A.B. Shepherd's Blog, page 7

Bit of a dud - The Man Who Ended the World by Jason Gurley #amreading #bookreview

This is an apocalyptic story - my preference lately, but instead of being strictly post-apocalyptic two thirds of this one takes place before the world ends. It's been sitting on my Kindle for over a year and I've only just gotten around to it.

I have one really huge complaint about this book. The author chose to do something quite controversial and I didn't like it at all. He wrote the entire book without using quotation marks for dialogue. Dialogue was merely embedded in with the narrative. I found that extremely distracting and I hated it.

Other readers have complained about the author changing tenses from present to past and back again, but I didn't notice that issue. 

One of the things that bothered me was that Clarissa didn't feel real and for a while I even wondered if she was Henry's imaginary friend. Her background was never explained and her lifestyle was completely unbelievable.

I also found what ultimately happened to Steven to be okay as far as the event goes, but the children's reactions - or lack thereof - to also be unbelievable. Even in fiction you need a certain level of believability.

You never connect with these characters. You never feel invested in the outcome. There is no sense of suspense - I mean after all the title tells pretty much the whole story, right? You know right up front what is going to happen.

It's only by adding in the children that there is a story at all and even that doesn't make it really interesting. You really do know what will happen.

The most interesting aspect of this story was watching Steven's mental state unravel.

I also want to clarify that in spite of the age of the children - at only 11 - this is not a YA novel. There is some adult content although it is not overly graphic.

All in all, this one was okay for me but not earth shattering. It's not the worst book I've ever read, but it is one of the worst so far this year.

If you want to check it out for yourself you can find it on Amazon by clicking here. 

What is the worst book you've read so far this year?

Book Blurb:
When Steven Glass's third grade teacher asked his class what they wanted to be when they grew up, Steven's classmates shouted the usual answers: "A fireman!" "A teacher!" "The President!" When his turn came, Steven said, "When I grow up I'm going to be the last man on Earth."

Warning signs don't come much clearer than that.

Nearly thirty years later, Steven Glass is a billionaire. Surrounded by groupies, yes-men, investment opportunities and glamour, all Steven really wants is to be alone.

Really, really alone.

In secret, Steven builds a personal sanctuary nearly a mile underground. He vanishes from public life, goes off the grid. He's finally alone. Well, except for an artificial intelligence companion named after the only girl he ever loved.

There, Steven plays video games, heckles the news, and waits for the apocalypse. When the end doesn't come soon enough, Steven goes to work. He still has billions of dollars to spend -- and there must be something he can do to accelerate the coming storm.

Wrestling with his own destiny, unaware of the young stowaways who have discovered his underground paradise, and battling his duplicitous A.I. companion at every turn, Steven Glass struggles to create the reality he has always hoped for -- at the expense of the future of every single living human being on Earth...

Unless a pair of eleven-year-old children can stop him and save the world, that is.

About the Author:
Jason Gurley is the author of the bestselling novel Greatfall, among other books. By day he's a designer, and by night he writes and designs book covers. He lives with his family in Oregon, where he is currently writing a novel about a girl named Eleanor. He loves meeting readers, and often gives them free books via his newsletter: http://jasongurley.com/free-books/

Web: http://jasongurley.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/authorjasongurley
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jgurley
Newsletter: http://jasongurley.com/free-books

Flash Fiction - The Umbrella by A.B. Shepherd #amwriting #flashfiction

He stood in the rain waiting for the bus, a worried frown furrowing his brow. His foot tapped impatiently and with each tap tiny droplets spewed from under his sneaker in all directions. Every few seconds he would lift his wrist to look at his watch.
The bus wasn’t due for ten more minutes, but that didn’t still his impatience as the water ran past his collar trickling icily down his back. His hair was plastered to his forehead and he hunched his shoulders against the drizzle. shoving his hands in his pants pockets, only to pull his left arm out repeatedly to check his watch again.He barely noticed the passing cars and trucks splashing through the puddles along the curb, spraying his already drenched feet and legs with freezing, muddy water. 
His mind focused only on the anticipated transport and where he needed urgently to be. 
He didn’t see her approach. The woman with the oversized gold umbrella. The woman who appeared as warm and dry as if she were on a sunlit beach.
She had a glow about her. Her aura seemed to exude its own light. Her long caramel coloured hair blew with the breeze, yet not a strand was damp. She wore a bright yellow polka-dotted raincoat that was untouched by the rain. Even her boots remained unspotted. 
He never noticed her at all, until she stood at his side, holding her umbrella over his head, so they were both sheltered under its cover. 
His eyes left the oncoming traffic then. As they met hers a warm breeze engulfed him, blowing over his hair, his face, his clothes.  
Only when her golden gaze left his did he notice the bus he’d so anxiously waited for had stopped in front of him. He gestured for her to proceed him onto the bus.
She merely shook her head with a smile and said, “You go on, I’ll catch the next one. By the way, he'll be okay.”
She waved him on and he stepped aboard the bus, dropping his fare into the box next to the driver. As he took his seat he noticed his clothing he was dry. Confused, he scowled and ran his hand through his hair. He felt no moisture. His wind-blown curls sprang from his touch. He looked back to where the woman had stood, only to find she was gone. 
He spent the journey to the hospital where his terminally ill son waited ruminating over his encounter with the lovely golden woman.
As he entered his son’s hospital room, the doctor turned to him, a triumphant smile belying his world-weary eyes. “I can’t explain it. It’s some kind of miracle." He looked at the chart in his hand, flipping back and forth through the pages of reports. Tears of hope welled as the man's awed gaze landed on the small boy lying in the bed. 

"He’s going to be fine.”

Roswell Incident - Alien Crash or Weather Balloon. What do you think?

As I'm sure most of you are aware, one of the biggest controversies of all time regarding UFOs is the Roswell Incident which occurred in July 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico in the USA.

Initially reported as a crashed UFO with recovered alien bodies, reports were quickly amended to discount the original story with claims that it was merely a crashed weather balloon that was part of a secret military program.
The controversy has raged for over 60 years now. Was there really a downed alien space craft the military attempted to reverse engineer? Were there recovered alien bodies - potentially one still alive as some reports claim - that were transported to Area 51 where they were studied/autopsied?

Or were the materials recovered merely part of a secret military experiment with spy balloons?

Over the years many of the key players involved have fallen on opposite sides of this issue.

Some of the military personnel involved at the time later reported there was a UFO cover-up, including Major Jesse Marcel who left a death bed confession and charged his son Jesse Marcel Jr. with sharing his story with the world which he did in his book The Roswell Legacy.

Another such person was Colonel Phillip Corso who also wrote a book called The Day After Roswell in which he reveals modern technology that was reverse engineered from materirals found in the Roswell crash.

Many other skeptics have tried to debunk the UFO story, including Kal Korff with his book The Roswell UFO Crash: What they don't want you to know.

I know what I think happened. What's your opionion? Do you think it was a UFO coverup? Or merely a military balloon program?

Magic! Destruction by @SharonBayliss #amreading #bookreview

I wasn't sure what to expect when Sharon Bayliss asked me to read Destruction (Book One of the December People Series). I was delightfully surprised by this book.

It's part Harry Potter for grown-ups, but a bit darker, and it has a lot more adult situations.

Bayliss builds a world of magic where there is no such thing as a school for training wizards. Wizards learn only what is passed down by their parents. There are dark wizards, and light wizards and magic is no quick fix. Every spell works in ways you cannot predict. You may get your end result, but the route to it may have unexpected and disastrous consequences. 

David Vandergraff doesn't even know he's a wizard when he gets the call that his missing children have been found - the children produced by an affair that his wife knows nothing about - the children he's been searching for for eleven years since they disappeared.

This is a riveting story and I couldn't put it down. I finished it the day I started it. It was fresh and different and held me entrhalled wanting to know what happened next. 

The parents are very human and flawed and believable. The sibling interaction is also believable, although I don't feel like we got into the heads of the kids as much as I would have liked, but then the main character is the father so that might explain it. Perhaps in future books in the series Bayliss plans to focus more on the kids. I look forward to getting to know them better.

I have only one tiny criticism, which considering this is fiction I should probably just ignore, but I can't quite. The missing children in question were abused in their past, yet we aren't shown the emotional turmoil or reactions I would have expected. They don't act out. Sure they go to therapy. I just would have thought there would be - I don't know - more angst shown about it.

And one other little issue.
**********************SPOILER ALERT*************************
One of the children in this book is raped, and finds out her parents are dead within a 24 hour period, yet her reaction to both is pretty much non-existent in the book.
**********************END SPOILER***************************

But overall I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down and I look forward to book two in the series. 

Want to check out Destruction for yourself? Click here to view it on Amazon.

Have you read adult stories of magic? Please name names and give me some feedback on them.

Book Blurb:
David Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything. Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn't a choice.

Eleven years ago, David's secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without.

Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David's wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.

Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.

About the author:
Sharon Bayliss is a native of Austin, Texas and works her day job in the field of social work. When she's not writing, she enjoys living in her "happily-ever-after" with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening). You can connect with Sharon at www.facebook.com/authorsharonbayliss and www.sharonbayliss.com. Also check out her website at www.sharonbayliss.com.

Gritty and gripping! Sand Omnibus by @HughHowey (Sand 1-5) #amreading #bookreview

If you aren't familiar with author Hugh Howey's work, you should change that. He is one of the most successful Indie authors around. Sure he may now be traditionally published, but that doesn't change the fact that his Wool series hit best seller lists long before that. 

In the Wool series Hugh's characters are trapped in a Silo in a post-apocalyptic world. In Sand he's gone in the opposite direction. It's still a post-apocalypitc world, but instead of being confined underground his characters in Sand are living thousands of feet above the old worlds that were buried under mountains of sand.

It is a gritty world, in more ways than just the sand that they battle daily, forced to continuously dig out their wells, their dwellings buried repeatedly only to be pulled up through the sand and rebuilt over and over. It is a world of pure survival, without hope. There is no joy to be found here. Families are torn apart by the need to survive.

This story centers on one such family - a family of sand divers. The sand divers are valued for their ability to dive beneath the sand and retrieve valuable relics from worlds gone by. This is their story about the tough choices they have made and must continue to make as individuals to live in this world

This is not a happy book and if that is what you are looking for don't pick it up. But it is a good book, a worthwhile read. You can feel the sand in your hair, in your mouth. You become attached to the family and you hope they make it - that they survive this world. I gave it four stars.

Want to check out Sand Omnibus for yoursef? Click here to find it on Amazon. 

Do you like post-apocalyptic fiction? What is your favorite book in this genre?

Book Blurb:
The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost. Their father was a sand diver, one of the elite few who could travel deep beneath the desert floor and bring up the relics and scraps that keep their people alive. But their father is gone. And the world he left behind might be next.

Welcome to the world of Sand, the first new novel from New York Times bestselling author Hugh Howey since his publication of the Silo Saga. Unrelated to those works, which looked at a dystopian world under totalitarian rule, Sand is an exploration of lawlessness. Here is a land ignored. Here is a people left to fend for themselves. Adjust your ker and take a last, deep breath before you enter.

About Hugh Howey:
I am the author of WOOL, a top 5 science fiction book on Amazon. I also wrote the Molly Fyde saga, a tale of a teenager from the 25th century who is repeatedly told that girls can't do certain things -- and then does them anyway.

A theme in my books is the celebration of overcoming odds and of not allowing the cruelty of the universe to change who you are in the process. Most of them are classified as science fiction, since they often take place in the future, but if you love great stories and memorable characters, you'll dig what you find here. I promise.

Short and oh so sweet! Dive by @koryshrum #amreading #bookreview

I don't usually read short stories because I generally find them unsatisfying - not long enough to really give me the story I'm looking for - but I made an exception in this case and here's why. 

I loved Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum (you can read that review here and you can also read an interview I did with Kory here) so much that when I heard she'd published a short story I was eager to take another little foray inside her head
I immediately bought my copy.  

The blurb does not do this story justice and could use a little beefing up, but Kory does not disappoint. 

Dive is the story of Lou - a young woman who is terrified of water and horrifically discovers it is a transport mechanism for her. She lives in fear of it until the day her parents are murdered. From that point on she learns to use that ability to seek revenge.

It is a short story. Much shorter than I would have liked, purely because it is great. In spite of its brevity it does have a feeling of satisfying completion. It is part horror, part suspense, part fantasy and completely enjoyable. 

I do hope Kory plans more for Lou and I'm keeping my eye out for further publications from her.

Want to check out Dive for yourself? Click here to find it on Amazon. 

Do you like short stories? What is your favorite?
 

Short Story Blurb:
A young woman uses her supernatural abilities to find her parents' killer.

About the author:
Kory M. Shrum lives in Michigan with her partner and a ferocious guard pug. When not writing, she can be found teaching, traveling, and wearing a gi. Her poetry has appeared in North American Review, Bateau and elsewhere. Her first novel Dying for a Living is now available:
http://www.amazon.com/author/korymshrum

Excerpt from the exciting new book Far Away in Time by Maria Savva #amreading

Maria Savva has graciously shared with us today an excerpt from her brand new book Far Away in Time. Enjoy!
Angie hesitated for a moment in front of the purple door. When she finally found the courage to reach for the knocker, the door swung open on its hinges. The interior appeared to be bathed in shadows; Angie assumed that was because her eyes had been dazzled by the sun outside and needed time to adjust.  ‘Hello,’ she called out. There was no reply. Turning back around, and seeing no one out on the street, she shrugged and went inside.  The door slammed shut just after she entered, startling her. ‘Don’t be alarmed, dear; that door has dodgy springs. I’ve been meaning to fix it.’ Mr Silverfrost? He was sitting in his brown armchair by the fireplace, as he used to do; his cat, Amber, by his feet. Angie’s mouth fell open. How? He’d hardly aged at all, and the cat looked the same. Had she somehow travelled back in time?  ‘It’s Angie, isn’t it?’ He squinted as if in thought. ‘I never forget a face. How long since you were last here? Twenty years? You like Ribena with a purple glass and a pink straw, correct?’ Angie could not help but giggle. Her own daughter Ruby was at the age where pink and purple were her favourite colours. ‘Um... yes, I remember. You’ve hardly changed,’ she remarked, finding her voice. 








Book blurb:: 
Our lives are a series of stories, and we are the characters with the starring roles. The memories, regrets, secrets, and struggles that fill these pages are at once unique and relatable. These stories belong to us all. 
Eight unforgettable tales reaching out to a place Far Away In Time... 









Author bio:  Maria Savva lives and works in London. She studied Law at Middlesex University and The College of Law. She is a lawyer, although not currently practising law. She writes novels and short stories in different genres, including drama, psychological thriller, and family saga. Many of her books and stories are inspired by her years working as a lawyer, although she has not written a courtroom drama to date. She has published five novels, the most recent of which is Haunted, a crime fiction/psychological thriller. Far Away In Time is her sixth collection of short stories. You can find out more about her work at her official website: http://www.mariasavva.com 

Available on Amazon Kindle:Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon FR: http://www.amazon.fr/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon IN: http://www.amazon.in/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon BR: http://www.amazon.com.br/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon IT: http://www.amazon.it/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon ES: http://www.amazon.es/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0Amazon MX: http://www.amazon.com.mx/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0Amazon JP: http://www.amazon.co.jp/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/Far-Away-Time-Maria-Savva-ebook/dp/B00J0G11S0/

Snore! Review of The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison #amreading #bookreview

This was not a book I enjoyed. The biggest problem I had with it was the style in which it was written - stream of consciousness. I abhor that style of writing. I do not need to know every single thought the narrating character has. I find it exceedingly tedious and exhausting. I also find it boring. So why did I keep reading this one?
Good question. Mostly because I've been in a reading slump lately and I've put several books down without finishing them. I was determined when I started this book that I would see it through no matter what - kind of a mental challenge I guess. I did make myself see it through to the end, and I was hoping the ending of the story would make slogging through all that folderall  which was unnecessary and unimportant to the plot worth it.

Sadly, it didn't. The best way I can describe it is a non-ending. Sure the major plot point had been resolved, but that happened quite a time before ending.

If you actually like the stream of consciousness style of writing, you might enjoy this book. I know there are a few of you out there at least. But I just can't recommend it. There are so many great independently published books out there and this drivel is what the bigtime publishers choose to put out? Hmmmm.

I think the only reason this one made the best seller list is because the publisher has a great marketing team who wrote a great blurb. The blurb is much better than the book. I feel bad saying that because I only just read the author bio saying she died in 2013. That makes me sad for feeling this way about her work, but it doesn't change the book. And it is nothing like Gone Girl.

Have you read anything lately that really disappointed you?

Book Blurb:
A chilling psychological thriller about a marriage, a way of life, and how far one woman will go to keep what is rightfully hers.

Jodi and Todd are at a bad place in their marriage. Much is at stake, including the affluent life they lead in their beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago, as she, the killer, and he, the victim, rush haplessly toward the main event. He is a committed cheater. She lives and breathes denial. He exists in dual worlds. She likes to settle scores. He decides to play for keeps. She has nothing left to lose. Told in alternating voices, The Silent Wife is about a marriage in the throes of dissolution, a couple headed for catastrophe, concessions that can’t be made, and promises that won’t be kept. Expertly plotted and reminiscent of Gone Girl and These Things Hidden, The Silent Wife ensnares the reader from page one and does not let go.

About the author:
A.S.A (Susan) Harrison’s previous books include Orgasms (Coach House Press, 1974), Revelations, with Margaret Dragu (Nightwood Editions, 1987), and Zodicat Speaks (Viking Penguin, 1996). The Silent Wife is her debut novel and she was at work on a new psychological thriller when she died in 2013, aged 65. Harrison was married to the visual artist John Massey and lived in Toronto.

A silly bedtime story gone wrong #beingsilly #amwriting

A little while ago I was having a lovely Facebook messaging conversation with my dear friend Jessica, when all at once I realized the time. Jessica is a working woman and she has to get up early so she usually goes to bed at a reasonable hour. It was getting a bit late. We are both full grown adults but I was feeling a bit silly so I offered to tell her a bedtime story to put her to sleep. Somehow, since it was Jessica and she tends to be a little bit cheeky - which I love about her - it went a bit astray. For your amusement, this is how the conversation went.

Abie: Isn't it past your bedtime missy?

 Jess: Yes ma'am

Abie: Would you like me to tell you a story to put you to sleep?

Jess: Sure.

Abie: Hmmmm. Once upon a time in a land far away...are you asleep yet?

Jess: Nope. More.

Abie: ...there lived a beautiful Princess named Jessica. She lived in a crappy run down hovel with her lovely mother and self-absorbed but lovely brother. One day Princess Jessica found a beautiful new castle to move to so Princess Jessica and her lovely Queen mother and Prince brother packed up all their wordly goods in preparation for moving to their new castle. Sleeping yet?

Jess: No. I feel I've made a bad impression of my brother though. I am his sister, he's gonna annoy me no matter what he does, lol, but I like the happy ending there and I'm a princess. For a tomboy like me that is a nice change.


Jess: Are there dinosaurs in this story?

Jess: And explosions like in Die Hard?

Abie: Bah - you are a Princess - and he is a LOVELY but slightly self-absorbed at the MOMENT brother. Explosions do not make a good bedtime story. Too much excitement there. No dinosaurs, but maybe a dragon or two. Aren't your eyes drooping yet?

Jess: No you have my undivided attention.

Abie: I'm SUPPOSED to be putting you to sleep!

Jess: You are failing, You tell riveting stories about princesses.

Abie: ...So all their worldly possessions were all packed up and awaiting the removalists - who just happened to be a pair of dragons who were brothers and ran this as a side business. Their primary business being a barbecue place where they cooked lovely ribs just by breathing fire on them and using their special family recipe marinade.

Jess: Ohhh what are the 7 secret herbs and spices, what was the name of this business? What kind of meat? When can I get some? I have so many questions. Tell me more.

Abie: LMAO! You are getting too overexcited. You will never sleep at this rate. And it's 11 herbs and spices just like the Colonel - but not the same ones.

Jess: Can I get the recipe from the dragons?

Jess: Can I play with the dragons?

Abie: The recipe had a little bit of dragon drool thrown in for good measure, but the patrons didn't mind because any germs were killed in the cooking process.

Jess: Will they eat me? And make me into dinner?

Jess: I'm sure dragon drool is just syrupy good.

Abie: No no no. They are friendly dragons. They like people - and not for dinner. They are fine, upstanding members of society. They own two local businesses for gods sake!

Jess: Pay their taxes and everything huh.

Abie: That's it. And they donate to charity.

Jess: My humblest apologies to dragons everywhere.

Jess: Which charity?

Abie: Victims of the bush fires of course.

Jess: When do I get ribs? I want ribs now?

Abie: Tomorrow. You can have ribs tomorrow. You just have to go pick them up. But not from the dragons. They are fictional after all.

Jess: Oh… damn.

Abie: Besides they are in removalist mode right now, remember? About to pick up all Princess Jessica's worldly goods?

Jess: Okay. Princess Jessica still wants ribs.

Abie: Of course. Ribs on the shopping list. Check. 11 herbs and spices and dragon drool. Check. I think that is enough story for tonight. Time for Princess Jessica to close her eyes. She has to get up early.

Jess: Yes ma'am

Abie: Sweet dreams Jess. Have a great week.

Jess: Thanks and to you and thanks for the story.

Abie: That was just the beginning. We'll finish it another time.

So tell me - do you still get silly with your friends? I'd love for you to share a little example of your silliness.

10 Things that make me smile. #smile #amwriting

In honor of Lifeboat makiing it to #10 on Amazon's best seller list, I thought I'd share a list of ten things that make me smile - in no specific order. 

1. The sparkle in my daughter's eyes when she's happy.






2. Farmers that share their whimsy with passers by.








4. Uplifting memes.


5. LOLcats.


6. Happy music.



7. Holding hands with my husband.



8. Alien conspiracy theories.








9. The mysteries of our planet.




 


10. New reviews of my books.



Now tell me - what makes YOU smile. Bonus points if you post a pic.