Shelf Unbound April/May 2014

APRIL /MAY 2014

RICHARD RENALDI AMY SCHUTZER ANDREW LADD LAURA ELIZABETH WOOLLETT

CHARACTER STUDIES 1

SEPTEMBER 2010

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Margaret Brown fo u n d e r a n d p u b l i sh e r Anna Nair edito r i n ch i e f Christina Davidson c re a t i ve d i re c tor Ben Minton circ u l a t i on ma n a g e r Patricia McClain c o py e d i to r Marc Schuster c o n t r i b u t i n g e d i tor Kelly Bergh yo u n g a d u l t / ch i l d re n ’s rev i ewe r

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what to read next in independent publishing

april/may

contents

DEPARTMENTS 4

a note from the publisher

36

roses are read book club

60

middle shelf

64 poetry

6

spheres of disturbance interview with Amy Schutzer

12

what ends interview with Andrew Ladd

18

the wood of suicides interview with Laura Woollett

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140 characters or less five tweet-worthy new novels

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like my mother always said a collection of “mom mots�

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touching strangers a photo essay by

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on our shelf

68

small press reviews

70

last words

71

contributors

On the cover: Photograph by Richard Renaldi.

Reiko and Brian New York, NY, 2013 from Touching Strangers (Aperture, May 2014) www.aperture.org

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Photograph: (top) Andrew Ladd author of What Ends (bottom) Laura Elizabeth Woollett author of The Wood of Suicides

D.C. SMITH

Visual guide to the real story of Jesus separates fact from fiction Author D.C. Smith explains early Christianity and the myths surrounding Christ with short, illustrated chapters every reader can comprehend LOS ANGELES – In “Jesus the Jew No One Knows” (ISBN 0615516335), D.C. Smith presents the Torahobservant teacher and his messianic movement in a lively, straightforward manner, using classical artwork and concise explanations to show what actually happened when Christianity took root in Roman-occupied Judea.

In a carefully drawn out series of historical segments, the writer peels back 2,000 years of revisionist history to reveal the many myths and distortions that arose over the life, death and disappearance of this most remarkable man. For instance, Smith makes plain that Jesus’ real name, as pronounced in Aramaic, was Joshua. He tells us about Christ’s birthplace, his mother, father and brothers while illuminating a peasant existence exalted and overdramatized. He effectively describes what circumstances must have been like for a teenage boy growing up in rural Nazareth, noting what race, tribe and lineage he would have belonged to, while explaining the political meaning behind his parables and the baffling behavior of his closest disciples.

The book also considers the narcissistic emperors and kings who reigned during those days and lays out the

new messiah’s religious calling as well as so-called “biographers” who claimed to have witnessed what was going on. In the final part of “Jesus the Jew No One Knows,” Smith discusses the Galilean’s hideouts, his last supper, his betrayer, the Roman judge who sentenced him, and his eventual crucifixion, all of which are followed by various theories and doctrines regarding his resurrection and second coming.

Replete with biblical timelines and a comprehensive glossary, “Jesus the Jew No One Knows” is a visual journey into the day-to-day life of Jesus Christ, mankind’s most misunderstood human being. It shows how much of what was real about him was either covered up or forgotten and how ancient storytelling was passed down over the centuries by Greek-speaking ghost writers with suspect agendas. The book strips away the fabrications to reveal the man’s true identity, while demonstrating how foreign followers successfully reshaped his looks, his mission and his message.

“Jesus the Jew No One Knows”—a must read for inquisitive people of all faiths and for secular humanists, too!

Now available for sale online at Amazon.com and Kindle ebooks

a word from the

publisher

F

CHARACTERS

or the past seven years, Richard Renaldi has been traveling the country, posing pairs of complete strangers closely, even intimately. A highly successful Kickstarter project funded a new book of these photos from Aperture, which we preview here. “The moments captured in Touching Strangers were orchestrated,” says Renaldi. “They are fictional, spontaneous relationships acted out as street performances in front of my 8-by-10 view camera.”

We also look at the fictional relationships created by novelists, from a cast of characters circling a dying elderly woman in Amy Schutzer’s Spheres of Disturbance to the constricted life of an islandbound family in Andrew Ladd’s What Ends.

“On completing one of these photographs, there was often a feeling that something rare and unrepeatable had just occurred,” says Renaldi. I think this well describes the experience of reading literature. So with that in mind, I hope this issue leads you to something rare and unrepeatable.

Margaret Brown publisher

On exhibit: Touching Strangers Thirty-five photographs from the Touching Strangers series will be on view at the Aperture Gallery in New York City from April 3 to May 15. Share your own Touching Strangers photographs with the hashtag #TouchingStrangers on Instagram or Twitter, and contribute to the Touching Strangers exhibition in New York. Photographs should be of people you don’t know and who don’t know each other, before the photo is taken, who you ask to touch each other for the picture. Through May 15, Renaldi will be picking his favorites to show alongside his exhibition. http://www.aperture.org/exhibition/touchingstrangers-photographs-by-richard-renaldi-exhibition/ 4

APRIL/MAY 2014

Photograph: Belinda Baldwin

Is what we know about Jesus true?

D.C. Smith reintroduces

history’s most misunderstood Messiah. He presents the Torahobservant teacher, accompanied by classical artwork and concise explanations, to show what actually happened to him both before and after Christianity took root in Roman-occupied Judea. Using a carefully drawn out series of historical segments, Smith peels back 2,000 years of revisionist distortions to uncover the many myths and made-up stories about a local rabbi we now think of as “Jesus,” but whose real name was Joshua.

From start to finish, this remarkable book separates fact from fantasy in reconstructing the historical Jesus and the turbulent times in which he lived. It is a must read for inquisitive people of all faiths as well as secular humanists.

The Jesus No One Knows

by D.C. Smith

Available in paperback and e-book at Amazon.com.

feature

character studies

Red Hen Press | redhen.org

Spheres of Disturbance

by Amy Schutzer

Told from the point of view of nine different characters, Spheres of Disturbance explores both life and end-of-life issues with depth and beauty.

Schutzer writes with such empathy that she even convincingly evokes the thoughts of a pig.

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Shelf Unbound: Tell us about the character at the center of your novel, Helen, who is dying.

Amy Schutzer: Helen is in transit from the solidly corporeal body to losing that solidity, physically and mentally, from the cancer that has taken over.

Her character allowed me to go along on that ride where we become diminished from what we were. Helen is not an extraordinary person, and from her daughter’s point of view, Helen has been stable, not the least bit reckless.

But just like most of us, Helen does extraordinary things throughout her life.

And one of those things is her decision to forego any more treatment for the cancer. Dying and death are still incredibly difficult for most of us to talk about.

This process that will touch each of our lives, yet how to make sense of it?

I’m not sure we can. Helen’s character gave me an in to the many questions that accompany her dying.

Shelf Unbound: You tell the story from the point of view of nine different characters, including (and wonderfully so) a pregnant Vietnamese potbellied pig named Charlotta.

How did you go about finding and creating them?

Schutzer: When I begin a novel, it is a response to either an image coming to me, or a character or a sliver of the plot, or a combination of these UNBOUND

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things. I had been thinking about Niagara Falls—the people who went over the falls, the power of the water, roiling whirlpools, the scores of people who visit—and this led me to back up the view from those images to a house on a river many miles before the river goes over Niagara Falls. And that’s where the novel starts: in a backyard on the river on a particular morning. A fast, churning river, and what was in it, floating along—branches, milk carton, etc. Who was watching the river?

That’s when Charlotta arrived, the potbellied pig. A pig? Who would own a pig? And so Avery was next to show up. I am not an outline type of writer.

I begin writing and the story unfolds.

The story also dictated how it wanted to be told, in this case, from the various characters’ points of view. They revolve around and intersect with Helen: family, friends, daughters, lovers, and animals.

Each character was the center of and an orbiting part of a constellation.

S helf Unbound: Helen being at the very end of her life brings up conflicting reactions from the other characters: Her daughter, Sammy, is in denial; Sammy’s lover Avery, a poet, is shocked that Helen is planning to end her own life. Helen’s friend Joe,

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who she has enlisted to help her, wonders about his father’s rumored suicide. What drew you to explore these end-of-life issues?

Schutzer: End-of-life: who wants to deal with that? But each of the characters has to in their own way. That’s what was so engaging about writing this —the spectrum of reaction: from the very selfish—Helen’s sister Maureen— to Darla, a teenager who runs right up to the spookiness of Helen’s dying and sees what she is able to see from her 15-year-old vantage point, then retreats into the chaos of adolescence. Then there’s Sammy, Helen’s daughter, whose denial is massive, and she is doing everything she can to keep it going and to keep anyone, including her lover Avery, from bringing the truth into the light.

The other aspect for me in writing this was the decision Helen makes about her own end of life. She gets to that point where the treatment for the cancer is more compromising to her than not treating. I had witnessed this with my own family members and friends and seen the varying decisions each made. What choices do we really have with how we enter the process of dying? Who gets to make those decisions? And all the while this enormous event is looming, there’s life just carrying on in all its lovely complexity.

Shelf Unbound: Why did you set the novel in 1985 as opposed to today?

But we were still years away from the Race for the Cure that drew tens of thousands of participants, and more targeted treatments. Cancer was not yet the big business it is today with pink ribbons everywhere. I wanted to set the novel before that turn so that I could explore the difficulty a woman had on a societal level of going against the medical opinion of treatment and nothing but more treatment. Not that that doesn’t happen today. But 1985 didn’t have the public realm attached to one woman’s decision. No twittering or posting countless updates, diSchutzer: In 1985, not a lot of women ets, etc.—everything we have become were so open about their breast can- used to in the present day deluge of cer, nor was it so vividly in the public public sharing. It allowed me to bring eye. That was beginning to change. the story and the question of end-of-

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life back down to their essential struggles, which is ultimately a very personal, individual process.

Politically, 1985 was rife with Ronald Reagan’s decisions, which in this author’s view did more to irreparably harm our economics and thus create the unstoppable trajectory of über wealthy at the expense of everything and everyone else.

While not an explicitly political book, most of my characters are left leaning, and in 1985, trying to carve an alternative to the corporate and consumerist mandate that was stacking the deck in its favor.

Shelf Unbound: You begin the novel with the point of view of Charlotta the pig. I’m fascinated by the way you wrote her as a thinking character without really anthropomorphizing her—she is very much a pig. How did you approach writing her?

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Schutzer: Charlotta, what a wonderful pig she is, she is. I wanted her just to be an animal, and allow her animal being to interpret each situation. She experienced the world through her senses. Even though she was connected strongly with Avery, it still was through smell, touch; or when Avery read a poem to Charlotta, she floated in the sound, not the meaning. I used clipped language, some repetition for Charlotta and more immediate reaction to try to approximate how a pig might respond to her surroundings.

Shelf Unbound: Do you have a

favorite character in the novel?

Schutzer: No absolute favorites as that shifts with where I’m at in my life on any given day. But I’ll say this about the characters: Avery kept me grounded, more sure of where I was going with the story; Sammy, for all she tried to keep emotion bottled up, allowed a deep eddy of feeling to emerge. I love Frances, such a bad girl. And Marjorie, who comes under her influence, and teeters between duty and abandon. The teenagers, Darla and Ruth, were in that stage where everything is up in the air and possible— what’s not to like? While Helen wasn’t easy to write, she was the most compelling to get inside of to understand what we will all be faced with; she was also the hardest to let go of. And, yes, I adored Charlotta from start to finish.

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character studies

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What Ends

by Andrew Ladd Winner of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award Series, Andrew Ladd’s debut novel explores the concept of time via the increasingly constricted life of an island-bound family.

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Shelf Unbound: Your novel follows the life of the McCloud family over three decades as they endure family strife and the drastically dwindling population of their home of Eilean Flor, a small island off the west coast of Scotland. How did the idea for this novel come about?

“ISLE OF MUCK” and not much else.

So it’s interesting to me that the finished product nevertheless ended up including a reclusive mainland artist; I don’t know what deep-seated archetype I’m drawing from that the idea keeps coming back.

As for the family strife, well, that wasn’t really my initial intention. The first draft was more about another character, a businessman from London, moving to the island. But I quickly realized that the relationships in the McCloud family, which I only really created at first for this other man to interact with, were far more interesting than anything he did himself. So I reworked the whole thing to be about the McClouds, and now the businessman, Michael, doesn’t even have his own POV sections anymore.

Andrew Ladd: The first glimmer of it was probably back when I was fourteen, on a school trip to the west coast of Scotland, where I first saw an abandoned island community and was really struck by how sad that was. But I didn’t actually make note of any concrete idea for a piece of fiction until I saw a news report about the dwindling population on the Isle of Muck a few years later, and I didn’t actually “do” anything with that idea for a few more years again. I was in an undergrad writing workshop and had to do some exercise where I wrote a scene between two characters, and that ended up being between the last two people left on a Scottish island—a reclusive mainland artist and a local man.

After that I transferred out of my writing program and didn’t really come back to the idea of writing a novel until I was 23 or 24 and starting my MFA. By then I’d actually forgotten all about that undergrad writing exercise, and when I started What Ends I was only going Ladd: As I say, the first character I on a brief line in my notebook that said wrote was Michael, though I think that

Shelf Unbound: Which of the McClouds came to you first?

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was partly because writing an outsider arriving on the island for the first time was also an easy way for me to get into the setting. (I guess you could also make a case for the reclusive artist being the first character who came to me.)

But of the main characters in the finished book, Flora—the middle McCloud child—was definitely the one that I really fleshed out first, and still the one I can see most vividly. There’s a scene in chapter seven where she first meets Michael, which is one of the first scenes I wrote, and which is still largely unchanged from the very first draft. In some ways I feel like that first scene with her is really what drove the book to its current form—the section that continues that scene and chapter was among the most popular with my early readers, and for a while I toyed with making the novel entirely from her point of view.

Shelf Unbound: In writing the novel, which character interested you the most?

Ladd: It kind of ebbed and flowed, to be honest. The section where Barry (Flora’s brother) goes off to boarding school was very raw for me, and writing it I was the most engaged I’d felt with the book up to that point. But later I got equally wrapped up in his mother, Maureen, and at other times also in Flo-

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ra, of course. Ironically, I was probably least interested in George, the family patriarch, who ultimately provides the book’s biggest emotional punch. Maybe it’s because I knew pretty much from page one what his fate was going to be.

Shelf Unbound: The physical isolation of Eilean Flor mirrors the emotional isolation the family members have from each other. What drew you to this theme of isolation?

Ladd: I don’t know that I was consciously thinking about isolation, actually—though I appreciate how unlikely that sounds given the subject matter!

It’s funny, though—the other idea I had for a first novel had a similar premise, in that it would have followed a small

family in a very confined environment. I remember having a conversation with my writing group, back when we were all starting on our books, about how it seems like a lot of first novels actually have some kind of similar constraint on the world of the book, whether it’s setting or timeframe or number of characters or whatever.

I think with a lot of first-time novelists—the few that I know, anyway— there’s a feeling of, “oh jeez, what have I gotten myself into, and what can I do to keep it manageable?” That’s probably as responsible for the sense of isolation in the book as anything else.

That said, from the start I was obviously interested in what it would be like to be one of the last survivors of a small island community. So I think the recurring theme of isolation probably also grew quite naturally from that.

Shelf Unbound: Place is very much a character in this novel. Tell us about Eilean Flor and what inspired it?

Ladd: Well, there were my first experiences with the real Scottish Hebrides on that school trip, but as I say, what primarily drew me to the story was the human aspect—imagining what it would be like to see your community crumble around you. And at first the island itself wasn’t much more than a device to enable the telling of that human story.

But it was definitely one of those projects where the more research I did into the Scottish islands the more fascinated I became with them—and the more details I knew I had to include to really convey how marvelous they are.

I took pages and pages of notes from Tom Steel’s The Life and Death of St Kilda, and from Anna Blair’s Croft and Creel, both of which are about the history of other, real communities that have blinked out of existence. I worked so many of them into the first draft, too, that I had to do a lot of darling-killing as I revised.

Definitely the most inspirational part of my research, though, was when I visited Canna, the island that Fior is loosely based on. The place was so atmospheric in so many ways I hadn’t expected or imagined—noisy, and eerie, and even somewhat menacing. I knew then that doing the island justice meant making it more than a simple backdrop.

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Shelf Unbound: This is your first novel. What did you learn from it about the art and process of novel writing?

to be undisturbed for long periods of time to really get good writing done—I think a lot of writers feel this way—and that was pretty much how I proceeded for the first two drafts. But then grad school was over and I needed a day job and I knew that if I didn’t get the manuscript into publishable shape relatively quickly, it would probably languish forever. That really forced me to change my work habits, because if I didn’t try to get 500 words done while my wife watched TV in the background after dinner, then I just didn’t get any words Ladd: That it’s hard work! But also that done, period. And now, actually, I get there are some writerly habits that can all my best writing done on the subway, make it unnecessarily harder. For a long which is probably about as far from the time I had it in my head that I needed ideal writer’s retreat as you can get.

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feature

character studies

The Permanent Press | thepermanentpress.com

The Wood of Suicides

by Laura Elizabeth Woollett A schoolgirl’s crush on her male English teacher leads to mutual destructive obsession in this well-drawn, compelling debut novel.

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Shelf Unbound: Tell us about your main character, Laurel Marks.

Laura Elizabeth Woollett: At face value, Laurel is a bright, attractive, modest, and well-behaved seventeen-year-old.

Beneath the surface, she is calculating, vain, jealous, and judgmental, particularly toward other women. Beneath that, she is a bundle of insecurities, and more naïve than she’s willing to admit.

Despising her mother and identifying with her father, Laurel is all too eager to begin an affair with an older man. She doesn’t particularly enjoy the intimacy, but becomes addicted to other aspects of the relationship—the admiration, the power plays, and the sense of doing something illicit and out of the ordinary.

She sees herself as a tragic figure, a sort of martyr or romantic heroine, out of touch with the world and not long for it. Death is never far from her mind.

tions. Like her, I craved sophistication.

I considered myself more intelligent than my peers. I had an all-or-nothing mindset and was drawn to extremes. I romanticized death.

A lot of teenagers think this way, I’m sure. It comes with the territory. Laurel differs mostly in her intensity and her circumstances; she’s privileged, but also very isolated. This allows her to become more set in her ways.

Shelf Unbound: You began writing this novel when you were a teenager, and you are now 24. How did your personal maturation influence the style or direction of the novel as you worked on it over the years?

Woollett: At 18, I wanted to write a Shelf Unbound: How did you novel about a girl exploring her sexuality after the death of her father. I had go about creating Laurel? read Sylvia Plath. I had read Lolita. It Woollett: Laurel comes from a place seemed like a good subject. that is very familiar to me. I wasn’t I wrote about 50 pages. They were rubnearly as intense when I was her age, bish. After starting university, I put them but I did share many of her preoccupa- aside and didn’t pick them up again until UNBOUND

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halfway through my degree. By that point, I had read more. I could write better. I was older than my main character, which allowed me to look at her more critically and turn her faults into fatal flaws.

About five of those original pages were reworked into the opening of The Wood of Suicides. I scrapped the rest.

The greater part of my novel was written between the ages of 20 and 23.

Shelf Unbound: Has being a Millennial influenced your writing or your ideas about what you want your literary career to look like?

Woollett: I don’t feel any particular affinity for my generation or desire to speak for it. The subjects that intrigue me most are timeless—sex, death, beauty, violence, corruption. More often than not, my characters live in a different or unspecified era. Even The Wood of Suicides isn’t exactly contemporary; it’s set in the early 2000s, before the social media revolution. Perhaps I could have had Laurel and Mr. Steadman Facebook-stalking each other and sexting, but I feel that would have

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been a distraction, and I liked that they still exchanged letters and that sort of thing. It’s another way in which they’re invested in fantasy over reality.

There are writers who do a great job of capturing what it’s like to be a Millennial and engaging with contemporary issues. I read them sometimes, but I’m not really one of them. For whatever reason, I don’t feel compelled or equipped to write about the Millennial experience—at least not directly.

Shelf Unbound: You write poetry and short fiction as well. How did the experience of writing a novel differ from writing shorter pieces?

Woollett: When you’re writing a novel, everything is very big picture. You can have a clear idea of the themes, the main characters, and the most dramatic events, but a lot more world-building needs to be done to make these things plausible. Most novels have minor characters, whereas short stories can usually dispense with these. I found this a challenge of writing The Wood of Suicides, since I’m most comfortable dealing with a cast of about two or three.

Short fiction has other challenges.

The focus is narrower and everything

WINNER OF THE 2013 SHELF UNBOUND WRITING COMPETITION FOR BEST INDIE BOOK

life & times of persimmon wilson the

This extraordinary novel, part Cold Mountain, part Dances With Wolves, is a love story, a thriller, an epic adventure tale, and impossible to put down. Nancy Peacock writes with power and lyricism, creating characters who come to vivid life and whose struggles grip the soul. Deeply in the American grain, The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson is a tour de force of historical fiction.

— Henry Wiencek, author of Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves “I have been to hangings before, but never my own…”

From this riveting beginning to the last perfect word, Nancy Peacock grabs her reader by the throat and forces him to hang on for dear life as the action moves from a Louisiana sugar plantation to life among the western Comanches, bringing to blazing life her themes of race and true love caught in the throes of history. The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson is as deeply moving and exciting an American saga as has ever been penned.

— Lee Smith - author of Guest on Earth NANCY PEACOCK is the author of two previous novels and a memoir, including the New York Times Editor’s Choice Life Without Water.

You may read the first chapters of all her books on her website

Available in print and as an ebook through Amazon and Barnes and Noble, or ordered through your independent bookstore.

www.nancypeacockbooks.com

needs to be there for a reason. At the moment, I’m writing a lot of true crime inspired fiction, trying to condense hundreds of pages of research into a few thousand words. It’s very difficult to decide where to place my focus, what to reveal and what to leave unsaid.

Shelf Unbound: You’re working on a collection of short stories titled The Love of a Bad Man, which could have been a subtitle for The Wood of Suicides. What draws you to this subject?

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Woollett: I first read Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal about 10 years ago, and was fascinated by the relationship between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter. Later, Wuthering Heights became a favorite. I liked how cruel Heathcliff was, but also how Catherine saw herself in him and identified with his cruelty.

I’m not so much interested in stories of good girls falling for bad guys as girls who already have something bad in them and find themselves in these relationships. These girls are far more compelling to me, since they’re not just blank, virginal slates. They’re human, with the potential to act inhumanely.

Sharon Winters effortlessly captures the linguistic and cultural differences between China and America in an affectionate and amusing way. I smiled all the way through.

Robert Wasserman, Author My Life on Golden Pond

A

n American woman takes a cultural fling into China and finds humorous and engaging adventures as her Shanghai driver tries to keep her out of trouble in a land she struggles to understand.

From supermarkets to restaurants, and her driver who doesn’t speak English, every aspect of her daily life contains a challenge. A delightfully realized memoir full of humor, warmth, and thoughtful insights.

Readers will find this well-written diary-cum-travelogue an eye-opening and entertaining read.

Sharon Winters has retired from teaching English and math, but continues to study Mandarin and visit China.

She has a BS in psychology from Illinois State University and an MA in humanities from the University of Texas. Her stories have appeared in the MENSA BULLETIN: The Magazine of American MENSA, The New Mensican, and The Rodent Reader Quarterly.

Available at Amazon and

www.SharonWinters.com

140 characters or less

Navidad & Matanza

by Carlos Labbé

translated from the Spanish by Will Vanderhyden

the tweet: A tour de force of meta fiction, in which a group of scientists engage in a story-writing game about a journalist investigating the disappearance of two children. the character:

Open Letter openletterbooks.org

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My name is Domingo. Actually, Domingo is my password here in the laboratory. Just by uttering this name—which I chose —I can enter bedrooms and bathrooms, I can make phone calls, obtain food and drink, access the temperature, hygiene, and communication systems, send and receive email, carry out Internet transactions to purchase any supplies we need.

Without it, I’d be trapped in my room. If I were to suffer a psycholinguistic disruption, or if the effect of some microorganism rendered me voiceless, I’d just die of starvation. It’s not that my life doesn’t matter to anyone; it has to do with the nature of the project. It’s not even top secret, as we used to joke, rather, to

the world, it doesn’t exist. So if for some reason I was to forget my name, I wouldn’t just die of thirst and hunger, I’d die empirically: the possibility of anyone remembering me would die as well. If the project culminates in success, I’ll be able to return to Santiago, get married, have children, maybe make a career as a gastroenterologist. If the project fails, or if I fail, as occurred with Lunes, Miercoles, Jueves, and Viernes—I fear it may be occurring with Sabado—the organization will be sure to eliminate me.

From Navidad & Matanza by Carlos Labbé, Open Letter 2014, openletterbooks.org. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

THE S TORY BEHIND THE

ACCELER ATING LIFE A ND HOW W E IN T HE Y E A R 22025 V IE W OUR PA S T A strange dream allowed the writer to know the truth behind life and its most guarded secrets through dialogue that contains many subjects that answer the most important questions people need to know before the Third World War and how the graduation class can be awakened without dangers or difficulty from the current status.

Twelve dreams covered with enlightening dialogue… The Story Behind the Accelerating Life allows readers to find the answers to the mysteries of the world and many more.

IS T HIS LIFE RE A L O R IS IT A DVA NCED CO N CEP T O F V IRT UA L RE A LIT Y?

“In sum, as with the rest of this series, this book will leave readers puzzled from the first page to the last” — BlueInk Review “A marriage of science fiction and philosophical dialoque” — ForeWord Clarion Review “A strange tale that may be better understood in the future.”

— Kirkus

YOUTHTHEWRITER.COM

140 characters or less

How’s the Pain?

by Pascal Garnier

translated from the French by Emily Boyce the tweet: Translated from the French, this modern noir novel tells the story of aging assassin Simon, determined to complete a final job before dying. the character:

Gallic Books gallicbooks.com

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Simon glanced around at his rudimentary universe: his shoes, sitting quietly at the foot of the bed, a sock rolled up inside each one; his jacket hanging limply over the back of the chair; the little table where he had emptied out the contents of his pockets, with the car keys and documents, his wallet, notebook, a pen, a handful of coins, a few banknotes and a large envelope addressed to Bernard Ferrand.

He checked its contents: his Geneva bank account number and a power of attorney for Bernard, along with a short note saying, “Thank you and good luck.” He gazed at it for a few moments, then screwed it up with a shrug and lobbed it into the wastepaper basket. Next to

the envelope sat an apple and a skipping rope, still in its colourful plastic wrapping. A poor copy of Van Gogh’s Sunflower hung on the olive-green wall. The bathroom light was still on. A notice on the back of the door informed guests of the fire drill, room rates, mealtimes and so on.

Was it him that creaked or the bed, as he extricated himself from the sheets? He rubbed his neck. Wretched trapped nerves.

His knees were like banister knobs. His calves were dry and hairy like crab claws, his toenails hard as ancient ivory.

From How’s the Pain by Pascal Garnier, Gallic Books 2014, gallicbooks.com. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

COLD WINTER RAIN

A

ttorney Gregory utilizes a legal background to create a complex and suspenseful slice of hard-boiled noir that honors without imitating the stylistic and thematic influences of Dashiell Hammett. Eschewing over-simplistic views of morality, the characters here wade through a dark ambiguity mirrored by bleak atmosphere, descending into homicide and emotional bankruptcy. In Birmingham, Ala., Slate, the cynical but decent lawyerinvestigator struggling with the deaths of his wife and son, agrees to locate attorney Don Kramer’s daughter, Kristina, unwittingly accepting an invitation into conspiracy and cover-ups. When a murdered man is discovered with Slate’s business card, police captain Leon Grubbs casts an eye on our hard-luck hero and a routine missing person’s case becomes a race against the clock and possibly the New Orleans mob.

Slate is not a mere parody of classic genre detectives. Rather, his personality is convincing and complex, skillfully revealed without slowing the action-driven plot. Clean and sharp prose delivers maximum emotional effect, and the dialogue rings true. Though he doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the genre, Slate is nevertheless destined to become a series character welcomed by aficionados of John D. MacDonald and Raymond Chandler.

—Publishers Weekly

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

WWW.STEVENPGREGORY.COM UNBOUND

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140 characters or less

Savage: 1986-2011

by Nathaniel G. Moore the tweet: Twenty-five years of drama in the life of a middle-class Toronto family, as seen through the eyes of Nate, a high school senior obsessed with a pro wrestler. the character:

Anvil Press anvilpress.com

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At home, Dad always exuded a ghastly predisposition, wearing the thin, polyester-cotton-blend tea-coloured pajamas with black socks, fogging his way through the grim early morning routine. It was strange to see him surrounded by extras and wrestling fans in Maple Leaf Gardens. Every morning I saw him, Dad appeared only halflit; on mute, a stale, predawn musk tricking from his mouth, a mouth full of grown-man realities: failed mouthwash, underbrushed teeth, overlooked food particles. His senses honed in on the substantial, a fresh veneer, hoping coffee would place him elsewhere—if only mentally. This was our Dad; always, first thing, first light,

with the rising morning air and the house yawning alive and his first cigarette to set the mood.

But I forget about all those tiny corporeal details of my then forty-five-year-old father David, because all I cared about was that those tickets he bought meant we’d be at Maple Leaf Gardens, Red Section, West Gate, by eight o’clock. Each ticket costing $14.00 ($12.73 + RST $1.27 = $14.00), plus snacks and TTC costs. On the way up, I noticed the prices for seats: we had the second-best tickets available next to gold!

From Savage: 1986-2011 by Nathaniel G. Moore, Anvil Press 2013, anvilpress.com, Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

by Fritz H. Schroeder A Story You Will Never Forget A Book You Will Always Remember

W

hile much of Europe engages in a fierce struggle for its existence, the idyllic town of Zuarin, Germany remains untouched and almost encapsulated from the effects of the war raging outside its country borders …. at least for a while.

The East, part fiction, part autobiography, allows its readers to look at World War II from the inside out – through the eyes of a young German boy, just barely of school age at the war’s beginning, and totally unprepared for the changes that are about to come marching into his innocent and carefree world, both during the war and after Germany‘s division into east and west.

He survived nearly daily bombings, loss of home and family and friends, hunger, disease and the revenge of occupying Russians.

More importantly, will he survive in the end? How?

www.theeastbook.com Available at Amazon Books | Create Space | Barnes & Noble

Author Fritz H. Schroeder

is a retired businessman and former one term American soldier.

He grew up as a German national during WWII, and remained there through the American and British occupation; and then lived under Russian Communist occupation for five years before he escaped.

He later immigrated to the United States after which he joined the American Armed Forces.

While in retirement, the author decided to write the story of witnessing history being made through a young boy’s eyes in the form of a biographical-novel.

140 characters or less

The Boy in His Winter: An American Novel

by Norman Lock

the tweet: Norman Lock reimagines Huck Finn and Jim as witnesses to decades of American History, from the Civil War to Hurricane Katrina and into the future. the character:

Bellevue Literary Press blpress.org

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I look back in my old age on that long-ago day when I came off the river and began my grownup life—and much earlier still, when, no more than a boy, I set out from Hannibal on a raft with Jim. Of course, I reckon time differently now than we did then, sweeping down the Mississippi toward Mexico as though in a dream. Those days did seem like a dream, though not mine, or Jim’s either, but one belonging to somebody whose hand I almost felt, prodding me onward in spite of my reluctance. Or maybe it was just the river I sensed, shaping a kind of destiny for me and also for Jim, whose end came before mine and was, sadly, neither glorious nor kind. We were, each of us in his own way, looking

for something that did not exist.

That other story, Jim’s and mine, about a trip downriver, was true enough. But this, the one I am about to tell, is just as true and even more amazing.

You want to know what I mean by “true enough”?

I mean that—regardless of how things might have been exaggerated in the telling, how far the truth got stretched—you could always find in the world the same sort of perversity that was set down in his book, only the reality is not so entertaining or picturesque.

From The Boy in His Winter by Norman Lock, Bellevue Literary Press 2014, blpress.org. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Dance, Life and Beyond

by Joana Saahirah A Journey of Death and Rebirth in the country of the Pyramids Once upon a time, I had a dream so I chased it—in Egypt. This Magical Book tells about this Adventure, the Price we pay for our Passions and the Wisdom we can gather on the Journey up the Mountain.

Almost killed, chased, shocked and amazed with an Egyptian (fascinating) underworld very few foreigners ever get to know. ”The Vision of a Dance that answers the question: what´s the Law? I can hear the eternal echo (lonely singing in the mountains): The Law is Love. Here´s my discovery, my creed and reason to live – my own treasure island found at the present (full circle) moment. Leaving everything I knew behind, heading to the mysterious Egypt (with a bag full of ignorance, guts and big dreams) was more than an ambitious impulse; it was a Sacred Initiation. Little did I know that it would be through hell that I would reach (my own private) Heaven.”

Available for purchase at www.authorhouse.com

Joana Saahirah, the Portuguese

Dancer who took the Cairo dance scene by storm.

Actress, dancer (choreographer, teacher, performer) and writer with a peculiar Path and Vision.

Facing all kinds of adversities and cultural shocks, Joana Saahirah decided to launch her career in Egypt and rescue the last glimpses of the Magical Dance not knowing this dream would test her beyond all limits she had imagined.

More than discovering the Magic of Oriental Dance, she has discovered (often through darkness) the Magic of Life and she´s glad to share it with the whole World.

140 characters or less

Family Feeling

by Jean Ross Justice the tweet: In a novella and five stories, Jean Ross Justice explores family relationships through the lens of end-of-life situations, creating an astute portrait of humanity. the character:

University of Iowa Press uiowapress.org

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Now, her parents dying in their separate rooms, she thought most often of her father. There were some important things she wanted to say to him, some time when no one else was around.

Tonight she looked in on him before she settled down. His eyes were open. “You’re awake, Daddy! You want anything?”

She pulled the bedside chair close. “Daddy—can you hear me all right? Listen, I want to tell you … You know I was gone a few years, I didn’t keep in touch the way I should have, do you remember?” He looked at her, a look both blank and expectant, then turned his head a little, as if he thought something was about to happen, other people might be coming in the door. “I was up north and liv-

ing a different life and I didn’t stay in touch, you remember? Listen, I’m very sorry, that was wrong. I hope you didn’t worry a lot.” She had raised her voice, for he was a little deaf; she hoped no one else could hear her.

He shook his head, still a little blank.

She leaned closer and took his hand. “I’m sorry for the times I made you sorry.” His breath was sour; had no one remembered to do his teeth tonight? When she finished talking to him, she’d put them in to soak.

Excerpt from Family Feeling by Jean Ross Justice, Publisher: Prairie Lights Books, Copyright © 2014 Jean Ross Justice. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Available through University of Iowa Press, uiowapress.org

“REVIEWERS’ CHOICE” Midwest Book Review “A POWERFUL LITTLE BOOK” Robert Tompkins, PhD, MFT, professor emeritus philosophy, marriage/family therapist

An Illustrated Introduction to the Dark Side

“OBLIGES THE READER TO LOOK AT ORDINARY LIFE THROUGH A SHARPENED LENS” James Hollis, PhD, psychologist, author, lecturer “HATS OFF for making a distasteful subject so entertaining!”

Katherine Sanford, MA, psychologist, artist, author “THANKS FOR WRITING THIS BOOK. It is a gem and a treasure!”

Robert Johnson, PhD, psychologist, author, lecturer “I LIKE YOUR ENTHUSIASM FOR THE SHADOW.” Robert Bly, poet & troublemaker

A human being simply cannot live a fairy tale life.

Consider yourself warned.

Available at Amazon, Amazon Author Central, and Barnes & Noble

WWW.SHADOWINTHEUSA.COM

mom mots

Like My Mother Always Said...

Wise Words, Witty Warnings, and Odd Advice We Never Forget

by Erin McHugh There’s no bigger character in all of our lives than our mothers, and in honor of Mother’s Day we’re featuring Erin McHugh’s delightful new collection of “mom mots,” with an excerpt of my very own contribution to the book. Thanks to Erin for including me and to my mother, Pat Brown, for the things she said.

—Margaret Brown

L

Abrams abramsbooks.com

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ike every mother in the South, mine taught me never to wear white shoes after Labor Day or before Easter, and to “serve from the left and remove from the right” when serving food. While I blithely disregarded her instructions about the sexual propriety that would be required for me to wear white at my wedding, my one attempt to wear white sandals in a sweltering mid-September felt like a rebellion not just against my mother but against the natural order of the world.

When my partner and I get

married next September with my mother with us in joyful celebration, both brides will be wearing white dresses, but I don’t think white shoes will be an option for me. And at the dinner following, we will of course serve from the left and remove from the right. Times and social norms may change, but some things my mother always said will guide me forever.

From Like My Mother Always Said ... by Erin McHugh, Abrams 2014, abramsbooks.com. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

A Romantic suspense novel about a girl’s first year of college. She is going through family drama that she went to college away from her home state; she feels rejected because she is still a virgin.

AVAILABLE AT

UNBOUND

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r

ses are read book club

ROMANCE NOVELS FOR THE DISCRIMINATING READER

A

dmit it, ladies, we’re literary snobs when it comes to our book club selections. The Goldfinch? Check.

The Luminaries? Check. And of course some occasional Faulkner.

But I finally read a romance novel, and much to my surprise: He kissed the girl and I liked it. I liked it a lot. The novel I’m referring to is Dark Angel by TJ Bennett, in which a Victorian-era woman is shipwrecked on a mysterious island and falls under the spell of the beguiling and equally mysterious “master” of the island. I was captivated by Dark Angel and can’t wait to read the next offering from Entangled Publishing.

I invite you to join me in the first installment of the Roses are Read Book Club by reading Dark Angel and emailing me your reviews (margaret@shelfmediagroup.com), which we'll feature in a future issue. Read a preview from the RITA finalist book below.

I

struggled to lift my head and battle back the darkness long enough to ask him about my fellow passengers.

My throat was raw with the seawater I had swallowed. I forced my head up.

“Did you … save the others?”

He paused in midstride, then resumed walking. I heard the great weariness in his voice when he spoke again.

“There are no others.”

He gazed down at me, a dark angel pronouncing their fate. Shock flared

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through me, and despite the shimmering torchlight, I had only a hazy impression of the hard angles of his face, the exotic shape of his eyes, the blackness of his hair before the vision wavered and I plummeted into quiet, blessed oblivion.

From Dark Angel by TJ Bennett, Entangled Publishing 2013, entangledpublishing..com. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

www.entangledpublishing.com

FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

LAURA KAYE

TONYA BURROWS

On Sale Everywhere April 22

On Sale Everywhere May 27

The final battle begins.

Sacrifices will be made, hearts broken, and lives will be changed forever.

“Laura Kaye’s captivating writing and vibrant world-building will have readers hooked on the gods of the Anemoi.”

—NYT Bestselling Author Elisabeth Naughton

@laurakayeauthor

LauraKayeWrites

www.laurakayeauthor.com

Danger, suspense, and sizzling romance.

Fall in love with Tonya Burrow’s men of Honor.

“A super sexy thrill ride guaranteed to make you swoon!”

—NYT Bestselling Author Laura Kaye

@tonyaburrows

TonyaBurrows

www.tonyaburrows.com

feature

photo essay Aperture aperture.org

TOUCHING STRANGERS

by Richard Renaldi Richard Renaldi’s portraits of strangers posed together intimately are compelling studies of character, boundaries, and the power of touch.

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Kiya and Simon, 2012, New York, NY

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Tom, Alaina, and Charlie, 2012, San Francisco, CA

Jeromy and Matthew, 2011, Columbus, OH

Tari, Shawn, and Summer, 2012, Los Angeles, CA

“T

he moments captured in Touching Strangers were orchestrated. They are fictional, spontaneous relationships acted out as street performances in front of my 8-by-10 view camera. The participants did not know each other and may never meet again. And yet, these recorded moments of contact will now permanently exist as connections between two or more human beings, all strangers to each other. On completing one of these photographs, there was often a feeling that something rare and unrepeatable had just occurred.”

– Richard Renaldi Photos and text from Touching Strangers by Richard Renaldi, Aperture 2014, aperture.org. printed with permission. All rights reserved.

UNBOUND

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Alfredo and Jessica, 2011, New York, NY VIncent and Charles, 2012, Los Angeles, CA

Michael and Kimberly, 2011, New York, NY UNBOUND

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The Mortal Gods, Book 1

Athena’s Mask

by Lesa Corryn

U

ntil recently, independent lawyer, Olivia Parthenos, only had to deal with overprivileged billionaires, promiscuous television personalities, and irresponsible entrepreneurs. But a series of brutal murders have claimed several of her clients and has forced her to take on a vindictive serial killer with a message he desperately wants to share. Despite interest from a pesky FBI agent, Olivia must tackle this on her own in order to protect her clients’ identities.

To hide their true lives as Greek gods and goddesses.

After the ancient civilizations abandoned paganism, some of the Greek immortals chose to live hidden amongst the humans in order to find a way back into power and worship. The goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, was charged with policing this new life. However, it’s been centuries and for too long she’s worn a mortal skin. Her current persona,

Olivia, finds herself afraid to tap into the powers of her true self, but without Athena’s wisdom, Olivia is unsure whether she’ll ever be able to uncover the true purpose behind these attacks.

How can she possibly unmask the dark shadow that looms over the hidden deities, if she can’t even identify where her own mask ends and her skin begins?

The Greek gods haven’t disappeared, they’ve just moved to America.

Available as an ebook through:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.

Also available in paperback.

Lesa Corryn was born in Maryland and has spent, to this point, her whole life there. She earned a BA in Visual Arts, Animation and Interactive Media at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. After spending a few years determining that wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life, she took up writing full time. She’s supported by her husband Arthur and her two cats, Cricket and Milo.

www.lesacorryn.com

BOOK SHELF Avoiding the Dodgeballs ... At Work: A Young Woman’s Guide to Succeeding at a First Job

by E. Marie

A

s you climb up the ladder, watch out for the dodgeballs! Dodgeballs are hard-hitting, nerveracking, and sometimes lifechanging events that can

occur on the job.

Here’s a guide for entry-level women employees or supervisors on how to duck, dip or dive to avoid dodgeballs. Straight-to-the-point advice—with a touch of humor—on how to handle potential workrelated drama…along with some helpful tips on how to smoothly move up the ladder. www.avoidingthedodgeballs.com Available May 2014 on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.

The Secrets They Kept: The True Story of a Mercy Killing that Shocked a Town and Shamed a Family

by Suzanne Handler

W

hat would you do if everything you believed about your family was a myth? In 1937, a distraught father killed his mentally ill daughter rather than commit her to an insane asylum.

This haunting memoir reveals family secrets kept hidden for decades. A book club favorite.

“This a powerful read.”

–Nancy Sharp, Author of Both Sides Now Learn more at suzannehandler.com/shelf.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Robert F. Kennedy in the Stream of History

by Terrence Edward Paupp Foreword by Richard Falk

T

his assessment of the statesmanship, principles, and policies of Robert F. Kennedy places him in the stream of history, to assess what came before his time in political life, what happened during that time, and what happened to his legacy after his assassination. The author evaluates the themes and issues RFK confronted, responded to, and for which he provided visionary solutions. www.transactionpub.com Available from Transaction Publishers, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and BooksaMillion.

*

Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

BOOK SHELF Truth Seeker: Mormon Scriptures & the Bible

by Warren M. Mueller

Are Mormons Christians?

What do they believe?

How do their beliefs compare with other Christian religions?

T

ruth Seeker approaches the sometimes touchy subject of religious texts with care and precision, visiting the texts academically and verifying with other sources. Many books will spout opinion—this book researches and gets into the gritty details. A well-written discussion of Mormon scripture, including summaries for those unfamiliar with the works. www.warrenmueller.com Available at Amazon.

Shopping for the Real You

by Andrea Pflaumer

A

practical, entertaining and highly informative primer about a subject every woman faces: what should I wear?

Author Andrea Pflaumer distills the wisdom of some of the pre-eminent authorities in the fields of color, style and fashion. This easy-to-read and beautifully illustrated book will become a reference you will return to over the years.

www.shoppingfortherealyou.com Available at Amazon.

My Cheri Amour

by R.W. Pursur

T

his is a heartbreaking true love story. I daily shed a tear for my wife Cheri as I observe her decline. Last year when I discovered journals, pictures, cards, and letters that I had never seen before at the top of Cheri’s closet, it brought forth a spring of emotions. Yet it reminded me of what true love really is.

“I cried, I laughed, and I mourned for the author and his wife.”

—Amazon reviewer Kristen Giles Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

The Qaakil

by Bill Nielsen

“T

he Qaakil is something rare: a page-turner with a conscience. High on cliffhangers,”“a gripping summer read: predatory fish, people in jeopardy at the waterside, a race against the clock and budding romance between likable and attractive characters. And there are bonuses: a mysterious legenda”“and a timely environmental message”… “powerful outdoorsy, real world thriller.”

—BlueInk Review

Available at Amazon.

BOOK SHELF The Age of Divinity

by B. William Ball

Dancing in the Dark

by Bob Strauss

“

A

... clear and straightforward notion of God’s love and lack of judgment is reflected in The Age of Divinity. ... the facts that we learn greatly enhance our lives; the truth that we learn teaches us how to live our lives,” and that’s where personal ethics and spiritual development can grow. Here’s a vision of heaven readers can work toward, and attain, while still living, set on an foundation of belief in a loving God” —BlueInk Review For more information, search The Age of Divinity Available at Amazon.

Ripping the Veil

by Jan Smolders

he ss,

te he er ob b he he ws me

A

nst est

ls. go nd

nd

nd

in of

Jan Smolders

He

novel of love, loss, and redemption taking you on an emotional roller coaster that will bring laughter, heartbreak, and finally make you want to cheer.

“This journey of the spirit, involving both the loss of love and the gift of love, takes one on an exploration of human motivation...”

—Foreword Reviews “Hilarious dating and sex scenes...”

—Kirkus Reviews YOUTUBE VIDEOS www.BobTStrauss.com Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Ruby Silver

by Randall Reneau

G

medical mafia.

“Sex, money and politics drive this thriller about a corrupt network designed to exploit wealthy AIDS patients in the Dominican Republic. The thriller’s plot delivers. The story is fast-paced, engaging and complex enough to keep readers guessing who the real bad guys are. Lots of action, an international cast of characters and a socially conscious theme make this book a good beach read.”

—Kirkus Review

eologist Trace Brandon is cashed-up and looking for a new venture.

This time the quarry is the silver-rich ore of the old Ruby Mining District. And this time he’ll not only have the Pantelli crime family to deal with, but also lumberman Autry Ollinger— three hundred pounds of obnoxiousness whose preferred method of negotiation is a right hook.

www.jsmolders.com Available at Amazon.

www.randall-reneau.com Available at Amazon.

BOOK SHELF Take a Dive for Murder

by Millie Mack

W

hat do you do when you receive a letter from a dead man asking you to investigate his death? Carrie Kingsford can’t refuse this request from her friend. As Carrie sorts through the clues, the murderer is watching her every move. Join Carrie in this fast-paced mystery as she races to find the solution before someone else is murdered. www.milliemack.com Print and Kindle versions available at Amazon. com or createspace.com/3672605.

*

Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

The Xidoran Prophecy

by Elaine Bassett

C

harles discovers his grandparents have a secret. They belong to an elite society of time travelers. Over the summer, they teach him to Sojourn. He travels to other worlds and learns that he is destined for greatness.

This story “succeeds in creating a place that is unlike those found in other stories… Imaginative in its construction of a fantastical world.”

—Kirkus Reviews, December 2013 www.ElaineBassett.com Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the iBookstore.

Gutter World

by Mary Helen Gill

J

enny Watson, age 17, is followed home one night by a stalker, who overpowers her by putting a drug-soaked rag over her mouth and nose. She is then dragged in a drugged state to a darkened back alleyway, and

forcibly raped.

Gutter World depicts the lives of a certain group of near poverty stricken Glasgow citizens during the Great depression of the early 1930s.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

Available at Amazon.

BOOK SHELF Proposition

by Denis O’Rourke HAVE YOU BEEN PROPOSITIONED? ttorney Riley Scofield defends her family’s seventh generation Napa Valley tannery against a new environmental law transferring burden of proof to the accused.

Ambition, greed, romance, murder-for-hire, family values, misguided good intentions, fun locations, courtroom maneuvering, and redemption entertain, as PROPOSITION soars to its startling conclusion.

A

“An exciting thriller … colored by bloodshed, fueled by money.”

—Kirkus Reviews www.denisorourke.com Order from a book store near you, or look inside the book or buy at Amazon.

Lines Along the Wall: The Beginning

by Dave Moore

A

plane crash survivor, former alcoholic and sufferer of post-traumatic stress disorder, Dave Moore is sharing his story of tragedy and triumph in his book, Lines Along the Wall. According to Tom Riddell, of The Writers’ Lounge, “Lines Along the Wall: The Beginning is a true story of perseverance, bringing home the message of ‘never give up.’”

FACEBOOK LINK www.MooreMotivated.com Available in paperback and Kindle at Amazon.

The Esoteric Design written and illustrated

by A. R. Crebs

Cache a Predator: A Geocaching Mystery

by M. Weidenbenner

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An Amazon bestseller. Over 75 five-star reviews.

hen elite soldiers, Aria and Troy, stumble across violent creatures at a destroyed military base, they quickly discover fighting against humans is one thing, fighting against monsters is a whole different challenge. Can humanity save itself, or will their fate rely on the sole survivor of the ancient Sorcēarian race?

The Esoteric Design is a sci-fi/fantasy novel coupled with illustrations.

FACEBOOK LINK www.arcrebs.com Available at Amazon and CreateSpace.

“I highly recommend this book to any readers who are looking for a new, excellent crime novel that is heartrending and thought-provoking.”

“This book is like watching Criminal Minds or Law and Order.”

Cache a Predator is a novel about a father’s love for his daughter, justice, and the unhinged game of hide-the-cache.

TRAILER LINK Blog: www.randomwritingrants.com; Twitter: @MWeidenbenner1 Available at Amazon.

BOOK SHELF The Fix

by Michael Balkind and Ryan Burr

“C

ontinuing to write first-rate suspense—exploring the deepest conflicts in human nature. Exquisitely crafted with an utterly surprising climax, this story will satisfy all.

Balkind takes you away for a spellbinding, allconsuming afternoon.”

—Tonja Walker, Actress, Producer “… I love a good sports mystery that feels real.

The Fix is all of the above.”

—John Feinstein Available in paperback and eBook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Smashwords, and most eBook stores.

I Take Thee, Angela: A Life in Poetry

by Guglielmo

T

his poetry is not the classic poetry of a Longfellow or Dickinson, rather, the feelings of a man that knows only one way to process his grief... putting them into words.

Heartbroken...angry at cancer, his wonderful wife taken from him in a painful way. This is a hard book to read, but is well worth the time and effort to read it.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Xlibris.

On the Edge of Wishing

By Danette Key YA Fiction

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n this warm-hearted journey in finding gratitude, Peter and his star soccer player, Mary Ellen, find themselves mixed up in a strange phenomenon that challenges everything they knew to be true about life! As they both approach this anomaly in their own way; they are “on the edge of wishing” for a second chance to make up for past mistakes.

www.danettelkey.com Available at Amazon.

The Seventh Treasure

by Len Camarda

T

his thriller follows the travails of Secret Service agent Gene Cerone, who travels to Spain to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding his sister’s death. Teaming up with Lieutenant Mercedes Garcia of the National Police Force, their investigation unwittingly uncovers an unfathomable conspiracy that dates back to the time the Moors surrendered their kingdom in Granada in 1492.

All royalties donated to The Wounded Warrior’s Project and the Hilton Head Humane Association. www.lencamarda.com Available as e-book, soft and hard cover at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and AuthorHouse.

BOOK SHELF The Big Uneasy: Relatively Risky, Volume 1

by Pauline Baird Jones

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quirky artist must unravel her parent’s secret past before the mob erases her future.

But will the protection of a handsome homicide detective be her only hope of surviving the Big Easy?

“Jones’ writing style is unique: a strong dose of noir balanced with humor and witty dialogue…”

—Midwest Book Review www.paulinebjones.com Available at Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes and Noble.

A Call to Prayer

by M. Jules Bevans

R

One Tear at a Time

by Andrea Reid

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his book shares the life of a mother holding on to hope for her autistic twin sons. With life trials and tribulations she prepared to give up.

As society offered little support, she reached deep within herself for strength to carry on. She’s a mom of autistic twins whose hands are full, but if you think her hands are full, you should see her heart. www.andreareid.tateauthor.com areid18@yahoo.com Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

For Whom the Shofar Blows

by Marvin J. Wolf

icin, unmanned drones, Al Qaeda operatives and suicide bombers are distilled into the pages of this character-driven spy thriller. Based on the modern war on terror, yet set in the ancient backdrops of Istanbul, Athens and Cairo, and following an unlikely protagonist—an English teacher—who is thrust into the company of CIA spooks and jihadists, this tale is a kinetic page turner.

ntroducing Rabbi Ben, master of Torah, Talmud and Taekwondo.

Hired to find mysterious millions washed through a school’s bank account, Ben soon finds himself digging by moonlight in a strange cemetery while its murderous management plots to bury him alive.

A fast-paced thriller that’s hard to put down—you don’t have to be Jewish to love Rabbi Ben.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Xlibris.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo Books.

I

BOOK SHELF Red Star Over Pattaya

by Robert B. Boeder

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new thriller from the author of Zambezi River Bridge. Private eye Wilson Smith discovers a brutal double murder on Pattaya Beach. He calls on Punya, his partner and former Royal Thai Police homicide detective, to help solve the case. Russian thuggery complicates matters as Pattaya lives up to its reputation as a testosterone-fueled international amusement park. www.robertboeder.com Available at Amazon.

It’s DO-Able: Power to Unleash Your Dream

by Canaan T. Mashonganyika

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he author confronts the demons of human inhibitions. Limiting beliefs tell you that now isn’t the right time. Time is the most precious non-renewable resource. The only thing holding you back is You. Now is the best time to start working on your dreams. Moving towards your destiny is a choice. This book provides tools for discovering talent and field of calling. Readers will be challenged to re-define their purpose in life! www.itsdo-able.com Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Authorhouse.

Jungle Rescue

by Geoffrey Gilbert

T

hrilling action and dramatic adventure awaits you in JUNGLE RESCUE! Retired United States Navy Seal, John Bradley is hired by a Texas billionaire to look for his daughter, an exchange student in Colombia who has been kidnapped. In order to find the missing girl, Bradley must brave perilous jungles and confront the threats of guerilla rebels and poisonous snakes… www.geoffreyagilbert.com Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Authorhouse.

Joshua 1:9

by Kevin C. Martin

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elease the struggle between fear and bravery.

It is time to be strong, it is time to be courageous, it is time to be brave. Take the leap of faith, of hope, of love. Joshua 1:9: The first collection of inspirational poetry by Kevin C. Martin. Available now at http://kevincmartin.org/. Thank you sincerely. May God bless you always!

FACEBOOK LINK www.kevincmartin.org Available at www.kevincmartin.org.

BOOK SHELF Laura Denfer

by Anne-Marie Bernard

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aura Denfer, who is half Korean and half French, has been incarcerated for almost two years in a North Korean prison, where she has endured unspeakable tortures. When British Marines storm the prison and free her, she finds that she is still not in control of her own destiny. “Brutal, erotic, and breakneck paced, Laura Denfer is a dark little gem of a novel.”

—BlueInk Review Available at Amazon.

Ruthless

by Steven Freeman

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ryptologist Alton Blackwell and FBI Agent Mallory Wilson strive to identify the culprit behind a series of perplexing homicides, racing to unravel the mystery in time to avoid becoming the killer’s next victims. If they do live, will their growing relationship survive the presence of the beautiful Chelsea Mancini, who seems to lie in the center of the chaos? www.SteveFreemanWriter.com Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Author-signed copies available at www.stevefreemanwriter.com.

Pest on the Run

by Gerry Burke

A

ussie super sleuth, Paddy Pest, creates mayhem and mischief as he battles crime, corruption and politically incorrect behavior. There are laughs aplenty as Paddy takes on a killer from Manila, a U.S. Presidential election, and the most intriguing question of all: who poisoned the Wimbledon strawberries? http://authorgburke.authorsxpress.com Available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.

Devolution

by Peter Clenott

C

hiku Flynn wasn’t raised to be human.

Born in Africa, she lives with the chimpanzees her parents are studying until her mother’s violent death. Sent back to the States, Chiku grows into a maladjusted teenager until her father disappears. At sixteen she must return to the jungle where murder, civil war and environmental calamity await. And her chimpanzees with whom she can communicate using sign language. www.peterclenott.net Available at Amazon, http://amzn.to/15Eackf, and Smashwords.

BOOK SHELF Andy’s Story: Too Much for a Lifetime

by R.A. Lang

A

worldwide adventure filled with unexpected events, impossible and life-threatening situations.

It’s a story of tragedy, the supernatural, love and disappointments on a global scale.

Real life and day by day accounts across 23 countries, of adventures including South Africa and carrying on to Asia, South East Asia, Middle East, South America, and the Caribbean, to name but a few. www.andys-story.co Available at Friesen Press and Amazon.

The Three Keys

by Don Ackermann

T

wo irreconcilable worlds collide, trapping James Schroeder in a desperate fight to save his marriage and family, forcing him to choose between all he believes in and all he loves. A gripping story of love, greed, and redemption. Says BlueInk Review: “… will resonate with anyone who has ever tried to be a stand-up guy or gal in a complicated world.” www.donackermann.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and AuthorHouse.

Ye Gods! How the World REALLY Works

by Betsy Jo Miller Besides giving proof of life after death, this book shows how to de-escalate from the tipping-point in several creations of our making: • The degradation of our oceans, land , air.

• Family relationships mired in materialism, drugs, violence.

• Politics powered by liars and moneyed insiders.

• Religion’s worldwide violent role.

• Our countries’ role in terrorism and war.

This channeled book shows how help is here when we ask: so love, joy and growth is found in all our endeavors! www.yegods.us Available from Amazon and BarnesandNoble.

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Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

BOOK SHELF How Music Came to the Ainchan People: A Novel

by Timothy Callender

E

ver thought of living without Music?

When the Ainchan People discovered MUSIC it became the answer to all their prayers. Would it become their GOD? This book is one of a kind. It has already earned the Trafford’s Award for Literary Excellence.

Some eagerly wait to see its film version. A journey that will blow your mind! www.facebook.com/Timothy-Callender Available at Amazon, Trafford, and BarnesandNoble.

Dancing Daisies

by Sara Pyszka

T

hink the disability is the problem?

Meet Brynn, a seventeen-year-old girl on an adventure at Camp Lakewood.

Life, love, and drama will always trump her wheelchair.

Penis Envy

by Peter Sacco

P

enis Envy is the pop psychology book critics are calling; “Insightful”, “Informative” and “Entertainingly funny as heck, enough to make a grown woman pee her pants!”. This book explains the many quirks, idiosyncrasies, bizarre/ridiculous lifestyles many adult men lead today. The authors discuss the funny things many men do today because they have Penis Envy or aspects of it. www.petersacco.com

Available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

*

Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182. www.sarapyszka.com

BOOK SHELF Willy Victor and 25 Knot Hole

by Bruce Jarvis His story about a little known, yet critically important U.S. airborne defense squadron operational from 1956 to ‘67 during the Cold War is the focus of this engaging book written by a former naval flight crew member who participated in the air defense of the United States. This book will appeal to a broad audience of readers interested in Cold War history, aircraft, defense and the sacrifices of unsung heroes.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 2VIV Xlibris and as an e-book.

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Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

Liquid Diamond

by Sebastien Blue

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n the wilderness of Russia, 10-year-old Natalia falls through a cave portal known as the Liquid Diamond and lands in a world filled with mythical creatures.

She meets Catalyst, a boy of half-human, half-krusnik vampire hunter descent. The two are thrown into a quest to find the crystals that keep the portal locked shut to avert war between the human world and the kingdoms in the other realm. www.sebastienblue.com Available at Amazon, BarnesandNoble, ChaptersIndigo, Kobo, Best Buy, Google Books, iTunes, and Friesen Press.

Ahmam’s Island

by Chung Wenyin

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hung Wenyin gives readers an inside look at the plight of women both young and old in Taiwanese society.

Almost thirty, with no prospects for marriage, Ahmam comes to terms with what it means to be a successful woman in modern day Taiwan.

Chung Wenyin is the recipient of more than 10 literary awards, including the Wu SanLien Literature Prize, deemed Taiwan’s most important literary prize. www.prapublishing.com Available at retail outlets and as an ebook from all major ebook retailers, including iTunes.

BOOK SHELF

*

Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

Strange Worlds

by Paul Clayton

KIRKUS REVIEW: These eclectic stories feature many of the political riffs and future-shock themes found throughout classic sci-fi; they’re also loaded with enough tragic irony to satisfy die-hard Twilight Zone fans… Clayton’s cybernetic humans, enfeebled outcasts and future societies parade maniacally from his fertile imagination… Overall, a cutting wit drives commentary on everything from race and religion to father-son relationships and the elderly.

Available at Amazon and BarnesandNoble.

Holes in My Shoes

by Alice Breon

H

oles in My Shoes is a heart-warming story of one family’s experiences during the Great Depression that reveals the resilience of the human spirit. Hope, faith and humor were ever-present as families shared all that they had and fed homeless people at their doorsteps. Breon’s collection of personal childhood experiences embodies the power of love, family and friendship during the nation’s desperate decade. www.holesinmyshoes.net Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble online and in stores, and Xlibris.

Bullying Prevention: What Parents Need to Know

by Dr. Wendy Craig, Dr. Debra Pepler, Dr. Joanne Cummings

A

practical overview by three experts in the field, for parents concerned that their child is being bullied, may be bullying others or is exposed to bullying as a bystander. Praised by parents and professionals: “….a gift for anyone wanting an authoritative, comprehensive guide to dealing with bullying.”

—Susan Swearer, Ph.D., Bullying Research Network, University of Lincoln, Nebraska www.quickfindbooks.com Available from Amazon and directly from the publisher (www.quickfindbooks.com).

Chapter list and excerpts at www.bullyingpreventionanswers.com

BOOK SHELF Backseat

by Tom Wascoe

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n 1969 failure from college or dropping out meant the draft and possibly Vietnam.

Michael’s freshman year has not gone well. He believes that pledging a fraternity will put him on the right path. To get in he must hitchhike 1,500 miles in one weekend.

The rides he gets, the people he meets change his life.

www.TomWascoe.com

.......Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble., and iBookstore.

Degrees of Courage

by Shari Vester

T

he book traces a Hungarian family through three generations, linking their lives to the everchanging historical events of the country through the troubled 20th century. The focus is on the courage of the women in the family when confronted with problems beyond individual control, be it the Great War, WWII, or a bloody revolt against the terror-driven Communist regime. www.sharivester.com Available in print and Kindle at Amazon and in print at Barnes and Noble.

The Vampire Girl Next Door

by Richard Arbib

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ark falls in love with Sylvia, the beautiful, but quirky girl next door, not realizing that she’s a vampire who killed his last neighbor.

When Mark first meets Sylvia, he tells her, “You’re the girl of my dreams!” Sylvia smiles and responds with a warning—“Be careful what you wish for.”

“Alternately eerie and funny, the novel blends horror, romance, and humor.”

—from the publisher’s press release. www.thevampiregirlnextdoor.com

Available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

Paperback and all e-book formats available on author’s website.

El Cordero al Matadero

by Pete Delohery

S

et against the vividly rendered backdrop of professional boxing, Pete Delohery’s hard-bitten yet generous-spirited novel focuses on three men at a a crossroad in their lives. A moving portrait is created of the men, each damaged by a brutal world, who flee from personal demons toward the only imperfect redemption available to them, victory in a fight.

“This heartfelt tale makes a powerful emotional impact” —BlueInk Starred Review Spanish version of Lamb to the Slaughter Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and petedelohery.com in e-book, paperback and hardcopy.

EST. 1972

HPB.COM

SHELF UNBOUND’S COOL READS FOR KIDS.

Shelf Unbound’s

Middle Shelf magazine

Know any middle-schoolers who are avid readers?

Check out Shelf Unbound’s Middle Shelf—Cool Reads for Kids magazine. Like Shelf Unbound, Middle Shelf features the best of small press and indie reads, all directed to a middlereader audience. Like Shelf Unbound, it includes author interviews, reviews, excerpts, and photo essays.

And like Shelf Unbound, subscriptions are free. To learn more and sign up for a free subscription, go to www.shelfmediagroup. com/pages/introducingmiddle-shelf Jacob’s New Dress

by Sarah and Ian Hoffman illustrated by Chris Case Albert Whitman & Company albertwhitman.com

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A new children’s book explores gender nonconformity. We talked to authors Sarah and Ian Hoffman about their book and the real-life inspiration behind it.

Shelf Unbound: Why did you decide to create a children’s book about a boy who likes to wear dresses?

Sarah and Ian Hoffman: We didn’t choose the topic; the topic chose us. Starting at age

2, our son Sam became attracted to objects and activities that are generally considered “girl things.” Eventually this led to him wanting to wear a dress. It was a confusing experience for us as parents as we tried to balance

supporting our son’s intense desire to be himself with concerns about his safety and wellbeing. We were lucky to find the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC, which has a gender education program. Through them we became connected with hundreds of families experiencing the same things we were.

Spurred by our own experience, Sarah started writing about gender-bending kids for an adult audience. At the same time, Ian was writing children’s picture books on other topics. So it seemed natural to collaborate on a picture book about a boy who wants to wear a dress. It was our way to help other boys like Sam. Having a book where they can see themselves portrayed in a positive way is very powerful.

Shelf Unbound: The book sensitively and positively addresses a complicated subject.

How did you approach writing the story, and how did you come up with the character of the awesome kid Jacob?

The Hoffmans: Curiously, it was a hard book to write. We knew the joys and sorrows of Jacob’s life so well from our own son’s experiences, so the early drafts kept being too intense for a young audience. It

took a while to move away from the reality of our son’s story and come up with Jacob’s story, which is fictional. You can read the real-life story of Sam’s first day at school in a dress here: www.sarahhoffmanwriter. com/cookie-sh-article.pdf It was also difficult to get the book short enough to fit the picture book format while still covering the critical

aspects of the story. Picture books are short! The whole story is only 857 words. Luckily, Ian is part of a long-running children’s book critique group, whose members helped a lot in shaping the story into picture book form.

As for “Jacob,” we’re very lucky to know many real life Jacobs—including the one who lives with us. The fictionUNBOUND

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al Jacob is an amalgamation of character traits we’ve seen in the gender nonconforming boys we know. He’s imaginative, sensitive, not afraid to be himself, and not immune to the disapproval of others. We also have our illustrator, Chris Case, to thank for doing an amazing job of bringing Jacob to life in the artwork.

Shelf Unbound: What do you hope to accomplish with this book?

The Hoffmans: We hope to build more acceptance—celebration even—of kids who are different. There is a lot of leeway in our world for girls to express themselves all along the gender spectrum, from sparkly dresses to jeans and baseball caps.

Our hope is for a world where boys are just as free to be who they are and to express themselves however they’d like.

More broadly, we hope that the book will help teach kids that it’s ok to be different. That message is aimed both at the kids who are different and the kids who aren’t different. We’ve learned through our own experience that kids are pretty tolerant of difference if they’re taught to be that way.

Education makes a huge difference in terms of what kids will accept or won’t.

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In unsupportive environments—schools, homes, communities—kids like Sam are teased, ostracized, bullied, and brutalized. We want to try to prevent these behaviors before they start by building a culture that values and tolerates difference. Our book is a small piece of a much larger effort to build a more empathetic, compassionate culture.

Shelf Unbound: What kind of reactions has the book received?

The Hoffmans: People from all over the country—the world, actually—have written to share their stories and express their gratitude for the book. We hear from parents who are buying multiple copies to donate to their kids’ schools and libraries.

We see photos online of smiling little boys wearing princess dresses and holding our book. People who talk to us about the book will often pull out their cell phones and show us a picture of the child they’re buying it for. To see that child, to know we’re making a difference in a real child’s life— it’s a strange feeling. We end up feeling proud and humbled at the same time. Whatever our dreams were for Jacob’s New Dress, the book has taken on a life of its own.

Find your next favorite book in SHELF UNBOUND’S

COOL READS FOR KIDS.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE SIGN UP FOR A FREE SUBSCRIPTION AT W W W.SHELFMEDIAGROUP.COM UNBOUND

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poetry

From The Antigone Poems

by Marie Slaight And why.

I wanted everything.

To live all lives, all deaths, encompass all women.

To smash every confine.

And what have I done.

I don’t know.

I have written a few words Created a few images Influenced a few lives.

From The Antigone Poems by Marie Slaight, drawings by Terrence Tasker, Altaire Production and Publication 2014, altaireproductions.com. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

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I live at the corner of St. Lawrence and Pine.

I have three children.

poetry

From Controlled Hallucinations

by John Sibley Williams She calls me to the window.

With the current of winter frost breath struggles to converse.

Against the current of conversation a relentless, accurate darkness.

I know the bottom well, she claims.

And the tender view it affords.

Outside the night dances its silence.

She calls me to our window and points to a ship upon the near-distant river, mast lit by thousands of bulbs I cannot see.

From Controlled Hallucinations by John Sibley Williams, FutureCycle Press 2013, futurecycle.org. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

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on our shelf

ARTISTS, WRITERS, THINKERS, DREAMERS

S

W

DEATH SPIRAL

hen 16-year-old Faith’s junkie mom dies of an overdose, no one suspects foul play. Except for Faith, who is certain there’s more to the story. Against the wishes of everyone in her life, Faith takes to the streets to investigate, encountering drama, danger, and the alluring street-wise Jesse. Written by a high school teacher with an ear and eye for her teen characters, Death Spiral is a great young adult read.

—Anna Nair Death Spiral by Janie Chodosh, Poisoned Pen Press 2014, poisonedpenpress.com.

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ubtitled “Portraits of 50 Famous Folks & All Their Weird Stuff,” this fun book contains hand-drawn illustrations of notable people surrounded by their belongings and interests, such as Ernest Hemingway with his spiced rum, Nobel Prize, and polydactyl cat; Louis Armstrong with his trumpet, red beans and rice, and four wives; and Coco Chanel with her sewing machine, bikini, and Chanel No. 5. A fun gift for your favorite thinker.

—Ben Minton Artists, Writers, Thinkers, Dreamers by James Gulliver Hancock, Chronicle Books 2014, chroniclebooks.com.

REALITY BOY

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n this compelling coming of age novel by A.S. King, a teen comes to grips with anger management issues stemming from his infamous role as a problem child on a reality TV series a decade earlier. King’s talent for mingling humor and pathos is apparent on every page, and her narrator, Gerald Faust, comes across as a smart, frustrating, and honest twenty-first century version of Holden Caulfield.

—Marc Schuster Reality Boy by A.S. King, Little, Brown 2013, littlebrown.com.

CROWDFUNDING, FOR BOOKS ONLY

P

ubslush is a global crowdfunding and analytics platform for the literary world.

Our niche platform allows authors to raise money and gauge audience response for new book ideas while readers pledge their financial support, democratically bringing books to life. By offering publishers and industry professionals their own unique pages, Pubslush gives these innovators the power of customized crowdfunding. Pubslush’s highly-rated personalized service and focus on user education helps to ensure our authors are as successful as possible. Our community bridges the gap between writers, readers and industry leaders, facilitating a more open and comprehensive publishing process. While our philanthropic cause, The Pubslush Foundation serves to aid in the fight against illiteracy by providing books to children with limited access to literature.

www.pubslush.com

small press reviews How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying

by Carol Leifer

C

Quirk Books quirkbooks.com

arol Leifer’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying hits the shelves in April. With countless twentysomethings slated to graduate from college the following month, the timing couldn’t be better. Drawing on four decades of making a living in comedy, Leifer’s book offers solid advice on getting ahead in the professional world. While the advice itself is nothing new—focusing largely on tenacity, dedication, and love for one’s business, whatever it may be—the anecdotes Leifer provides bring the book to life.

What’s more, they also offer an honest glimpse into the workaday world of show business that the general public rarely gets to see.

Indeed, it’s the hard work that Leifer has put into her career day-in and day-out that makes this memoir-cum-handbook so compelling.

Whether performing her standup act as an opener for Frank Sinatra or writing for Seinfeld, Leifer has made the most of every opportunity that came her way, and the lessons she’s learned from doing so make this entertaining read an excellent gift for anyone about to enter the professional world. All told, reading How to Succeed is like hanging out with a favorite aunt who’s done it all and lived to tell the tale.

—Marc Schuster, www.smallpressreviews.wordpress.com

Shelf Unbound Contributing Editor Marc Schuster is the author of The Grievers, The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom and Party Girl, Don DeLillo, Jean Baudrillard, and the Consumer Conundrum, and, with Tom Powers, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: The Discerning Fan’s Guide to Doctor Who. He is the editor of Small Press Reviews, and his work has appeared in numerous magazines and journals.

Marc teaches writing and literature courses at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

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ss le d a h rs e sh li b u -p lf e s , e Once upon a tim d e w ie v re s k o o b ir e th g in of a chance gett ed k ic w r e h g n si a le p d a h a than Cinderell hanged. c s a h y r o st t a Th r. e th o stepm BlueInk Review: because every book

might not be a princess, but they all deserve a shot at the ball.

serious reviews of self-published books www.blueinkreview.com

NOVEL APPROACH

“

Make up two characters and put them in a room together and see what happens.

”

—from This is the Story of a Happy Marriage

by Ann Patchett, dedicated to Debra Pandak as we begin our own story of a happy marriage

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april/may TJ BENNETT is the author of “Dark and Daring Romance” and a former Romance Writers of America Golden Heart nominee. TJ writes “outside the box” historical romance featuring richly detailed settings and unusual subjects.

The Historical Novel Society deemed The Legacy a “solid historical romance from a promising debut author.”

PASCAL GARNIER is a leading figure in contemporary French literature, in the tradition of Georges Simenon. He lived in a small village in the Ardèche devoting himself to writing and painting. Garnier died in March 2010.

SARAH AND IAN HOFFMAN are parents of a son who loves pink and a girl who loves yellow. They live in San Francisco, California.

JEAN ROSS JUSTICE is the author of The End of a Good Party and Other Stories, published in 2008. Her stories have appeared in The Yale Review, The Antioch Review, Oxford American, Shenandoah, and elsewhere. While attending the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, she met and married the poet Donald Justice. She lives in Iowa City, Iowa.

CARLOS LABBÉ is a Chilean fiction writer born at Santiago de Chile in 1977. He has published a hypertext novel, Pentagonal: incluidos tú y yo (2001), the novels Libro de plumas (2004), Navidad y Matanza (2007) and Locuela (2009), the collection of short stories Caracteres blancos (2010), as well as the pop music records Doce canciones para Eleodora (2007), Monicacofonía (2008) and Mi nuevo órgano (2011).

contributors

books, and much more. She lives in New York City and South Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

NATHANIEL G. MOORE is the author of the humour book Bowlbrawl (Conundrum Press, 2005), the Catullus-infused novel-in-poems Let’s Pretend We Never Met (Pedlar Press, 2007), the teen- psychodrama-noir novel Wrong Bar (Tightrope Books, 2009), and the novel SAVAGE: 1986-2011 (Anvil Press, 2013). He is a columnist for Open Book Toronto. From 2004-2009 he served as an editor for Danforth Review.

RICHARD RENALDI received his BFA in photography from New York University in 1990. Exhibitions of his photographs have been mounted in galleries and museums throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. In 2006 Renaldi’s first monograph, Figure and Ground, was published by the Aperture Foundation. His second monograph, Fall River Boys, was released in 2009 by Charles Lane Press.

AMY SCHUTZER’s first novel, Undertow (Calyx Books, 2000), was a Lambda Literary Award finalist, a Violet Quill Award finalist, and a Today’s Librarian “Best of 2000” awardwinner. She is the recipient of an Astraea Foundation Grant for Fiction and a grant from the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund.

MARIE SLAIGHT has worked in Montreal, New Orleans, and Buenos Aires as a writer, producer, and performer for film, theatre and music. Her poetry has appeared in American Writing, Pittsburgh Quarterly, Poetry Salzburg, The Abiko Quarterly, New Orleans Review and elsewhere.

ANDREW LADD is the blog editor for Ploughshares, and his work has also appeared in Apalachee Review, CICADA, Memoir Journal, and The Rumpus, among others. He grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has since lived in Boston, Montreal, and London; currently he lives in Brooklyn, with his wife and cat.

JOHN SIBLEY WILLIAMS is the award-winning author and editor of seven chapbooks. His poems have appeared in Third Coast, Inkwell, Cider Press Review, Bryant Literary Review, RHINO, and elsewhere. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and serves as co-editor of The Inflectionist Review and co-director of the Walt Whitman 150 project.

NORMAN LOCK is the award-winning author of novels, short fiction, and poetry, as well as stage, radio, and screenplays. He has won The Dactyl Foundation Literary Fiction Award, The Paris Review Aga Khan Prize for Fiction, and writing fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

LAURA WOOLLETT was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. In 2012, she graduated from the University of Melbourne with an honours degree in creative writing.

She currently is working on a collection of short stories, The Love of a Bad Man.

ERIN MCHUGH is a former publishing executive and award-winning author of more than twenty books of popular nonfiction, including trivia, gay history, children’s

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