As I said in Monday’s post, I am going to go forward with my reviews by doing many of them as short takes and put several in one post.
Through a Darkening Glass by R.S. Maxwell: 3 of 5 stars This one disappointed me. The blurbs talked about ghosts and witches, and hinted at a paranormal side to the story. What I got was a WWII historical romance with a ghost/paranormal that was explained away too easily, and non-existent witches. I mean, they were mentioned in passing once or twice, but there were never any directly in the story.
Blood Groove by Alex Bledsoe 4 of 5 stars An interesting take on vampires, with the usual centuries-old vampire lead taking refuge with a group of teenage vampires. It takes place in Tennessee in 1975 amid the racial tensions of the time. It was interesting to see the 70s culture through the eyes of someone who “died” sixty years before and was suddenly awakened in a whole new world. And the vampire-killing addictive drug was a twist on the usual wooden-stakes-and-sunlight. Vampire lovers would probably enjoy this one.
The Village Healer’s Book of Cures by Jennifer Sherman Roberts 2 of 5 stars I don’t know. Something about this one just didn’t gel for me. Mary Fawcett is a healer, the latest in generations of women who have a special empathy for the sick and can use that talent to make their potions and cures more effective. Drop in a witchfinder, bent on rooting out any hint of witchcraft and sending its practitioners to the gallows, and it should have been at least a decent read. I just found none of the characters really caught my attention, and the whole story seemed a little flat.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott 3 of 5 stars Anne Lamott’s addition to the books of writing advice written by writers. Part memoir, part writing advice, part life guide, it was a pretty good book. Lamott tells a good story, even the true ones, and her anecdotes on her family life, her writing life, and life in general are readable. The lessons are there, but you’re not whacked over the head with them. Use the advice or not, there is probably something in there every writer can relate to.
My latest book is a collection of very short stories, half science fiction and half fantasy, called “Crossed Wires and Other Very Short Stories”. I have also written a few other short pieces, another collection, two novels, and an urban fantasy series. You can find most of them at Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and wherever e-books are sold. A few are also available from Amazon in paperback. My novel, “Circle Unbroken” is also on Kindle Unlimited, if that’s your reading preference. You can find out about all of them here.
There are also some stories you can read here on my site, mostly the yearly Halloween short I write, but there are a few others. You can read them from here
And So On... 