#ThrowbackThursday – Page 19 – Rosepoint Publishing

#ThrowbackThursday – The Dirty Parts of the Bible by Sam Torode

#ThrowbackThursday

Renee began the #ThrowbackThursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out. And, if you’d like to join the fun, you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic from her website. Just provide the link back to her please).

OMG, I can’t believe I’m just getting to this particular author and his book, The Dirty Parts of the Bible for a Throwback Thursday!

I previously mentioned it in an article I wrote regarding historical fiction. Sam Torode has written other stand-alone books, along with such co-authors as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oscar Wilde, and James Allen. I reviewed The Dirty Parts of the Bible on Goodreads. This novel was self-published in March 2010. Torode garnered an amazing 2,109 reviews of which more than 1,000 were five stars and was a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Amazon classifies the novel as literary fiction, humor and satire, coming-of-age.

Originally posted April 27, 2016

Book Blurb:

The Dirty Parts of the Bible is a humorous adventure across America during the Great Depression–a rollicking tale of love and liquor, preachers and prostitutes, trains and treasure, sure to appeal to fans of O Brother Where Art Thou?, Water for Elephants, Mark Twain, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash.

Publishers Weekly says:
“While the title suggests a raunchy read, this rich and soulful novel is actually a rather well-done bildungsroman [coming-of-age story] steeped in wanderlust and whimsy that at times recalls The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and at others a tamer On the Road. The story begins in 1936 as 19-year-old Tobias is thumbing his way from Remus, Mich., to his uncle’s farm in Glen Rose, Tex., to find a hidden bag of money, after his father, a Baptist pastor, drunkenly slams his car into the church and is removed from the parsonage. The author does an excellent job in making well-charted territory (riding the rails; scavenged campfire meals under the stars) seem vibrant and new. Snippets of scripture, Southern spirituals, and folk ballads lend context and flavor to the text. Most impressive are the jangly dialogue and the characters’ distinctive voices, which are authentic and earthy but not remotely hoary. When Tobias finally arrives at his uncle’s, the surprises that await him are more than enough to keep his–and readers’–interests piqued.”

Continue reading “#ThrowbackThursday – The Dirty Parts of the Bible by Sam Torode”

#ThrowbackThursday – The Devil’s Grin by Annalie Wendeberg

#ThrowbackThursday-Summer

The Devil's Grin by A Wendeberg This week I am highlighting Annalie Wendeberg, another terrific, prolific author who The Devil’s Grin #1 (or 2?) of the Anna Kronberg Thriller series, which I reviewed on Goodreads. She has actually written six in the series, but also other series as well. This novel was originally self-published on CreateSpace, March 24, 2013. (Numerous dates for ebook as well as covers listed.) She consistently runs approximately 4.3+ stars for any of her books sold on Amazon. Sometimes the author’s own story is as fascinating as her books–check out her bios.)

Originally posted May 26, 2016

Book Blurb:

(Amazon) London 1889. A dead man is found floating in the city’s waterworks. Fearing an epidemic, the Metropolitan Police call upon bacteriologist Dr Anton Kronberg to examine the body. All signs point toward cholera having killed the man…but for faint marks around wrists and ankles.

Evidence for a crime is weak, and the police lose interest in the case. But Kronberg suspects that the dead man’s final days had been steeped in cruelty. Soon, a second victim is found, and Kronberg gets embroiled in a web of abduction, abuse, and murder.

But catching a killer and staying alive would be easier if the doctor didn’t have secrets of…her own.

Warning: medical procedures are depicted without apology.

**ACK!!!*

(Goodreads)At the turn of the 19th century, bacteriological research has made a tremendous leap. When epidemics were still untamed and claimed thousands of lives, Pasteur and Koch isolated deadly bacteria to develop vaccines. Biological warfare was but a small step away…

In Victorian London’s cesspool of crime and disease, a series of murders remains undiscovered until a cholera victim is found floating in the city’s drinking water supply. Dr Anton Kronberg, England’s best bacteriologist, is called upon to investigate and finds evidence of abduction and medical maltreatment. While Scotland Yard has little interest in pursuing the case, Kronberg pushes on and crosses paths with Sherlock Holmes. The detective immediately discovers Kronberg’s secret – a woman masquerading as a man in order to practice medicine – a criminal deed that could land her in prison for years to come. But both must join forces to stop a crime so monstrous, it outshines Jack the Ripper’s deeds in brutality and cold-bloodedness.

Warning: This book contains foul language, non-explicit sex-scenes, explicit dissection scenes, violence, and considerable female power. Continue reading “#ThrowbackThursday – The Devil’s Grin by Annalie Wendeberg”

#ThrowbackThursday – Mornings in Two Pan – B. K. Froman

#ThrowbackThursday - spring

This week I am highlighting B. K. Froman, another terrific, prolific author who wrote Mornings in Two Pan, which I reviewed on Goodreads. She has actually written three in this series. This novel was published by Morning West Publishing on June 29, 2014. She consistently runs approximately 4.2-5 stars for any of her books sold on Amazon.

Originally posted January 18, 2016

Book Blurb:

What if everything you know about your family is only half of the truth?

Every small town has its curiosities and conflicts. For Jiggs Woolsey, the most disturbing mystery is the identity of the buried skull he digs up on his Oregon ranch. Warned not to turn it in, he seeks answers about the five generations of his family who’ve previously worked the acres. His father and the cantankerous old-timers of the fizzled-out community of Two Pan will teach him the hard way that they’re not ready to give up their secrets yet.

My Review:

Yes, you got me! Busted!

I downloaded this free offering on BookBub (thank you!) solely based on that fascinating cover, and you’ll be glad to know that the cover perfectly describes the book without saying one word. If you loved the cover, you’ll love this folksy, down-home bit of western Americana. No really, would I lie to you?

Froman couldn’t have just created these characters–they’ve been so completely fleshed out–she must have been a fly on the wall of this family, recording some amazing bits of dialogue. Three generations (all male, two of which are widowers) living in a dusty, gritty, small town of rural eastern Oregon confront a historical family matter that was long since buried. This one grabs you from the beginning with the discovery of the skull in a creek bed on their property. And then in that slow, out west type of tale-weaving, creates the train wreck for which you are drawn like moth to flame. And, amazingly, you’ll like it. (Trust me.)

Unfortunately, Ox (Gramps) has increasing age-related health problems. He is met by his son with the startling discovery of the skull on their five generation cattle ranch that quickly has his son questioning all he’d believed about their family origins. The mystery sets off a powerful character study.

Jiggs doesn’t understand his dad and is bull-headedly trying to get to the truth. Jiggs’ son, Nap, is caught between the warring factions of father and grandfather and seems the most level-headed of the three. Unfortunately, he is too young to have sufficient experience in dealing with family issues he doesn’t understand and was never privy to. The story gradually unfolds the mystery, secondary to the relationship crisis the artifact has created.

The people who make up this little town ring true, the connections between long-time residents and philosophies compelling and telling. The writing is almost too simple, but sometimes less is more. When the conclusion comes and the revelation exposed, it’ll be one you won’t have guessed, satisfying but sorta tragic. (Well, duh, it’s a skull.)

But worth it? Oh yeah…

Take off your boots, find some shade, and enjoy this extremely well-written and emotional piece of old family literature, peppered with humor and satire. This is one of my favorite books in the 2016 Reading Challenge. A solid Five Stars

About the Author

B.K. Froman is an award-winning writer, radio/TV talent, and university educator who now lives outside of Portland Oregon after spending several decades in Oklahoma. Her works continue to capture a thoughtful and sensitive look at people in small towns and as she preserves a small slice of Americana that is quickly fading. The 2013 Clackamas Literary award winner in Short Works, Froman uses wry humor and clever dialogue to remind her readers that life is—all about change.

More Throwback Thursday Blogs

Renee at Its Book Talk

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Rebecca at The Book Whisperer

Lynne at Fictionophile

Sam at Clues and Reviews

Holly B at Dressedtoread

Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Annie at The Misstery

Mischenko at Read Rant Rock and Roll

Laurie at Cozy Nook Books

Ann Marie at LItWitWineDine

Rosepoint #Reviews – May Recap

June is heating up here in NWI! (OMG, did it turn hot!–from freezing to frying!) It was a semi-productive May month with books taking a back seat to the yard and garden while I could. News reports Chicago land received record-setting rainfall this year. We must have missed all that as I’ve had to water my slow-growing vegetables. The fairy garden, on the other hand, has been overrun with WEEDS far exceeding any bushes I planted, many of which are unidentifiable. Fortunately (knock on wood) no poison ivy (or ticks), so far. I’ve hit it with shovels, saws, and clippers, but the fairies are winning! Stay tuned…

In May I took part in spotlights, book blasts, and book tours during the month resulting in ten book reviews.

Micromium-Clean Energy from Mars by David Gittlin

Confessions of a Red Herring by Dana Dratch

(May) 2 – Micromium-Clean Energy from Mars 4 – Better Off Read 6 – The Mirror Shop 8 – Pick and Chews 13- Go Home, Afton 18-Dying Truth 20-Area 51: Redemption 22- Charlie Mac 27-Ray vs the Meaning of Life 29-Confessions of a Red Herring

My associate, The CE, read several and we accommodated five author requests in addition to Spotlights and #ThrowbackThursdays. Many of the book tours included Giveaways in which I hope you participated! Several of these titles stretched my reading chops and proved absolutely outstanding and will eventually go on a “Favorites” list I’ve yet to begin.

So what book tours can you anticipate coming in the near future? Here’s just a few (in hue compatible colors, of course). Please let me know if you are reading one of these as well!

Upcoming Blog Tours

And just a little ditty I wrote for one of my blogger buddies (who’d also spent a busy month):

Grab a cup, corral the pup, and set the puter churning,

then lift the book, correct the specs, and start the pages turning!

#ThrowbackThursday – Two Rivers (The Great Peacemaker Series #1) by Zoe Saadia

Two Rivers - The Peacemaker series by Zoe Saadia This week I am highlighting Zoe Saadia, another terrific, prolific author who wrote several series, this one Two Rivers of the Peacemaker series number one of four, which I reviewed on Goodreads. This historical fiction novel was published in 2013. She consistently runs approximately 4.5 stars for any of her books sold on Amazon.

Originally posted October 15, 2015

Book Blurb:

Having survived the failed raid on the enemy lands, Tekeni had no illusions. He was nothing but an enemy cub, adopted into one of the clans, but not accepted, never for real. To fit in was difficult, to run away – impossible. To get into trouble, more often than not, was the only available option. They did not expect anything else from him, anyway.

However, when a meaningless row during a ballgame grew out of proportion, resulting in a fight, Tekeni has found himself in a truly grave trouble. Neither he nor anyone else could have foreseen the chain of events the consequences of this fight would release, when the highly esteemed but controversial Two Rivers decided to help Tekeni out.

Two Rivers was a strange person with unacceptable notions and ideas. He maintained that to war on and on was a mistake of disastrous consequences. He went as far as suggesting a negotiation of peace with some of the neighboring nations. Even Tekeni, the despised enemy, thought such ideas to be far-fetched and wild. And yet…

With their trouble mounting and the revengefulness of some people around them growing, both Tekeni and Two Rivers find themselves pushed beyond limits. Continue reading “#ThrowbackThursday – Two Rivers (The Great Peacemaker Series #1) by Zoe Saadia”

#ThrowbackThursday – Cold River Resurrection by Enes Smith

Cold River Resurrection by Enes Smith This week I am highlighting Enes Smith, another terrific, prolific author who wrote Cold River Resurrection (Cold River #2), which I reviewed on Goodreads. He has actually written five in this series as well as another series and standalone books. This novel was published on April 11, 2011. He consistently runs approximately 4.4+ stars for any of his books sold on Amazon.

Originally posted October 14, 2014

Book Blurb:

If you love action-packed thrillers, don’t miss this journey with city girl Jennifer Kruger as she trespasses on the Cold River Indian Reservation, searching for a legendary creature.

On a sunny July day, Jennifer becomes lost in a sacred wilderness area and stumbles upon evidence of terror and murder. As darkness falls, she learns of crimes that modern-day tribal police know only too well – insertion of meth on reservations by cartels, mid-eastern jihadists laundering money in Indian casinos, and the secret creatures in the sacred areas of the reservation that the Indians won’t talk about. A night of terror begins for Siyapu (white girl) Jennifer Kruger.

Tribal Police Lieutenant Smokey Kukup, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, uses traditional Indian methods to track Jennifer. As they are caught up in a modern war, Smokey tries to keep his precocious daughter, Laurel, as well as those who trespass on the reservation, safe from harm.
Continue reading “#ThrowbackThursday – Cold River Resurrection by Enes Smith”

Area 51: Redemption – a #BookReview

Title: Area 51: Redemption (Book 10 of 11) by NY Times Bestseller Bob Mayer

Genre: Currently #174 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, War & Military

Publication Date: April 24, 2018

Source: Won a copy on a Goodreads Giveaway!

Title and Cover: Area 51: Redemption – Cover continues the dynamite series covers

Area 51: Redemption is a continuation of the series regarding alien direction and population on earth and how their presence affected the human race through the millennia, leaving only the most subtle of reminders of their possible existence on the planet. In this, the tenth of the series, Mike Turcotte, is back as the ex-Special Forces officer who helped free the earth of the Airlia while winning WWIII. But Turcotte kept a secret–far worse than that of the Airlia domination.

(From the Amazon book blurb: “The continuation of the series that has sold over 2 million copies, screenplay written by the man who penned Alien, Total Recall and produced Minority Report and is Cool Gus approved. This book will be followed by Area 51: Invasion on 14 July 2018.”)

You would be correct in that if this is a sci-fi, I probably had my associate reviewer read and contribute his review to mine. Also, as always, I’ll post his review here first. Continue reading “Area 51: Redemption – a #BookReview”

#ThrowbackThursday – Loose Ends by Terri Reid

Renee began the #ThrowbackThursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as to share books published over a year ago. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out. And, if you’d like to join the fun, you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic from her website. (Just provide the link back to her please).

This week I am highlighting Terri Reid, another terrific, prolific author who wrote Loose Ends, Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery series book 1, which I reviewed on Goodreads. She has actually written twenty in this series, but has published additional series. This novel was self-published on August 1, 2010. She consistently runs approximately 4.0+ stars for any of her books sold on Amazon and her story is as fascinating as her books. She released book 20 of this series, Clear Expectations, on November 27, 2017.

Originally posted July 8, 2015

Book Blurb:

Dying is what changed Mary O’Reilly’s life. Well, actually, coming back from the dead and having the ability to communicate with ghosts is really what did it.

Now, a private investigator in rural Freeport, Illinois, Mary’s trying to learn how to incorporate her experience as a Chicago cop and new-found talent into a real job. Her challenge is to solve the mysteries, get real evidence (a ghost’s word just doesn’t hold up in court), and be sure the folks in town, especially the handsome new police chief, doesn’t think she’s nuts.

Twenty-four years ago, a young woman drowned in the swimming pool of a newly elected State Senator. It was ruled an accident. But now, as the Senator prepares to move on to higher positions, the ghost of the woman is appearing to the Senator’s wife.
Mary is hired to discover the truth behind the death. She unearths a connection between the murder and the disappearance of five little girls whose cases, twenty-four years later, are still all unsolved. As she digs further she becomes the next target for serial killers’ quest to tie up all his loose ends.

My Review:

Obviously, Terri Reid has a winner in her Mary O’Reilly paranormal series as she’s written 15 of them successfully. I can see why. I greatly enjoyed Mary with her ghostly characters popping in and out on her, although Bradley channeling through her might have stretched the imagination a bit much. Still, it’s a ghost story–who’s to know? (Only thing I didn’t enjoy was the formatting.)

A former crack Chicago cop up for detective, Mary is killed in the line of duty and resuscitated back to life with the ability to see ghosts who are drawn to her looking to help them move into the next dimension. Most are stuck between worlds because of an unnatural death.

Mary moves out of Chicago to small town Freeport to begin anew, where Bradley comes in as Chief of Police who is also creating a new rural life and has a secret of his own. Her best buds, Stanley and Rosie, provide great sub-characters that add dimension to the story as well as police chief Bradley, who is so contrary, he’ll end up a love interest. Mary is called on to help solve the mystery of the death of a senator’s lover whose ghost is now invading their reconciled lives and discovers it is chronologically related to the disappearance of five little girls.

The dialogue is snappy and sometimes humorous and there is plenty of interaction between characters in a plot that moves along nicely and keeps you reading. I was hooked with book 1 that kept to the paranormal mystery genre, but not so favorably with book 10 where it turned romancy, planning her wedding.

I received the book through a BookBub offer. Love those free BookBub offers, they very seldom disappoint!

About the Author

(Amazon Author Page) Terri Reid has been telling ghosts stories since she was a toddler. Her mother tells of a time when two-year-old Terri would sit in her highchair, look past her mother into the dark back porch and say, “Look. Man.” When her mother would turn in horror, Terri would laugh delightedly.

Terri lives in the same area of the United States as her Mary O’Reilly character, Northwest Illinois. She lives on five acres of rolling land in a 100-year-old farmhouse, with her husband, children, dogs, cats and several dozen chickens (well, the chickens live in the barn.)

Her background is in marketing and public relations, but she has always enjoyed telling stories. For a while, she worked as a freelance journalist for the local paper and wrote the Halloween feature for many years, collecting as many local ghost stories as she could. She gave her collection of local ghost stories to the local historical society to use as a fundraiser, they are now in their third printing.

(Goodreads Author page) Terri Reid is the author of the Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mysteries. An Indie author, Reid uploaded her first book “Loose Ends” in August 2010. By the end of 2012, “Loose Ends” had sold over 82,000 copies and, as of the writing of this bio, was the number one bestselling book in Amazon’s ranking of Ghost Stories in the Book/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Horror/Ghosts section and the number two in the same area in the Kindle eBooks section. She has eight other books in the Mary O’Reilly Series and has enjoyed Top Rated and Hot New Release status for many of them in the Women Sleuths category through Amazon US. Her books have been translated into Spanish and Portuguese and are also now also available through CreateSpace and Amazon in print versions. She is also working on an audiobook for “Loose Ends.”

Reid has been quoted in a number of books about the self-publishing industry including “Let’s Get Digital” by David Gaughran and “Interviews with Indie Authors: Top Tips from Successful Self-Published Authors” by Claire and Tim Ridgway. She was also honored to have some of her works included in A. J. Abbiati’s book “The NORTAV Method for Writers – The Secrets to Constructing Prose Like the Pros.” She has also had the distinct privilege of guest blogging for Joe Konrath.

Reid is from Northwest Illinois, near the town of Freeport, the home of her fictional characters. Her background is in marketing and public relations. She is married, is the mother of seven children and the grandmother of eleven. Her constant writing companions are Riley, a Bernese Mountain Dog-Golden Retriever mix; Hans, a German Shepard mix; and McDuff, a Siamese cat.

Check out the other members of Throwback Thursday to see what classics they are highlighting this week.