Wednesday, November 24, 2010

OUR GIVING THANKS MESSAGE!



THANKS GIVING 2010

So much to Give Thanks for this year,
It’s hard to know where to begin.

We’re thankful for all of the calamities that turned out to have
Happy endings.
Like Deb not dying when they thought she might!
And the incredible experience of your love, prayers, and healing energies,
Which were, without any doubt, the deciding factor in that miraculous healing.

For Jen’s good news, we Give Thanks.
And for Abe’s successful surgery, we Give Thanks.
And for Sal’s plan to live to be 103 (beginning to be very careful at 102), we Give Thanks.
And for everyone’s continued good health, we Give Thanks.

We’re thankful that the sun continues to rise in the east
Particularly on those days when we’re not quite sure it’s going to.
We’re thankful for the wind that blows away all concerns, leaving only clarity.
We’re thankful for the rain that washes the world clean.
Snow, well, we haven’t quite gotten to being thankful for that yet, although it can be pretty.

Most of all, we’re thankful for the wonderful forever family we’ve found
Amongst people we didn’t used to know only weeks, months, or short years ago.
We truly are blessed to know you all.
And for that, we Give Thanks.

Much Love and Happy Thanks Giving,

Deb & Phil

DAY UNTO DAY



Authored by Louise Lenahan Wallace

With the Civil War behind them, Ethan Michaels, a widower with a young daughter, and Larissa Edwards, whose husband was killed in the war, look forward to living out their days on the
family farm in Ohio.Fate, however, has other plans. Larissa's daughter survives a deadly illness, but with
tragic, far-reaching consequences.Larissa and Ethan have planted their marriage in the rich soil of shared love, but when someone from Larissa's earlier life appears, the roots stretching deep into their separate pasts yield heartbreak that threatens to destroy their new-found happiness.

About the author:
Louise Wallace has always enjoyed writing, but never dreamed that "I could do it for real." Her
first novel was published in 2000, just a month before her younger daughter's 25th birthday.
Her advice to beginning writers? Don't be discouraged. It takes time and perseverance.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

KUDOS FOR FLASHES

"I have to say that I have never read "flash" fiction before. I wasn't sure exactly what I would find.

Inside the pages of this book were many short stories, but not the kind I was use to reading. It took me a little bit to sink my teeth into them, but when I did I just let myself go and enjoyed.

The stories are wild and wacky, scary and secretive, magical and free. Many make no sense to the natural realm, yet pull at the imagination within you and beg you to fly away with them. Others tenderly pulled on my heartstrings, and some made me giggle. Yet others held a hint of true sadness. It was like a smorgasbord of many delicious treats that beckons you to partake.

Different, fresh and inviting. Thank you Julie for sharing."



Shirley Johnson/Senior Reviewer

MidWest Book Review

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Ink Slinger's Whimsey: A Year in Review: WITS' Top 15 Book Picks for 2010

Book Title: Memoirs from the Asylum
Author: Kenneth Weene
ISBN: 978-0984421954
Publisher: All Things that Matter Press, 2010

This tragi-comedic novel takes the reader inside the asylum, inside the worlds of three central characters: a narrator who has taken refuge from his fears of the world, a psychiatrist whose own life has been damaged by his father's depression, and a catatonic schizophrenic whose world is trapped inside a crack in the wall opposite her bed. The best aspect of the book is how the author has written from the perspective or inner thoughts of the characters. This is done with such realism, understanding and truth that it is easy to relate with the patient’s fears, frustrations, joys and triumphs. It is obvious that the author is writing from a deeper understanding of human motivation and psychosis. His treatment of his characters is compassionate and without judgment, allowing the reader to formulate their own opinions and confront their own preconceptions and prejudices. Well crafted, Memoirs from the Asylum proves itself in the great tradition of writing.

Thank you for this great review!

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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Five Star Amazon Review


Five Star Amazon Review- “Playing With The Plumbline”
5.0 out of 5 stars Playing with the Plumbline, November 2, 2010
By Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) – See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Flashes from the Other World (Paperback)
A Plumbline is defined as a line directed exactly toward the Earth’s center of gravity. As a plumbline swings it circles around momentary paths that are inevitably pulled back to the gravity point, the center – it is a scientific fact. Reading Julie Ann Weinstein’s collection of brief ‘flash’ stories is like moving out, away from the center where most stories dwell, uncontrolled by the laws of gravity, picking up momentary fragments of reality and then spinning out of control to create a place where Weinstein can create a brilliant moment of her own brand of reality that floats along seducing the reader on every page to this collection of FLASHES FROM THE OTHER WORLD. It is wonderfully off-centered.
Many authors will admit that writing short stories is more difficult than writing novels: ideas must be molded and embellished with a beginning and an end in a fairly short period of space. Take that one step further with the definition of flash fiction, ‘ flash fiction (AKA sudden fiction, microfiction, micro-story, short short, postcard fiction, prosetry and short short story) – is complete stories of 1000 or fewer words’, and there are few practitioners who can accomplish these guidelines. Weinstein just happens to be one of those writers gifted with the ability to present terse explosions of stories that haunt the readers mind as much as any extended novel. She takes a word or a noticed piece of detritus and boom! out flows a complete story that is unafraid to employ the realm of magic/imagination/surrealism/magic realism to embellish her tale. This particular collection of flash fiction (not confined to stories of 1000 words always) is divided into three parts: Paranormal, Relationships, and Surreal. And these sectional titles offer a bit of help in approaching the many stories that follow. In the first section she offers such quickies as ‘Camp Ghosts’ a story only a half page long but one that reenacts the adventures of little girls off at summer camp dealing with a mysterious swimming incident. In the Relationship section she makes an entire revelation of two people over the disparity of shoe types in ‘Itchy Feet’, while in ‘Sangria Mischief’ we get to know a couple who base their wedding on stolen items form other brides – resourcefulness!

For this reader the most successful section is titled Surreal – and it is here that delicious little moments of inspiration develop into ‘Flowers in the Alleyway’ (a sniper’s gun seems to shoot out roses and daisies to a hidden girl’s memory instead of the reported deaths0. Or in ‘Of Bees and Trucks’ where an observer watches as bees fill a plastic truck with honey: ‘Bees, they know it all. They see life between the sweetness of honey and the sour sting of death. Yes, the sting hurts them more than you. The pain today in your shorts is their death. Did you thank the bee for giving up its life so you could dance on the street? I didn’t think so…etc’ Every page of this polished book is rich with imagination that takes us on a journey to dreams and beyond – to the impossible … or at least implausible. This is a book that, despite its idea of very quick stories, will call you back for re-reading many times. It is like Rod Serling meets Emily Dickinson! Grady Harp, November 10