Words by Webb

Love Thy Neighbor

Jodi — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:37:32 +0000

Thanks to Mark Gilleo and Partners in Crime tours for sending me an e-copy of Love They Neighbor to review and the opportunity to ask Mark 5Ws!

Title: Love Thy Neighbor

Author: Mark Gilleo

Paperback: 438 pages (also available in e-books)

Publisher: The Story Plant (March 27, 2012)

Synposis:

Clark Hayden is a graduate student trying to help his mother navigate through the loss of his father while she continues to live in their house near Washington DC. With his mother’s diminishing mental capacity becoming the norm, Clark expects a certain amount of craziness as he heads home for the holidays. What he couldn’t possibly anticipate, though, is that he would find himself catapulted into the middle of a terrorist operation. As the holiday festivities reach a crescendo, a terrorist cell – which happens to be across the street – is activated. Suddenly Clark is discovering things he never knew about deadly chemicals, secret government operations, suspiciously missing neighbors, and the intentions of a gorgeous IRS auditor. Clark’s quiet suburban neighborhood is about to become one of the most deadly places on the planet, and it’s up to Clark to prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives in the nation’s capital.

Fast, acerbic, wise and endlessly exciting, LOVE THY NEIGHBOR marks the unforgettable debut of a startling new voice in suspense fiction.

Review:

I read a lot of books. A LOT of books. I share lots of titles with friends and fellow book lovers…either through my blog or with friends I run into in the real world. But I was really pushing Love Thy Neighbor. You would have thought Mark hired me to stop people on the street and say “I am reading this great book. It’s got me on pins and needles. You would love it!” Incidentally, he didn’t hire me.

I think the best part of Love They Neighbor is that it’s told from two viewpoints. You get to see what’s happening to the innocent neighbor who isn’t sure if he’s living next to terrorists (which his mother swears is true) or if his mother is just a little senile. So he starts poking around…not an easy task since he has no training, no ins in the police department, and a lot of people seem determined not to investigate. Then you get the story through the eyes of the supposed terrorist. And, like all good terrorists, this one doesn’t share the entire plan…even with the most trusted aides…so you’re never sure what you’re hearing and seeing is the truth or part of an elaborate plan to hide the true terrorist attack.

When I was trying to think of a word to describe Love They Neighbor spiderweb popped into my mind. Not an orderly, symmetrical spiderweb but a crazy, random one created by the Jackson Pollack of spiders. A jumble of lines that, amazingly enough, all connect eventually. And it’s up to Clark Hayden, and the crazy investigative team he creates to understand how all these random people, places, motives, and plans come together to create a terrorist attack.

Love They Neighbor had me on the edge of my seat because it wasn’t easy to predict what would happen next or why. Surprises jumped out with every turn of the page. This was a great — a very scary — novel about terrorist activity and the coincidences and good luck that unite to stop what seems like a foolproof plan.

5Ws with Mark Gilleo

Although in this case it’s only 4Ws! But that’s OK, because even with just four questions Mark has some interesting things to say.

WHO
Who are your favorite authors? Who are you reading right now?

The first novel I remember reading was the original Aliens. I was probably twelve years old, and it was a book that my mother had just finished reading. There were quite a few words I didn’t know, and some of the dialogue I didn’t fully grasp, but I read it until the end. I didn’t sleep well for a few days. (I still remember the cover of that book….it had a large egg standing on its end with green ooze pouring from it.) I followed that up with Cujo, figuring I should balance out my fears and also be afraid of something on the planet. Somewhere in the early reading line-up was Vixen O3 by Clive Cussler.

In high school, my reading was largely limited to what I was required to read. We read the classics – Shakespeare, Dante, Salinger, Steinbeck. We also read some pretty contemporary stuff at the time, like the Dune series.

Coming out of college I started reading strictly for pleasure/entertainment. I spent some time overseas, had time to kill and a small library of books left behind from formerly stranded Americans. I read all of Stephen King’s early stuff. I remember reading Ken Follet and Tom Clancy back-to-back, everything they had published up until that point. By the time I read John Grisham, I was limiting myself to a lot of commercial, mainstream, contemporary fiction. I loved John Grisham’s first seven or eight novels. I read everything by Patricia Cornwell. As thirty came knocking on my door, I found Baldacci after he was already pretty well-known. I love his stuff. Right after Baldacci, I read my way through Nelson DeMille. He writes the best first-person stories I have seen. Dan Brown, of course, had a couple of good ones too. I love Barry Eisler and his John Rain series. I just finished one of his books. I am currently reading a non-fiction book, Ghetto at the Center of the World. Typically, when I am in full-blown writing mode, I don’t read fiction. I will switch to non-fiction.

WHEN
When did you get the idea for Love Thy Neighbor?

In the spring of 2002, I was standing in the kitchen, arm resting on the door frame, talking on the phone to a friend from Halifax, Nova Scotia, when I had a sudden urge to write a novel. I distinctly remember hanging up the phone and thinking, “What a curious thought!” Life went on and I spent the next few months trying to dodge the feeling I had felt. The urge seemed to lurk behind the scenes of everyday life and intermittently pounce on me like Cato from the Pink Panther.

WHERE
Where did you write Love Thy Neighbor?

A few months later I succumbed, sat down and started pounding on the keys of an old Toshiba laptop. I had no outline, no preparation, and no idea where I was going with the story. When I finished the first draft in the summer of that same year, I printed out a copy of the manuscript and took it with me on a vacation to the Outer Banks. I felt as if I were a musician who had walked by a piano, paused, considered the possibility for a moment, and then sat down and played something that didn’t have people running from the room. (Although writing a book can take as long as it does to learn to play the piano, it is easier to get people to sacrifice two minutes to listen to a song than it is to get them to read a book.)

When I finished reading the first draft I thought that perhaps it was good enough that I should attempt to write something else.

WHY
Why did you decide to begin writing novels? Why thrillers?

I think I write thrillers because they are the type of book I like to read. I wouldn’t rule out other genres, but you probably won’t see any romance novels or non-fiction from me. Then again, life is long, nothing is static, so who knows.

The Holes in History

Jodi — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:02:06 +0000

In the words of my children, I am a “history nerd”. I’m the person who makes jokes that most people don’t get…unless they’re other “history nerds”. I think if I would tell one of my jokes, author Jeremy Burns would “get it”. His book, From the Ashes is fabulous and thanks to Jeremy and Partners in Crime tours for giving me a e-book to read and review! On Wednesday I’ll be reviewing From the Ashes, but until then, a guest post by Jeremy. Don’t miss the review on Wednesday!

Who is Jeremy Burns?

An avid reader since the age of three, Jeremy Burns was devouring novels by the time other children his age were still learning their ABCs. Blessed (and, at times, cursed) with a decidedly active imagination and an insatiable curiosity for nearly everything, Jeremy made learning and storytelling two of his chief passions. After earning his degree in History from Florida State University, Jeremy accepted a position teaching literature, creative writing, political science, and philosophy at an international school in Dubai. Like the characters in his books, Jeremy is an intrepid explorer whose own adventures have taken him from Mayan ruins in the Yucatan to the pyramids of Egypt, from medieval castles across Europe to the jungles of Bangladesh, and beyond. To date, Jeremy has traveled to more than twenty countries across four continents, seeking adventure, discovery, and ideas for future novels. When not exploring a new corner of the globe, Jeremy lives in Florida, where he is working on his next thrilling novel.

The Holes in History

Atlantis. The Knights Templar. King Solomon’s Mine. As much as we may think we know about our collective past, history is rife with unanswered questions and buried secrets. Archeologists are regularly uncovering another part of the puzzle, forever changing our understanding of how we got to where we are today. Though myth and legend often obscure the truths of history, in fact, those fabled stories often contain more than a grain of truth.
The legendary city of Troy, forever immortalized by The Iliad, was thought for centuries to be nothing more than myth. Even when Henrich Schliemann, who had made it his life’s ambition to discover the city, announced his discovery of the city’s ruins, much of the academic community scoffed. Yet Schliemann was vindicated, his discovery proving to be the actual site of the historical city of Troy.
History is full of such incidents. There is mounting archeological evidence that Atlantis and its destruction is more than just a myth; several sites have been discovered in the Mediterranean and beyond that would prove a suitable inspiration for Plato’s cryptic references to the doomed arch-civilization, and scientifically proven natural phenomena from the established historical record have been posited to have caused the city to be “swallowed up by the sea.” The legendary King Arthur may have his roots in an actual Roman general stationed in what would one day become Britain. Even in science, animals such as the mountain gorilla and the okapi were long presumed to be cryptozoological creatures such as the chupacabra and Bigfoot; now, we know that they are real living creatures.
It is in mankind’s nature to be inquisitive, to ask questions about the world around us and how we came to be where we are today. This inquisitive spirit has lead us to question the established order and not be satisfied with our current understanding of science, history, and the like. Indeed, this is the very engine of progress.
Seemingly counterintuitive to that process, though, is the fact that, often the powers-that-be will cover up an inconvenient truth, seeding history with lies and double blinds to distract us from what really happened. Particularly of interest to truth-seekers is why those truths were covered up in the first place, and what relevance they may have to us today. In my first thriller, FROM THE ASHES, I use a chillingly plausible what-if scenario to bring to light a terrifying real-life campaign waged by the U.S. government against civilians throughout the twentieth century. My second novel, OF FAITH AND TREASON, will explore a real but buried history involving a secret society of militant zealots, a 19th century shadow war waged by the U.S. government, and an ancient artifact that may be key to the United States’s survival – or destruction. Both of these scenarios have chillingly real consequences for today’s world, yet the hidden histories explored within are buried beyond the public’s consciousness. Yet the very fact that they are not talked about is all the more reason why they should be brought into the light.
Beyond the threat of powerful figures and organizations controlling secrets and lost treasures, there is a magnificent wonder to behold within this quest for truth. One of my favorite quotes comes from Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant minds humanity has yet produced, which makes his words all the more poignant: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” To me, the quest for deeper understanding and the wonder of mystery are irrevocably intertwined. And as much as I love probing the unanswerable questions of the past, present, and future, I pray we never run out of mysteries to ponder, nor the spirit or desire to do so. But thankfully, judging from what I know, and what we don’t know, about the mysteries of history, I don’t think we ever will.

Review: Titanic

Jodi — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:22:33 +0000

Author: Bill Walker

Paperback: 288 pages (also available in e-books)

Publisher: Bill Walker Designs (January 31, 2011)

Synposis:

An insanely rich businessman takes on an insane — and secret — project. To rebuild an exact replica of the Titanic. Why? Well, it seems to honor his great-grandfather, who went down on the ship. But there could be other reasons. He invites Trevor Hughes, a college friend who is a writer, on board for the maiden voyage to capture everything. But along the way Trevor gets more than he expected…even for the Titanic!

Review:

The premise behind this is marvelous. A second Titanic. But I suppose I’ve been spoiled by the Cameron movie. I expected more action but this book is mainly a talking and thinking book. Being told from Trevor Hughes’ viewpoint is a positive in that many things are kept from this single man but, since we only see what Trevor sees, we learn about some more intense events secondhand.

I was disappointed that I knew what was happening almost from the beginning, perhaps Walker made his early clues too obvious. Watching Hughes’s reaction to the Titanic and the weird pseudo-Edwardian lifestyle on board was fun but I felt the book could have used a little more tweaking to give us a feeling of wanting to turn that next page. Perhaps I’ve been reading too many suspense books?

KidLit Review: The Smiley Book of Colors

Jodi — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:15:30 +0000

When is a kid’s book not a kid’s book? When it appeals to readers across the ages. Not every book has that magic. I find that Winnie the Pooh appeals to all ages. Didn’t Piglet pen a book of Tao wisdom a few years back? Dr. Seuss. Of course, Harry Potter! I think Ruth Kaiser’s The Smiley Book of Colors is that type of book too for two reasons: first, the photographs are so intriguing they’re the kind of thing that, perhaps with another photographer you would see in a quirky art gallery and second because the message is universal. Be optimistic! See the best in life! Keep your chin up! We all need to hear that once in a while, don’t we? Especially on a drizzly Thursday like today.

I learned about The Smiley Book of Colors through a WOW Blog Tour and there’s still time to follow Ruth to a few more stops. Check out their Blog Tour Calendar on The Muffin Blog.

Author: Ruth Kaiser

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Golden Books (March 13, 2012)

Check out Ruth’s fun video here. This is not your average book trailer. This is the kind of thing that goes viral so get in on it now! And don’t forget this chance to win a free copy of her book open to WOW readers only.

Treasure Hunt Time!
Now it’s time to start searching for Smileys in your neighborhood! When you find one snap a pic and upload it to Spontaneous Smiley
on the “Share Your Smiley” page using “WOW” in your Smiley title.

Just one Smiley makes you a Smiley Captain! Not only will you brighten people’s day with your Smiley AND help raise money for Operation Smile, a non-profit organization that helps children with facial deformity receive the surgery they need, but you’ll be entered in a contest just for Ruth’s WOW friends to win a copy of The Smiley Book of Colors. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 17! Now grab your camera and start searching for Smileys!

Review: No One Is Here But All of Us

Jodi — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 03:20:00 +0000

No One Is Here Except All of Us

Author: Ramona Ausubel

Hardcover: 336 pages (also available in e-books and audio)

Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (February 2, 2012)

Synposis:

No One Is Here but All of Us tells the story of a small isolated community in Europe at the dawn of World War II. Despite their isolation they are touched by the fear that invades the continent and decide to hide from the war by starting over. Not by moving to a new place to “start over” but by literally creating the world again. Day One.

Review:

Let me start out by saying I don’t feel qualified to review this book.

This is the type of book that English professors will probably love. There’s so much room for discussion about symbols, figurative meanings, all that sort of fun stuff. Fun for English professors but not for me. Sadly, No One Is Here But All of Us made me feel stupid. There’s a good chance that, as far as this book is concerned, I am! If you enjoy delving for hidden meanings, dissecting events, and mulling over a book’s true premise this book is for you. It was not for me.

Alas, we can’t love everything we read! I didn’t love it but it was well-written with interesting — sometimes surreal– characters. this book is quite a journey.

Ramona, if you’re out there reading this review please stop by and tell readers more about your book!

Review: Hitler’s Silver Box

Jodi — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 03:17:34 +0000

Hitler’s Silver Box

Author: Allen Malnak

Paperback: 328 pages (also available in e-books)

Publisher: Two Harbors Press (December 23, 2011)

Synposis:

Max Bloomberg, a concentration camp survivor and bookstore owner, leaves most of his belongings to his only living relative, his nephew Dr. Bruce Starkman. Bruce is grateful for the ability to pay off a few of his medical school loans but can’t help feeling that something isn’t right. Max was in his 80s…true. Max had never fully recovered his health after his time in the camps…true. Max had lung problems…true. But Bruce still couldn’t help asking a few questions. And instead of answers, Bruce just got more questions. Why was Max leaving money to a dead dog? Abandoning his Orthodox beliefs by being cremated? Hiding guns in trees? Hitler’s Silver Box is the type of book World War II history buffs like myself will love. But even those who aren’t will be intrigued by the puzzle left to Bruce to solve with just a few meager clues from his dead uncle.

Review:

This book is, in a word, eerie. From page one I felt as if I should be looking over my shoulder, watching for the mysterious force that led to Max’s death. Although Bruce and his uncle had a close relationship it quickly becomes obvious that Bruce is out of his element hunting for a murderer and a motive. He knows the post-1945 Max and Max’s death and the puzzle Bruce is forced to solve are all tied up with Max’s pre-1945 life, a life he never shared with Bruce.

Author Allen Malnak effectively keeps the reader as off balance as Bruce is as he searches for the reason for Max’s death. I quickly accepted the belief that every person in Bruce’s life, no matter how helpful, was suspicious. Were they really who they said? What were their hidden motives? Did they hold some important key to the puzzle? Even the most helpful of characters filled me with foreboding as I waited for them to show their true colors! The tension had me so anxious I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough!

I don’t know if the secret Nazi plan that the book hinges on is real or just a figment of Malnak’s imagination. But either way, he used it to create a fabulous book you’ll be eager to share with friends.

Don’t miss the website to Hitler’s Silver Box! Including this fabulous book trailer that truly whets your appetite to read this fascinating book.

Contest Fun

Jodi — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:56:45 +0000

Want to have fun stretching your writing muscles with the latest On the Premises contest? How about your laughing muscles? You’ll have to use both for this contest which asks for a 1000 to 5000 word short story that will make readers laugh (or at least smile) and think.

Any genre goes except for children’s, exploitative sex or horror. And no taking shortcuts by parodying another author’s characters or worlds! The deadline in May 31. For more detailed rules check out their website.

Review: A Grand Murder

Jodi — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:05:43 +0000

A love a good mystery! It doesn’t matter if the investigator is a cop, a private detective, even a gray-haired granny. In the case of A Grand Murder the investigator is a sassy female cop, Catherine O’Brien aided by her equally sassy partner. It was grand fun and introduced me to a new literary world I hope to visit again. Author Stacy Verdick Case also found time to tell us a little about herself and her writing process in 5Ws. Don’t Miss it!

And thanks to Partners in Crime for inviting me on this blog tour. You can find out about more stops on Stacy’s blog tour here.

Author: Stacy Verdick Case

Paperback: 224 pages (also available in e-books)

Publisher: Before the Fall Books (August 9, 2011)

Synposis:

When a prominent local businessman and friend of the chief of police is murdered on the front steps of his posh Grand Avenue Hill home, Catherine O’Brien a pithy, vertically challenged, St. Paul, Minnesota, homicide detective with a monstrous coffee habit, and her partner Louise are given two days to find his killer.

They soon decide their victim had a list of people with motives to murder him, including his fashion designer ex-wife, his mistress’s husband, and the chief of police. The only evidence they have to go on is a missing cell phone, a stolen book, the victim’s letter opener, and an ugly pair of Alpaca wool mittens.

Review:

Catherine O’Brien, the detective in A Grand Murder, is a memorable character with a well-rounded life away from her business of solving crimes. She isn’t just a crime solving machine. She has her personal quirks, personal life, fears and past. I would welcome meeting her in any type of book because she comes off as so real she could fit into many literary worlds.

In the spirit of several Agatha Christie books, there are so many people with motives that you begin to wonder if perhaps they were all in on it! And you secretly cheer for them because, as the book goes on, you learn that Stanley was NOT a good guy. Case skillfully creates a world where many people have legitimate reasons to wish Stanley harm, allowing you to consider and discard possible suspects throughout the book…only to take them up a few chapters later and say, “Well, maybe it was them.”

This is a mystery of the mind. There are no hidden dangers: gun fights, car chases, explosions, etc. Yet Case manages to get readers’ hearts pumping now and again with the insane driving of Louise, Catherine’s partner. Although driving with Louise isn’t fun, this mystery was a fun romp with a surprise ending to make you want another adventure with Catherine and Louise in the future!

Stacy Verdick Case
WHO
Who inspired your characters? Which one are you most like?

The two main characters, Catherine and Louise, are named after two women I used to work with, but they are both an amalgam of female officers and other people that I’ve met. I would say that Catherine is the most like me. She’s no-nonsense and people who know me would agree that I cut right to the chase.

WHAT
What is writing like for you? Is it a 9 to 5 job, something you do in yourspare hours after a 9 to 5 job…how does writing fit into your life?

I still work a 9 to 5 job as an accountant and I have a family that
includes my three-year-old daughter, so I wedge writing in when I can. I try to write every day for at least a half an hour. To me that’s manageable and my family can live without me for that long. I carry around a pen and notebook so I can write wherever I have the time. I’m especially fond of doctor’s appointments because you know they’re going to keep you waiting.

WHERE
Where do you go to pick real cops brains about murder and investigation without them thinking you should be on the next “America’s Most Wanted”?

LOL! That is a real hazard let me tell you. I took a six-week citizen’s police academy which helped a lot. I made good contacts there and once you announce you’re a writer they stop looking at you funny. There was also a library class here locally called CSI: Minneapolis put on by a female officer and lept at the chance to take her to coffee. She was so great answering all my questions about being a female homicide detective.

WHEN
When did you start writing?

I’ve written stories since I learned to write. I wrote my first book in second grade. It was called, “No Snow on Christmas”. My mom gave it to me a few years back and I still have it in a closet somewhere.

WHY
Why the mystery genre? Will you always write mystery are are you thinking of branching out into other types of writing?

Actually, I started out writing historical romances. Now I look back and they were more hysterical romances than historical. I changed genres when a former employer took a lot of money from me. It made me angry enough to want to kill him, so I did . . . on paper.

I wouldn’t rule out writing in another genre some day. If I’ve learned anything over the years it’s that you never can tell what the future will bring.

Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters

Jodi — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:53:04 +0000

Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters

Author: Meredith Zeitlin

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (March 1, 2012)

Review:

“Life never goes according to plan.” That seems to be my constant mantra…whether I’m carefully constructing complicated life plans or watching in horror as earlier plans fall to pieces at my feet. Like most people, my life consists of one wreck after another from the simplest plan (what to serve for supper) to the most complicated plan (what type of career will help me earn money to buy that supper). So when I met Kelsey Finkelstein, the high school freshman who stars in Meredith Zeitlin’s debut YA novel Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters, it was like meeting a younger and slightly more urbane version of myself. Like most teenagers Kelsey has PLANS…plans that mostly revolved around the big P (popularity). Unwilling to put all her eggs in one basket Kelsey develops multiple plans to catapult her to the popularity stratosphere. And when she learns that her arch-nemesis has moved away, she actually believes her plans will all work. Yeah, that lasts about a minute.

This book is a happy combination of friendship, obstacles, and revelations. I could cry at all Kelsey’s ruined plans except that Meredith creates situations so ridiculous I decided to laugh instead. Meredith accurately portrays the high school experience, providing older readers with characters we recognize (whether fondly or with a growl) and younger readers with a map that shows them that they are not the only one with crushed plans at the bottom of their locker. Don’t miss this book!

To get a great feel for Meredith’s quirky writing and attitude check out her book trailer and a quirky “just because” video she made.

Book Trailer

Literary Cats

Review: A Place to Die

Jodi — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 03:36:13 +0000

A Place to Die: An Inspector Georg Buchner Mystery

Author: Dorothy James

Paperback: 436 pages (also available in e-books and hardcover)

Publisher: Xlibris Books (April 21, 2010)

Synposis:

Eleanor and Franz Fabian arrive from New York to spend Christmas with Franz’s mother in her sedate retirement home in the Vienna Woods. Their expectations are low: at best, boredom, at worst, run-of-the-mill family friction. But when the wealthy, charming Herr Graf is found dead in his apartment with an ugly head wound, the Fabians are thrust into a homicide investigation. Some residents and staff have surprising connections to the dead man, but who would have wanted to kill him? Inspector Büchner tracks down the murderer against a backdrop of Viennese history from the Nazi years to the present day.

Review:

Truthfully? I thought murder in a retirement home would be a little depressing. And not a retirement home where 60-somethings are toodling along in golf carts, running 5Ks and attending classes in everything from origami to gourmet cooking. The folks at the Home in the Woods are in their 70s, 80s, even 90s and can never be found without their canes, walkers and a host of other needed aids.

Although there were some sad cases in the Home in the Woods, James managed to work in enough lively people — despite their ages — with surprising lives full of love, intrigue, mysterious pasts. And of course there were a few younger people: employees, the Inspector, the Fabians. After the first murder, people started dropping like flies. Of course, was it murder or was it just winter in a retirement home? That puzzle: were the deaths somehow connected added an interesting aspect to the book. After the deaths, the investigations part of the book slowed down greatly. The Inspector, along with several other characters, were prone to musing over their own mortality and the meaning of life. I was almost itching for another murder. Despite the slower pace I kept with it and enjoyed the surprising end for some of the characters.

I admired James’ ability to add some humorous situations, remarks, and characters into the mix. I particularly enjoyed the “kidnapping” of the Reverend and the nuns on scooters. Bravo for showing us that older people still have funny, exciting and even loving lives.