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I just look like this
In …I Just Look Like This, a book fitting for those seeking spiritual guidance, the author, A. Kirk Williams M.D., seeks to guide the reader towards finding peace in a world filled with lies and chaos. Williams provides social commentary in the form of articles, poems, and journal entries pertaining to a variety of topics in history, biology, and spirituality in no particular order.
Every chapter contains a new topic, allowing readers to piece together the greater story as they read. Most of the chapters are short, but ultimately leads to a provocative message pertaining to white males destroying the earth and inflicting misery on the rest of the world with their selfish, capitalistic, and destructive intent.
Williams attracts a large audience by relating to multiple cultures through his interesting genealogy and popular message of finding peace. Slowly, he reveals a controversial message to his initial pursuit of peace by encouraging people to be skeptical of ”those in power” and later equating that to white males. This turns into a biochemistry lesson on why white people are inferior to other races, using his professional background as a medical doctor as leverage to make his point.
The author uses some examples from history to boost his claim of white inferiority by presenting cases of war, genocide, and negligence committed by those of European descent. I felt that the historical cases were cherry-picked and ignored similar incidents throughout history perpetrated by other races on different continents.
This book has some great advice for living a happy life. Williams encourages his readers to seek a deeper sense of spirituality by pursuing mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical discipline. He details how to balance each of these four areas by seeking the innate truth of the world. This allows allows readers to find the truth that lies within them. Mostly, this is done by prayer and seeking the will of God, but I would have liked to have read a more defined description of this this search for truth.
Another inspiring concept addressed in …I Just Look Like This pertains to the benefit of close communities and seeking the wisdom of those who have experienced more in life. It’s the author’s view that wisdom comes with age and how he wished he had listened to his father’s advice on many things, saving him from his shortsighted nature.
While there are many life lessons and entertaining passages, I felt that this book blames many of the world’s woes on whites. Those uneducated in world history might be easily persuaded by Williams, but it’s always important to fact check authors with such bold claims of racial inferiority. This book has the potential to accomplish the opposite of the author’s stated intent, to promote peace, and instead, inspire hatred of others.
Pages: 158 | ISBN: 0964189453
When Mother Calls (The Josepha Chronicles)
Josepha Brown has quite a unique background. Found as a young child and taken in and raised by Maggie Brown, Josepha is burdened by memories of her past. The problem? Josepha is the only one who cannot recall these events. As she moves into her thirties, she relies on the memories of friends and family to piece together the mystery that is her bizarre ability to tell the future. When Josepha answers a call to come to her eccentric mother’s home one evening, she is met with a small group of friends who may or may not be on the up-and-up and want something Josepha is not even sure how to give them.
When Mother Calls, by Genevieve Fosa, is a blend of mystery and science fiction. Josepha Brown, the book’s main character exhibits more patience than most people could ever imagine having. As she endures torture at the hands of people she believes to be friends of her mother, she attempts to continue with her life until it becomes virtually impossible to do so. As her days become increasingly difficult to recall and her neighbor enters the picture as an almost morbid caregiver, she finally gives in to the madness that consumes her and decides to pursue answers.
Fosa has created a most unique plot centered around the abilities Josepha cannot recall using. As amazing as the plot is, it is easy to become frustrated with her patience and the incredibly long and drawn out process of realizing Harold’s true intentions.
Speaking of frustration, Maggie is a character I would love to shake. Her behavior at the outset is infuriating to say the least. Fosa does a fabulous job of molding a character who is both naive and childlike while maintaining a certain devious quality. My heart bleeds for Josepha as she endures session after session of torture and the excruciating recovery that follows. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that her mother is an integral part of it all.
Time travel is not an aspect I saw coming at the outset of the first two chapters. I was fully prepared to read a book based primarily on the paranormal. I was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events. Fosa has melded the best of both worlds as she blends the paranormal with elements of intrigue and a secret world of people living between two very different times in our history. It is a fascinating plot and one that keeps the reader guessing at every turn.
Fosa has succeeded in producing a beautifully written and intricate plot with a strong main character who endures more than her fair share of hardships in order to succeed in her mission without negatively impacting history. Fosa’s plot is highly-involved and moves quickly–a plus for readers who enjoy a briskly paced science fiction story. Fosa is, no doubt, highly skilled in character development, and it shows in Josepha Brown’s turnabout. When Mother Calls is a must read for fans of the paranormal desiring strong female leads and an element of mystery.
Pages: 298 | ISBN: 1976843391
Free Love and the Sexual Revolution: Finding Yourself by Removing Sexual Boundaries
I feel liberated just reading this book! I was totally caught by surprise by how much I loved this book. Any preconceived notions I had about this type of living situation were quickly dispelled by this beautifully written memoir about one woman’s life as the owner of a free love nudist community in California. She walks the reader through her early life, youth, and young adulthood and how this former top insurance salesperson and her aerospace engineer husband ended up running this alternative commune.
This community is located in Topanga Canyon, CA and is not hard to find on the internet and other sources like books, TV and even movies. She describes the community and property beautifully as being “nestled like a gentle Buddha in the wooded tangle of Topanga Canyon” and it made me instantly want to go there. The way she describes life with this free love family both answered questions and created more curiosity in me. The star struck silly girl in me wants to know all the celebrities who went there, as the author mentions.
She tells amazing, sexy, erotic, and loving stories from her time at Sandstone, but she also shares some of the conflicts that inevitably arise in this type of environment. I was particularly interested by the chapters about the making of a film at the site. I am definitely going to have to hunt that movie down to watch after reading this book.
I love that she included essays by many of the former family members who shared their experiences at Sandstone. It seems like so many people felt transformed by their ability to be so open and free among this community of free thinkers and people who did not want to be weighed down by jealousy or judgment. I love that they promoted their lifestyle and had workshops and publications. These were people who were not just flippantly promiscuous or polyamorous. They lived this lifestyle with intention and the desire to live in a conscious way outside of what was forced on them by society.
The author shares openly about her life story which is somewhat sad in her early years, but she maintains such a positive and mindful attitude that it is inspiring to read. I am so impressed by how she ran with who she is and what she believed in. I find this awe inspiring and this book got me thinking about the things about which I am passionate. She also shares so much about her time running a cat rescue and you can really experience her love for these animals in her loving descriptions about these creatures.
This was not a smutty or perverse book, as some might assume, far from it. This work of non-fiction about the Sandstone Retreat paints this community with a beautiful brush. It was not some swinger club or sex club but a group of like-minded individuals who came together and chose to live in pure openness and honesty. This magically led to an amazing experience for so many people and never morphed into anything ugly or tragic. Awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Pages: 202 | ISBN: 9781508543558
The War Zone
Jolene Grace Author Interview
Going Dark follows Amelia as she tries to help journalists that have been kidnapped which has sparked an international incident. What was the inspiration for the setup to this thrilling novel?
The idea of ‘Going Dark’ started to form in my mind as I spent nights working on the foreign desk at CBS. Those nights, I was alone in the entire studio, watching incoming video feed from our military forces stationed in Iraq. In 2006-07, the war was in full swing and we received daily updates on the progress and struggle people were facing during the war. The war zone wasn’t too far off from our foreign correspondent team stationed in Iraq, reporting from there. As I was sitting at my desk, I envisioned Amelia Sinclair (a foreign liaison in Going Dark) how hard and challenging must be to be separated from your family when your job takes you away from them, especially if you have young children.
Amelia and Jets are dynamic characters that are enigmatic and empathetic. What were some themes you wanted to capture in their characters?
Amelia had to sacrifice her career when she became a mother. Having children was not something she had planned on doing, but when it happened, she made the decision to stay back and take a desk job.
However, her thirst for adventure never fully went away. So, when her boss, Harold Fost, approached her with a proposition to oversee a covert assignment, she simply couldn’t resist. But Murphy’s Law tipped the scale against her and her friends and co-workers get kidnapped. I wanted ordinary people, the readers, who juggle work and family life to be able to relate to her and to the choices she makes along the way on this journey.
Jets is a complicated guy. He’d seen things most of us have not, working as a spy for the CIA. To me, he was interesting because, he believed in the cause set forth by the CIA, but he still had conscious and when he sees the wrong person is being blamed for crimes that she didn’t commit; he has to put aside his oath to the CIA and go with his guts, even if that decision could cost him his career.
This is an exciting novel on par with Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy novels. Did you start writing with this in mind of did this happen organically?
Tom Clancy was a master at setting up an engaging plot and building action in his novels. He is certainly an influencer in my writing. Another writer whom I admire is John Le Carre, unquestionably the undisputed father of spy thrillers. Both of these writers are exceptional.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I recently finished writing the second book in the Gabriel Jets series, called Political Whispers. Jets is a castaway in Afghanistan, having accepted a covert position, offered to him by Robert McKaine. Jets is in charge of a secretive drone program, most on Capitol Hill don’t know it even exists. The second book has more military overture and is action packed. Political Whispers is slated for release in early 2019.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website
![Going Dark (Gabriel Jets Book 1) by [Grace, Jolene]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41-6vSsraWL.jpg)
Gabriel Jets is the CIA’s top agent, a man with a reputation of getting the job done, no matter the price. On a rare visit back to the States, Jets is dispatched to collect a video depicting the kidnapping of four U.S. journalists working undercover in Damascus, Syria.
Meanwhile, the U.S. president and his chief of staff, Robert McKaine, are called to the Situation Room to receive a briefing. Damascus is rocked by a terrorist plot that killed twenty-five innocent people.
A link between the two events is quickly discovered, with evidence pointing to the involvement of another U.S. journalist, Amelia Sinclair, a prominent foreign correspondent, with direct ties to the missing.
While Jets hunts for the video, he crosses paths with Amelia. In a blink of an eye, his mission is compromised as he believes she is being set up to be the fall guy.
As the U.S. government closes in to arrest Sinclair, Jets alters his assignment to help clear her name and track down the powerful men behind the ploy to draw in the country into an international scandal.
If Jets fails, the country he swore to protect, will go dark.
Dreamworld
Dave Droge Author Interview
Inevitable Dreaming follows Waldemar struggling to cope with the loss of his family as a friend suggests a new virtual reality therapy? What served as your inspiration for the setup to this riveting novel?
The goal was to describe a dreamworld in the tropics and then confront the reader with the harsh reality that superstition, “magical” beliefs—a broad category that ranges from beliefs in mythical animals, to connections with animals’ fabled properties, to spiritualism and traditions—have an impact on the welfare of real-life animals and ecosystems. 3D virtual reality therapy was a means to get to this goal.
This novel does a very good job at examining the self-deprecating nature of some people. What is Waldemar character based on?
He is a criticaster of tunnel-vision in police investigations and of the argument’s judges tend to use in the name of the law. So, as a character, he is critical towards anything that leads to prepossession, prejudice or any other bias really (in my next novel, the game changer, he comes back shortly as a helper in finding this tunnel-vision in business around the harbor of Rotterdam). Then, in his own dreamworld, he might discover something about himself regarding this personality trait. I will not tell you in detail, since that would spoil the reading/plot.
I felt that this novel was about personal tragedy and grief. What were some themes you wanted to explore in this novel?
Superstition, animal welfare and most definitely also ‘’revenge’’. Revenge is one of the main underlining themes of this book. I thought it was especially interesting to see what a character like Waldemar, living for the law and ethics, becomes when feeling this urge for revenge.
What is the next book that you are writing and when will it be available?
Currently, I am working on two books, but I am not sure they will ever be finished.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
![Inevitable dreaming by [Dröge, Dave]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41clkuoL9DL.jpg)
At the moment forensic psychologist Waldemar van Splunteren is defending himself against an inquiry, thereby challenging his unjust suspension, something terrible happens: his wife and child are being killed in a tragic accident. He loses himself in self-pity and avoids any contact with the outside world. Only Miriam, a prosecutor and a good friend of his wife, does not budge. She advises him to try a new form of meditative, virtual reality therapy. During these sessions, Waldemar comes to know slowly what actually happened. He decides to investigate it all along with Miriam, leading them to Borneo, Indonesia.
Because…come on…they’re AWESOME!
Ellie Collins Author Interview
Daisy, Bold & Beautiful follows young Daisy as she struggles to fit in at school and finds help from an unlikely friend. What was your inspiration for this story?
Well, Persephone is my favorite Greek goddess, so I knew I wanted a story featuring her. And, to me, Persephone’s story is all about standing up for yourself. I wanted the moral of my story to match the moral of Persephone’s story, so I came up with D.J. I didn’t want it to be mistaken for a book about bullying, though, so I wanted to put D.J. in a situation where she needed to stand up for herself, but not because she was going up against a “bad guy”.
There is a unique infusion of Greek mythology in this book. Why did you want to use that theme throughout the book?
Like I said, I knew I wanted to write books about the Greek gods, because…come on…they’re AWESOME! I didn’t want my books to feel like historical stories, though, so I came up with a way to bring up the stories of the Greek gods while actually writing about kids living today.
I liked Daisy’s character, and I felt she was relatable. Did you plan her character before writing or did she develop organically while writing?
So, the first thing I did was come up with a god to write about: Persephone. Then I wrote an outline to the story. THEN I wrote up character descriptions for all the characters. A lot of my characters share names with people I know in my real life. Some of the character personalities match those of the people they’re named after and some are different than the real people. D.J. wasn’t named after anybody I know; she’s just made up. I would say all the characters developed a little more as I wrote the story, but they all started off with pretty detailed character descriptions. That was actually the hardest part of writing the book – coming up with the back story and personalities for everyone. I tried to include at least one fact about each character that the readers never find out – just to try to make them really real, know what I mean?
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Funny that you should ask that! The second book in the series is Mylee In The Mirror, and it’s available AS OF TODAY! This book is about Aphrodite. I’m really excited about this book because it has TWO main characters, Mylee and one of her best friends and teammates, Ty (Tyson). I was nervous about writing about older kids (the main characters are in the ninth grade, and I’ve obviously never been in the ninth grade before – it was easier with Daisy, Bold & Beautiful, because I was the same age as D.J. when I wrote it). I was also nervous about writing from the perspective of a guy, but writing about Ty was super fun and I might even make my next main character a guy!
Author Links: GoodReads | Ellie’s Mom’s Twitter Account | Facebook | Website
![Daisy, Bold & Beautiful by [Collins, Ellie]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51sAFON1MfL.jpg)
D.J. and her dad moved far from the small town and only home she ever knew. Now she’s starting middle school in the city with kids she’s never met. She tries to make friends, but they all appear to be slaves to screen time. D.J. just likes to garden, nurturing plants, watching them grow and thrive. It seems she’ll never find a way to fit in, but then she awakens in a gorgeous garden where she meets Persephone, Goddess of Spring. She must be dreaming; her new friend can’t possibly be real—and what could she know about getting along with gamers? D.J. really needs some ideas, or she might never find her own place in a complicated world.
Daisy, Bold & Beautiful is the debut novel of middle-schooler Ellie Collins, daughter of award-winning author Stephanie Collins. Boys and girls alike will appreciate Ellie’s keen eye for the challenges of growing up that she and her friends must face. Discover the wonderful writing of Ellie now, then follow her to learn about her writing and more books to come.
Wicked and/or Misguided
Jason Hubbard Author Interview
The Hunt for the Three Roses follows Callie and Kane as they try to leave their old life behind in a world consumed by war. What were some themes you wanted to carry over from book one, and what were some new ideas you wanted to explore in this novel?
This trilogy is all about the upsides and downsides of organized religion. The first book was about how a religion can be a source of guidance and hope in the best of times and a source of uncertainty in the worst. The second book is about how wicked and/or misguided people can make things up that fit within their worldview and pass it off as official religious doctrine. The very identity of the Three Roses (at the risk of giving a spoiler!) is about how different minds and ideologies can fracture a faith for better or worse.
Kane and Callie are intriguing characters with emotional depth. Was there anything from your own life that you put into your characters?
Much of my early life I put into Kane. I tended to be a goody-two-shoes who pointed out people’s bad behavior, especially their profanity. I’ve relaxed that side of me, just as Kane eventually did. Callie is simply someone I’d like to be more, a person who has little problem in speaking her mind and being rambunctious.
This novel, and series, have a rich backstory. Did you create the backstory before writing the novel or did it develop organically while writing?
Some segments in my early books were created organically, but Hunt for the Three Roses was mostly planned ahead. I thought about the plot for months before, often making changes without needing to write anything down. When I started to write, I felt well prepared to go ahead and work without fear of writer’s block.
This is book two in the The Three Roses Trilogy. Where will book three take readers, and when will it be available?
Sean and Callie have settled down, but not for long. They’ll have to be taken well out of their comfort zones so they can discover the truth behind the Three Roses, and just as Callie’s past came to haunt her, so too will Sean’s. Despite the presence of magic, the action scenes in the second book were rather grounded, but in the next one, the action will be rather ethereal. The release date may be sometime in 2020, or possibly 2021.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook
![The Hunt for the Three Roses (The Three Roses Trilogy Book 2) by [Hubbard, Jason]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qs2nQ7lBL.jpg)
Change is in the winds in this high-stakes, emotional fantasy adventure!
On the run from the army which he once proudly served, Kane Bailey changes his name to Sean, leaving nearly every shred of his old life behind. His old tutor, Master Cypher, helps guide Sean and gives him a mission that’s more important than Sean realizes: Bring an older, simple-minded man named Jonas to the Royal Palace, where he’ll be safe.
Callie meanwhile is unsure what she wants to do in life. Leading a criminal lifestyle is all that she knows, but it would mean starting from the very bottom. But while her future is up in the air, her dark past rises to haunt her. Rainer the assassin has a score to settle, and he wants to make it as painful and heart-wrenching for Callie as possible.
In this second installment of the Three Roses Trilogy, the hunt is on … and there will be blood.
LITERARY TITAN 