murder mystery with a haunting finish, reminiscent of the best of Ridley Pearson or the early work of fellow Washington writer Jess Walter.” -- Book Note, Featured Review

You can order Coeur d’Alene Waters here. Visit author Ned Hayes on the web here. ◊


This Just In... is a column that shares basic information on selected titles. Titles are included at the editor’s discretion and on a first come, first served basis or for a small fee. Want to see your new book included? Ordering details are here.