Review: I Wish I Could Write by Katherine Widner

 Genre: Poetry Collection

Description:

“I Wish I Could Write is the debut work of writer, poet, and professor, Katherine Widner.

I Wish I Could Write is a powerful collection of poems that weaves together the complex threads of literature, identity, gender, religion, and family. Widner offers a thought-provoking analysis and reflective journey through the intersections of human experience, challenging readers to explore the depths of their own multifaceted identities.

In this striking collection, each poem serves as a mirror, not just for Widner, but for readers—reflecting the myriad ways that literary heritage, personal identities, gender expressions, and spiritual beliefs shape our understanding of the world and ourselves. Widner invites readers to question, celebrate, and reimagine the stories and memories that define us.”

Author:

“Katherine Widner is a writer and educator whose work explores the intersections of literature, identity, gender, and religion. With a background in British, American, and world literature, creative writing, and library and information sciences, Widner brings a unique and multifaceted perspective to her poetry. Her academic journey has taken her through several prestigious institutions in North Carolina, including the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Greensboro. Widner's passion for fostering creativity and critical thinking in others is evident in her roles as a mentor to faculty and students alike, as well as in her role as an award-winning instructor.”

Appraisal:

A couple decades ago my first reviews of anything were reviewing record releases of a specific genre of music for a few websites and a magazine. My cohorts and I not only talked about the sound of the music, but had a tendency to go way down the rabbit hole, talking about the lyrics of the songs. In spite of this I would claim to not be a big poetry guy and seldom will you find me reading a poetry book, but I decided to give this one a read and I made the obvious connection. Poetry is just like song lyrics without the music in the background. A good poet, just like a good songwriter, can say a whole lot in just a few words. Of course the message you get from that poem might not be the same one another reader gets, and that’s okay too.

This collection was a good one with some poems that felt very personal, or maybe they weren’t about the author, but she put herself in the place of a friend or acquaintance when she wrote the poem. Regardless, it draws the reader into the same place. Some of the poems are longer and others shorter. Several toward the end take on specific forms. Haikus, which was a form I was familiar with as well as tankas and senryu, two other Japanese poetry forms that I wasn’t familiar with. We’ve also got a poem labeled as “a sentence” which is just what it sounds like, a poem done in one sentence and a “sentiment”, which is what it appears to be as well. In all, a big variety of well done poetry that took me back to my days of admiring song lyrics and in the process made me realize that I really do like poetry.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small number of adult words.

Format/Typo Issues:

No issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 4-5,000 words

Review: The Ethical Assassin by William Ferraiolo

 

Genre: Crime Fiction/Psychological Thriller

Description:

“A found journal whose author wishes to remain anonymous... After losing his family in a tragic automobile accident, one man’s reason to go on living is stripped away. That is until one day, by chance - some might call it serendipity - he overhears a conversation that moves him to consider a new life. A man needs to be killed, and our protagonist decides to kill him. But he doesn’t stop there. Keeping a journal at every step of his way, our anonymous protagonist archives the subsequent events, taking the reader through his accounts of the men he kills and the causal antecedents that facilitate these assassinations. Attempting to come to grips with the life-shattering car crash while trying to make sense of the moral ramifications of his deadly acts of vigilantism - the ethical assassin kills only men who need killing - he tells us his story while attempting to navigate the dangers of doing so.”

Author:

“William Ferraiolo received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Oklahoma in 1997. Since that time, he has been teaching philosophy at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California.”

Ferrailo has written several books which all seem to be non-fiction prior to this one.

Appraisal:

This made for an interesting read. The premise (we can pretend it is true if you want) is that this is a “memoir” that was found by a waitress in a diner and based on the wishes of the author (he even makes that clear in the story) was published as a book. The author, after a life-changing disaster in his own life becomes an assassin, not killing people for hire or killing famous people, but instead killing people who, based on their actions, “have it coming.”

This was an interesting premise. The author didn’t want to go to prison, which he makes very clear, so he’s careful in choosing his victims, not taking chances on some who he thinks deserve to die, but involving situations where he’d be more likely to get caught. He keeps on the move and does all that he can to prevent getting caught. A lot of the story is, instead of what I’ll call the “action” of planning and executing one of his victims is instead pondering what he’s doing, his reasons for doing it, and the philosophy of that. If these people really deserve to die, is him making it happen really a bad thing? These and numerous other questions are going through his mind over and over so at points it feels a bit repetitive, but it also feels real, like anyone struggling with an idea tends to review the same things over and over in their mind. Ultimately it made for a thought provoking read, even if I’m not going to follow in his footsteps.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an ARC (advance reviewer copy) so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Review: Eve Versus the Apocalypse by Erica Lucke Dean

 

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Romance/Dystopian

Description:

“When everyone Eve cares about is killed in an alien invasion, she uses her skills with a blade to battle her way through the changing landscape. But with humanity on the brink of extinction, the aliens aren't the only monsters the college color guard faces.

After fleeing the war zone that was once Atlanta, Eve heads north to her family’s cabin in the woods. In the desolate mountain town, she encounters a group of survivors on the way to the fabled Safe Zone. Impressed with her fighting skills, the group's leader invites her to join their ranks.

But trust is a rare commodity in Eve’s new reality, and she must decide whether an alliance with the dangerously sexy Archer is worth the risk. His offer of protection is tempting, but if she agrees to join him, she’ll be putting more than her life on the line. She can either save what's left of humanity or lose her heart—and the whole damn world along with it.”

Author:

“Best known for her engaging and relatable characters, Erica Lucke Dean specializes in crafting stories that explore the complexities of relationships and feature quirky young women navigating the ups and downs of life and love. For over a decade, her novels have captivated readers of romantic comedies and paranormal romances alike, thanks to her ability to blend humor and authentic emotions.

Erica was born in the Twin Tiers of Upstate New York and lived on both coasts before ultimately settling in the scenic North Georgia Mountains, where she and her family live with two ginormous English Mastiffs and a diabolical Frenchie hell-bent on world domination.”

Appraisal:

The world has gone crazy, invaded by some strange aliens who are killing off the human population. Eve is tough and with the saber she used to use for show as a member of the college color guard she figures out how to deal with them well enough to survive, at least so far. While this is happening in the real world, Georgia specifically, the story world is much different with these aliens and the issues they caused. Avoiding the aliens and finding what is needed to survive for the humans who are left is a challenge. In some ways dealing with the humans is tougher. Eve knows she can’t trust the aliens, but with the humans sometimes she can and sometimes maybe not. Figuring that out is problematic at times. Luckily, she finds out that there is an area that is safe from the aliens, if only she can get there. This would be an adventure even without the twist of Archer, a man she’s very attracted to who seems to like her too, but can she trust him? Eve’s adventure as she worked through the issues that popped up kept me engrossed in this story to the last word.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and a few mild adult situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Reprise Review: The Call by Laurie Boris

 Genre: Women’s Fiction/Sports Fiction

Description:

“As one of the first female umpires in the minors, Margie puts up with insults and worse from people who think women don’t belong in baseball. Forget making history—Margie just wants to do her job and be part of the game she loves.

She’s ready for the rude comments. The lousy pay. The endless traveling. But when she suspects a big-name slugger of cheating, she has to choose: let the dirty player get away with it, or blow the whistle and risk her career…and maybe her twin brother’s major-league prospects, too.

Now it’s up to Margie to make the call.”

Author:

“Laurie Boris has been writing fiction for over twenty-five years and is the award-winning author of seven novels. When not playing with the universe of imaginary people in her head, she’s a freelance copyeditor and enjoys baseball, reading, and avoiding housework. She lives in New York’s lovely Hudson Valley.”

Appraisal:

For me this was a great read for many different reasons. Some of those reasons might be things that would apply to you too.

The main appeal is that this is a good story. The struggle to be as good as you can be at your chosen profession, the difficulties that sometimes complicate that, and figuring out how to deal with it, is something many of us can empathize with. I’ve also read a couple things lately that talked about how fiction can help us better understand the lives of people not like us, and this was good for me to imagine the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated profession. I suspect men and women are going to benefit from reading this kind of tale in different ways, but benefit regardless.

I’m not a big sports fan, but I’m sure those who are will enjoy the baseball part of the story. As someone who came of age about the same time as the characters in this story (late 70s) I found myself experiencing a bit of nostalgia that the typical reader wouldn’t. (But I refuse to call this historical fiction for you young’uns.) All in all, a good read, even for those who would typically stay away from women’s fiction or sports fiction.

I was also curious as to the status of female umpires in the major and minor leagues. How credible was this? What I found is that the first woman to work as an umpire in the minor leagues of professional baseball did so in 1972, so the story could have happened as indicated. But 45 years later it looks like women umpires are still a rarity with the first woman to work in the major leagues not doing so until 2007 and very few that work in professional baseball at any level. Maybe the difficulties Margie experiences are more contemporary than I thought.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Uses some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: Romeo and Juliet Keep Their Eyes on the Prize by Richard Engling

 

Genre: Humorous

Description:

This is an amusing mashup of self-help literature and a production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet through the eyes of the seriously impoverished artistic director of an ensemble theatre company in Chicago. Some of the disasters which befall the production have the ring of truth. Some of the material is laugh-out-loud funny. Often these are the same bits.

Dwayne Finnegan is in love with his work but is very aware that doing what he loves is not making him a living. And then his beloved wife tells him she really wants a baby. Is he going to have to join the corporate rat race and put a permanent lid on his creativity? Then he picks up this self-help book and somehow … it helps!

Author:

Richard Engling is or has been an actor, director, playwright, novelist and musician. He has “spent a lifetime writing and performing, paying his bills as a teacher, truck driver, and copywriter, while performing as an actor, drummer in a jazz quartet”, and was the founding artistic director of Polarity ensemble theatre company in Chicago. He has written a number of plays (some of which have been collected in print) and three other novels. He has degrees in Creative Writing and Theatre.

Appraisal:

I picked this for review because I’ve done a lot of Am Dram in my time (in the UK) and remember very well indeed the love-hate relationship with it (and the people one’s working with), the exhilaration, the pitfalls, the shoestring budgeting, the hang-it-all moment when the expensive thing that breaks the budget becomes a must-have, the endless irritation of people not doing what they’re told, and the extraordinary way all that disparity becomes (for the life of the run) a living Thing that belongs to all those involved, that (often) is almost nothing like what you set out to create. It is fascinating. And addictive.

Engling has put this, and more, on the page very amusingly. It all feels very real.

There are a couple of points made in this book which I’ll just tease out: the arts in general are very vulnerable. Fringe theatre particularly so because it is ephemeral. When the run of the play is over it’s forgotten, except by those few who saw it or were in it or helped produce it. Funding is wafer thin. So people can only really afford to do it if their family has money or they live a cold and lonely life in a garret existing on fresh air and steam. The second point is that, no matter how Woke you are, there should be a limit to how much you monkey about with scripts in the name of inclusivity. Even Shakespeare. Or perhaps especially Shakespeare.

The book deals with all of this, yet manages to make the endless problems not only funny but also resolvable. I was never quite sure what “winning boats rise together” actually means, but I could see that as the novel developed the self-help mantras were definitely giving Dwayne tools which were helping him to succeed. I used to find, myself, that a very large vodka did the trick …

If you have any interest in theatre – especially fringe theatre – you will enjoy this.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Format/Typo Issues:

A few missing words, mainly the easy-to-miss little ones that scuttle off and hide when you’re not looking, but which when present do illuminate a sentence for the reader …

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Last Night at the Nowhere Cliff: A Short Story Collection by M.H. Altis

 

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“Hello there and welcome to Last Night at the Nowhere Cliff: A Short Story Collection, containing laugh-out-loud funnies, tear-jerking ruminations, and many other adventures!

Be warned: some of these stories may be truly beautiful, some may be funny, and some may be outright odd. Such is life, am I right?”

Author:

“Nicknamed ‘The Human Resource’ by their friends due to their penchant for pulling random facts out of thin air, they wrote their first short story when they were young, scribbling away with a stubby pencil and a dollar store spiral-bound notebook. Ever since then, they’ve been hooked, writing all sorts of wacky, funny, scary, and heart-breaking stories.

M.H. writes to express themself, their thoughts, ideas, and emotions. They also have a deep interest in how fiction connects to reality and how character arcs mirror our own lives.

M.H. Altis has written several books, from 250,000-word epics to 50,000-word dashes, and even more short stories. With a growing unreleased catalogue, they decided it was finally time to share their creations with the world.”

Appraisal:

This was a fun read. The book starts out with a quick run down of the stories to come with a bit about what is in the story and possibly an indication of what inspired it. The stories vary in genre and length. While the odds are pretty good that you’ll find a few of these that don’t really pull you in, odds are even better that you’ll find some that really speak to you. Unless your taste as a reader is incredibly broad and you think all genres of fiction are equal in which case you’ll probably like them all. I liked that it mixed things up which kept me guessing what I might get in the next story. Overall a fun read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and some minorly adult situations make an appearance.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reader copy so I can’t judge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: Grave Expectations by Rob Johnson

 Genre: Crime/Comedy

Description:

“I need a coffin,’ she said.

Not an unusual request to put to an undertaker and not an unwelcome one either, since Max, Alan and Scratch are once again struggling to keep their funeral business from going under.

The sale of a single coffin wasn’t going to save them, of course, but the woman who wants it happens to be a dominatrix with a supposedly foolproof plan to rob a bank.

Max and his partners don’t exactly jump at the chance as their previous attempts at bank robbery had almost always ended in disaster. But maybe this was an opportunity too good to miss.

What they hadn’t bargained for, though, was that the bank job was just the beginning of a catastrophic series of events including blackmail, betrayal, murder and an unwelcome brush with organised crime.”

Author:

Rob Johnson is a playwright with four plays that have been professionally produced and toured throughout the UK. He has also written several books.

For more, visit Johnson’s website.

Appraisal:

As with the other books in this series, the main protagonists are Max Dempsey (okay, that’s not really his name, but it is the name he uses now, read the book to understand why) and his two partners. In theory they’re in the undertaking business, selling coffins, preparing people for burial or cremating their bodies … you know, not what most of us would consider fun, but definitely a legitimate business. But when the only other undertaker in the area seems to be getting all the business and the money coming in isn’t coming nearly fast enough to cover the money going out, a guy’s gotta find some way to make a few bucks to get through the dry patch, right? They’ve robbed banks before and when presented with a proposal that appears to be a sure thing, they jump at the chance. Down the rabbit hole they go as complications happen and their reaction to those only causes more complications. Whether or not it all works out for them and how they finally get to whatever the end result turns out to be is an adventure that keeps them and you, the reader, on your toes as the unexpected keeps happening and the whole time you’re going to be laughing (after all, it is a comedic crime story) as well as happy you aren’t one of Max’s partners.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

You’ll have no doubt that the author as well as all the characters are Brits, not only from the UK spelling conventions, but from the British slang that is constantly coming from the mouths of all the characters.

Also some adult language and some adult topics come up.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Suicide Bridge by Daniel Kowalski

 

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Description:

“After hearing that a coworker has committed suicide by jumping off a bridge, a recovering drug addict begins investigating the case on her own and she starts to suspect that her boyfriend might be a murderer.

In this exciting psychological thriller, after hearing about a coworker's apparent suicide on a notorious bridge, Michelle Rhodes, a recovering drug addict, finds herself plunged into a gripping mystery. Determined to uncover the truth behind her friend Sarah's disappearance, Michelle embarks on a relentless investigation, despite facing obstacles at every turn. As she delves deeper into the case, Michelle begins to suspect that her boyfriend, Cory, may be harboring dark secrets that connect him to the tragedy. But the truth she discovers will be stranger than she could possibly imagine in this page turner full of twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Set against the backdrop of a small town plagued by whispers of past tragedies, Suicide Bridge is a psychological thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. With its fast-paced narrative and intricate plot twists, this suspenseful tale explores themes of deception, betrayal, and the fragile nature of trust. As Michelle races against time to unravel the mystery, she discovers that the truth is far more sinister than she could have ever imagined.”

Author:

Daniel Kowalski has had several screenplays been optioned by Hollywood production companies. This is his first novel with another one now available.

Appraisal:

This book kept me guessing, trying to figure out what was going on and just as I thought I had a handle on it, something different would happen making me realize I was wrong. It’s a fast-paced, engrossing and intriguing read with an interesting setting and characters that drew me in with a story line that keeps you guessing the entire time.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,00 words

Reprise Review: Double Dealing in Dubuque by Dean Klinkenberg

 

Genre: Mystery

Description:

“Writer Frank Dodge is feeling optimistic for a change. He just landed a plum assignment from a national magazine to write about the growth of boutique food in the Midwest. Dodge's mood quickly turns sour, though, when his scheming rival Helen shows up--is she trying to steal another story from him? When a fire erupts at the food convention Dodge is scouting out, two people die and Dodge can't shake the feeling that the fire was no accident.

Dodge's search for the truth will take him from the specialty shops of Galena, Illinois, through the neighborhoods of Dubuque, Iowa, and to the murky backwaters of the Mississippi River, landing him in the middle of a volatile feud between ice cream queen Stella and chocolatier Ashley.

Can he keep Helen at bay as he investigates the fire? And how far will Stella and Ashley ultimately go to skewer each other? Double-Dealing in Dubuque is a compelling novel that delves into what can go wrong when feuds get out of hand.”

Author:

“Dean Klinkenberg, the Mississippi Valley Traveler, explores the back roads and backwaters of the Mississippi River Valley, a place with an abundance of stories to tell, big characters, epic struggles, do-gooders and evil-doers. Some of those stories are in the Frank Dodge mystery series; others you’ll find in the Mississippi Valley Traveler guidebooks. He lives in St. Louis with his husband, John, and a parrot, Ra.”

Appraisal:

This is Dean Klinkenberg’s second Frank Dodge mystery and, like Klinkenberg himself, Dodge operates in what he describes as “Middle America, where—in the mind of my editor—cultural trends arrive via Pony Express. But, hey, it’s my home, where I keep my stuff—parachute pants, pet rock, and all.” There might be a hint there of who the ideal reader for this book would be. The setting for the series in smaller towns and cities along the Mississippi is going to work best for those from Middle America who can laugh at our foibles, but also recognize that those on the coasts aren’t as special as they might think. As Dodge put it, “When folks on the coasts adopt things that we’ve been doing all along, we’re content to let them think they invented it. It’s important to them to feel that way, and we’re sensitive to other people’s feelings.”

As the paragraph above shows, Klinkenberg delivers a few straight lines that should elicit a laugh or at least a chuckle from readers who are paying attention. But there is also a good mystery here. Some interesting characters and a fun time for the reader to follow along with Frank while we try to figure out who set the fire that killed two people at the convention center.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

This is the second mystery in this series featuring Frank Dodge. However, this book can be read as a standalone.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Black On Madison Avenue by Mark S. Robinson

 

Genre: Memoir

Description:

“Advertising decides what America wants. And yet, for an industry that professes to be the vanguard of creativity, popular culture and forward thinking, advertising is one of the most un-diverse white-collar professions in America. Surprisingly, despite all of its public gestures of ‘wokeness’, Madison Avenue would like to keep it that way.

Black on Madison Avenue explains how – and why – the author landed on Madison Avenue, and shares some of his incredible adventures over the past 40+ years. Yes, adventures. Have you ever gotten into a shouting match with a Venezuelan Army general in the middle of a military coup? He has. He kidnapped advertising legend Jim Jordan, insulted high-ranking Chinese government officials at a formal dinner and launched the first multicultural marketing holding company.

Mark Robinson was the co-founder of Spike/DDB, along with filmmaker Spike Lee and has stories no one else could tell. Robinson’s stories include Bill Cosby, Mike Tyson, Vanessa Williams, Usher, Oprah, Zsa Zsa Gabor, James Brown and Notorious B.I.G.”

Author:

Mark S. Robinson is a longtime employee, manager, and founder of various New York based advertising agencies. He lives with his wife in Connecticut.

Appraisal:

I often say that many books, but especially memoirs, often have one of two effects when you read them, depending on your situation and that of the protagonist or subject of the memoir. If they’re like you, it gives a chance to compare experiences and can sometimes give you a different perspective on your own life. But if the author’s life is much different than yours, it can help you better understand others which is a positive for all concerned.

This book definitely fits that second option for me as my career couldn’t have been much different from Mark Robinson’s work in advertising, not to mention my pale skin that would help me blend in on Madison Avenue. Surprisingly I also spotted some things where our experiences were the same. For example how if you do good work the connections at one job will often help lead to other opportunities at different companies.

This book is structured as a series of stories, with each chapter containing a story that could stand alone, but what happens in one will often relate to things that happened in another in such a way that you’ll see the patterns and how things evolved over time in some ways and not in others for Robinson and other blacks in the advertising business which is, as he says, “one of the whitest white-collar professions in America.” You’ll also see plenty of proof, not just anecdotal, but some data to back it up. In the end I found this to be an enlightening and interesting read for me about an industry I’d have said I wasn’t that interested in, and yet it effects all of us and I found seeing how it functioned from an insiders perspective to be interesting.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words