Kevin's Corner

Laid To Rest......

2012-02-13T17:01:00.001-06:00

Under slate grey skies that still were spitting the occasional drops of rain and with a very cold cutting wind, my Dad was laid to rest this afternoon. In a small simple ceremony at graveside attended by my Mom, myself, and a few very close friends of my parents, Dad was placed in his final resting place.

I don’t know if there is a hereafter. I do know Dad is no longer in pain.

I have lost my Dad.

My Mom has lost the only man she has loved since she was twenty.

Somehow we are all supposed to go on……

Market Closed--Writer's Journal

2012-02-12T09:20:00.000-06:00

Quite some time ago I gave up all of my subscriptions to various writing magazines and reading materials such as AHM and EQMM. One I did have before was Writer's Journal. Thanks to Hope Clark's excellent newsletters, I discovered this morning that Writer's Journal had shut down. Details on the shutdown here http://www.writersjournal.com/

And if you are not subscribing to her newsletters, you should. Details here http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Kevin

My Dad

2012-02-11T08:43:00.000-06:00

As some already know, the last couple of days have been extremely rough. My Dad unexpectedly passed away Wednesday evening. I didn’t know until late that night when my Mom called from a local area hospital to tell me what had happened. Even now, several days later I am still in shock. I don’t know how to express what has happened or the impact, not only on me, but on my Mom.

I have lost my Dad.

My Mom has lost the only man she ever loved after more than fifty years of marriage.

Words fail me.

Kevin

FFB Review: "TANGLED TRAILS: A Western Detective Story" (1921) by William MacLeod Raine --Reviewed by Barry Ergang

2012-02-10T06:53:00.000-06:00

TANGLED TRAILS: A Western Detective Story (1921) by William MacLeod Raine

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

A lifelong mystery reader, several years ago I renewed the old pleasure of watching western films which in turn led me to read some western fiction for the first time in my life. Thus I must mention at the outset that Tangled Trails: A Western Detective Story, despite its billing and though written by an author primarily known for westerns, has nothing to do with the conventional western apart from its geographical locations, Wyoming and Colorado. It is a detective story starring a modern (circa 1921) cowboy, but one who usually travels from place to place by train or automobile instead of on horseback, and who does not wear a six-shooter on his hip.

Cowpuncher and sometime rodeo competitor Kirby Lane follows his friend "Wild Rose" McLean from Cheyenne to Denver when Rose receives a letter from her sister Esther indicating that the girl is "in trouble." It's never stated outright, but it quickly becomes clear that Esther is unmarried and pregnant, although the latter word is never used. The stigma to a woman of that era (and for several unenlightened decades thereafter) was an indelible mark of shame. Esther's letter doesn't say who the father is, but Rose eventually learns it's her employer, an older man named James Cunningham.

Cunningham is a wealthy and successful businessman, "a grim, gray pirate, as malleable as cast iron and as soft...the kind that takes the world by the throat and shakes success from it....Cunningham had always led a life of intelligent selfishness. He had usually got what he wanted because he was strong enough to take it. No scrupulous nicety of means had ever deterred him. Nor ever would. He played his own hand with a cynical disregard of the rights of others."

Kirby Lane is Cunningham's nephew. The two haven't spoken in years because of the manner in which Cunningham treated Lane's father.

Tangled Trails is a fairly straightforward detective novel with little in the way of subplots, so I don't want to give away too much of the story and spoil it for readers. Suffice it to say, then, that when Lane discovers that Cunningham has been brutally murdered, and is seen exiting the deceased's apartment in an unconventional manner, he finds himself at the top of the list of suspects and is determined to clear himself by bringing the real murderer to justice, all while trying to keep Esther McLean's name out of it lest she forever be dishonored.

He has plenty of suspects to choose from, all of whom were in or near Cunningham's apartment within a short time of one another. They include Mr. and Mrs. Hull, the mister being Cunningham's erstwhile partner in a legal but unethical irrigation scheme that bilked residents of Dry Valley; Olson, a farmer from Dry Valley who wants restitution or revenge; "Wild Rose" McLean, who wants him to do right by her sister; Shibo, the apartment building's janitor; Horikawa, Cunningham's valet; Phyllis Harriman, Cunningham's fiancée; and the deceased's nephews, one of whom is also named James, the other Jack.

Sorting out the time element to determine who the murderer is proves a tricky business, but at the end, in the grand tradition, Lane gathers all of the suspects in one room to reveal and elucidate.

The author's prose style combines telling with showing. The description of James Cunningham above demonstrates the former. The style reminds me of many a story from the hero pulps, especially when Raine takes time to remind the reader of the hero's strength, determination, unflappability, and physical prowess. When someone takes a shot at him, for example, the reader is told: "Arrow-swift, with the lithe ease of a wild thing from the forest, Kirby ducked round the corner for safety." And "It was characteristic of him that he did not fly wildly into the night. His brain functioned normally, coolly."

Available for free in a Kindle edition, Tangled Trails is a short fast read to have fun with but not take seriously. Even in the context of its times it's hardly credible that Kirby Lane, a murder suspect from Wyoming, would be released on bond and allowed to roam at will around Colorado (or flee the state altogether), and that he'd manage to ingratiate himself with the chief of police so as to solve crimes the law apparently couldn't because no mention is made of an ongoing police investigation.

Suspend your disbelief and it's entertaining.

Formerly the Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and First Senior Editor of Mysterical-E, winner of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award for the best flash fiction story of 2006, his written work has appeared in numerous publications, print and electronic. For links to material available online, and fiction available for e-readers, see Barry’s webpages. Remember, too, that he has books from his personal collection for sale at http://barryergangbooksforsale.yolasite.com/ He'll contribute 20% of the purchase price of the books to our fund, so please have a look at his lists.

Finished Round 4---A Sandi Update

2012-02-08T16:18:00.000-06:00

Sandi finished round four of chemo this morning with the injection they do at the end of each round. This put her back in bed where she has been the rest of the day. The picture below is from yesterday afternoon during the middle of the treatment.

Her next test, because the Pet Scan indicates a problem with her thyroid, is some sort of ultrasound of that early Friday morning. We are not totally clear on the test they are doing or why, but apparently everyone involved is putting a rush on this and we should plan on being at the hospital for a couple of hours minimum. At least for this deal she can eat and drink normally before it which has been unheard of during this nightmare.

The last 48 hours have been brutal but at least we still have hope. Wile the Pet Scan did turn up a couple of new problems it also indicated the chemo was making some progress against the cancers. So, we still have hope.

Others that we know have not been so lucky. When you go every three weeks to chemo, not to mention all the doctor visits and the blood work, you start seeing some of the same people over and over again. Even if he or she does not say much you kind of know how things are going by the look they have. Then there are other folks you bond with as conversations are struck up and stories are shared. Three different patients Sandi and I have met and spent a lot of time with them and their families during this process were all told yesterday it was time to go to hospice. Back in December, in at least two cases that we know about, without question the prognosis at that time had been for a far better outcome for them and their families. Their battles have been lost.

That is part of what makes this so awfully hard. You get to know people you might otherwise never have met and become fellow unwilling victims of some damn thing you can't see or feel. Some hideous creature lurks inside your body, killing from within, and even when the doctors say you are going to be okay, you just might not be. Not because you did anything wrong or the doctors made a mistake--just because the cancer proved to be too much.

On behalf of Sandi and I as well as the boys, thank you again for your cards, your letters, your notes of support and your thoughts and prayers. Thank you as well for your donations---needed more than ever right now as it is a new year and Sandi's bi-monthly insurance premiums have quadrupled and we struggle to keep her insurance in place.

If it wasn't for you out there, most who only know of us through a picture here or there, an image on your screen, we wouldn't still be here. We owe you a debt that we may never be able to repay.

We thank you for everything....

Kevin

Update---Chemo--Round 4

2012-02-07T16:34:00.002-06:00

Just got home .....the PET SCAN indicates "some" reduction in the cancers. The doctor is very pleased to see any reduction at all because blood work is not showing this. The blood work does indicate she is very anemic.

So, tomorrow at 10 we have to be back for the injection that finishes off the 4rth round of chemo.

She also has to have some more tests done and we don't know when those will be.

Chemo--Round 4--WE HOPE!

2012-02-07T07:24:00.000-06:00

Today is supposed to be an all day event with Sandi doing her fourth round of chemo. That is if the PET SCAN she had last Friday comes back indicating the chemo has done something to any of her cancers. With cancer everywhere but her brain and spinal cord according to the first scan and her bloodwork not showing that the chemo is working, the scan is the only way to know if the chemo has started beating down her two forms of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

If the chemo has done nothing to this point, the options are very limited and not positive at all.I'm refusing to think about what it would mean if the chemo has failed as the odds have been against us from the beginning on this deal.

I will update later today when we get back home......

Review: "The Rope: An Anna Pigeon Novel" by Nevada Barr

2012-02-06T08:23:00.001-06:00

As Lee Child recently did with his latest in the “Reacher series” titled The Affair: A Jack Reacher Novel author Nevada Barr takes readers back in time in this prequel to her Anna Pigeon series. The year is 1995 as The Rope: An Anna Pigeon Novel opens and Anna is thirty-five and adrift in a sea of mourning regarding the recent death of her husband Zach. She is a specter in black amongst the living and has barely connected with any of her fellow workers at the Glen Canyon Recreational Area except for Jenny.

So it is not surprising to anyone when Anna and her things disappear from the small cabin she shared with Jenny. The assumption is the former stage manager went back to New York as the desert backcountry was clearly no place for Anna. Not even Jenny is surprised she left though she is terribly disappointed. Not only was Anna a big help in going out and removing human waste fouling the waters and beaches of the area, Anna was the object of Jenny’s unrequited lust.

The problem is Anna never really left. Somebody drugged her, stripped her naked, scarred her body with a knife, and dumped her down a “solution hole.” A solution hole is a vertical hole or shaft cut into the surrounding sandstone that goes nowhere and has no way out thanks to the walls being polished smooth over the eons of time. Anna awakens to find herself naked, badly injured, and with no way out. Whoever did it is apparently not just leaving her to die. Instead, she is at the mercy of someone who is clearly toying with her like a bug under a magnifying lens. Her only hope is to stay alive long enough to somehow escape.

Beyond the obvious fact that Anna must survive or there would not be a published series, there is little that can be said about this glacially slow moving book without creating spoilers. Despite an obvious red herring, the suspect list is small and rather reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel. One expects Anna at the end to summon them all to the hole she was trapped in and then name off the culprit. It does not work out quite that way, but does come fairly close.

Obsession and the effects on mental health or lack of same is the dominant theme of the book. Jenny constantly battles her own lesbian obsession as she becomes fixated on Anna as an object of love and lust. That same obsession was previously directed towards another woman with grave consequences as readers gradually learn and seems destined to end badly again. Other characters are also obsessed with Anna for various reasons making this book primarily all about who gets to claim Anna body and soul. Then there is Anna’s own obsession with the tragic death of Zach that seems to come up over and over again in each chapter before finally being replaced at the end of the book by her new obsession.

Continuing the trend in her most recent novels of a turn towards the sadistic and dark that is far from the roots of the series, The Rope: An Anna Pigeon Novel is yet another very dark read. A dark read in terms of events and tone the book clashes strongly when compared to the original and excellent start of the series titled Track of the Cat. This new novel is a highly atmospheric one with long stretches of mental contemplation by the various characters occasionally broken by some small sections of action. Long stretches of time and pages are spent in the heads of each character where readers are told what to think and feel. Unfortunately, there is not a likeable character in the bunch and by the end of the book you want to slap everyone in sight to knock some sense into them.

If you are going to spend so much time in the course of a book inside a character’s head while he or she dithers about life and his or her sexuality, it would be better spent in a much better book.

The Rope: An Anna Pigeon Novel

Nevada Barr

http://www.nevadabarr.com

Minotaur Books (St. Martin’s Publishing Group)

http://minotaurbooks.com

January 2012

ISBN# 978-0-312-61457-7

Hardcover (also available as e-book and audio book)

357 Pages

$25.99

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

Yet Another Lost Month and More---Karl and Kroger #581 in Plano, Texas

2012-02-05T11:25:00.000-06:00

I’m in angry Dad ranting mode today here and waving my cane around. So, pull up a chair, the beverage of your choice, and listen to the tale of the latest with Karl and the wonderful company known as Kroger. I leave it up to you whether or not you wish to express your outrage, in writing preferably, to those involved at the local level, as well as more importantly, the corporate headquarters in Cincinnati.

When last I wrote about this back in December 2011, Karl had been without pay and not working since being sent home midday on October 17, 2011. That day, our special needs son, Karl (who had all sorts of compliments and praises in his personnel jacket until they mysteriously disappeared when he was transferred to Kroger 581 here in Plano, Texas) was suspended without pay and told he would be terminated in a couple of days because of a claim of “sexual harassment.” What was the crime? Documenting by long distance photograph across the store an employee who was once again working off the clock and out of uniform. That was it!

With no history of any write-up or disciplinary action of any kind during his nearly seven years of employment, that utterly false allegation made by an employee who was known to repeatedly violate Kroger policies and procedures and who had a history of harassing Karl, got him kicked off the job. According to the HR representative that did the actual suspension paperwork, Karl could still shop in the store and visit the bank branch inside that he used, as long as Karl “behaved” and did not “socialize” with any employees.

That lasted about a week until Karl was suddenly told that he could not step foot on the grounds of the store. This happened after a complaint was filed a day after he and I went shopping in Kroger #581 accusing him of rampaging through the store, turning over displays, allegedly screaming at the top of his lungs, stalking and verbally harassing employees etc. Of course, if he had really done ANY of that, Plano Police would have been called in a second. It would also would have not taken over a day to file the bogus compliant with the district manager and the Union.

It didn’t happen. Period.

Not only does Karl not act that way, but I was there. I KNOW IT NEVER HAPPENED--- NONE OF IT. When I go shopping, Karl stays with me because I need his help. I have this walking issue problem and they know it well. I have fallen in that store before so they know what my issues are as they saw me every single week.

So, they lied----again.

But fine, when Karl’s Union representative (UFCW 1000) told him that, despite the fact the surveillance camera footage clearly showed it never happened, that as a suspended employee he should not go into that store, it meant that I could not go either. It meant we had to go a little further and out of our way to shop at Kroger 540 also here in Plano, Texas but we did it to keep the peace and his much needed discount. His discount has always been a huge help to us and critically more so since we went on food stamps.

According to his Union representative who wanted a written statement on the matter, a grievance would be filed on this as well making the sixth or seventh filed on his behalf since he went to work at KROGER 581 in November 2010. This was in addition to the grievance filed over his unpaid suspension. Karl had grievances that, according to his Union rep as recently as last month, would move up to level three which would allow the headquarter folks in Cincinnati to become aware of the problems and deal with them accordingly. According to this same Union representative who was supposedly defending Karl and taking care of him like he should have been, the local District Manager ordered transfer of Karl to a store in McKinney that was 22 miles from here one way would not happen. Clearly instead of punishing those involved, the District Manager had made the determination to punish Karl and his family by moving his job 22 miles away. This would result in two twice a day round trips of 44 miles or a total of 88 miles each day so that I could get him to and from his job.

That was not going to happen.

Karl is disabled and can’t drive. Whether or not he could ever learn the skills to drive is highly unlikely. That is not just our opinion. It is the opinion of his teachers who used to work with him, his case managers at Social Security, his doctors, etc. Apparently not only does the District Manger believe he is driving but she also thinks that we are faking his Mom’s cancer situation. Based on what she said to him as well as what she has said publicly to other folks who can testify to this in court if required, she sided with her good friend, the employee who was working off the clock and out of uniform. Instead of doing her job in a professional and objective manner befitting her position of authority, she chose to harm Karl and help her friend.

With no evidence against him and having been told repeatedly by Plano Police who visited the store that they had no case against Karl for “sexual harassment, or even “harassment” or “stalking” or anything else they tried to dream up to salvage themselves, Karl took the advice of the Union representative not to file criminal or civil charges against those involved and let the level three process with KROGER and the Union work. After all, he has up to a year to file both civil as well as criminal charges against all those involved and waiting would not weaken his case. It would only help it to allow time to pass while the folks at Headquarters reviewed all. The Union representative also said to hang on to his evidence (numerous pictures and audio recordings, written statements and more) and to please have Dad no longer write about things because publicity would not help.

So, of course, I quit talking about it as bogus as the whole deal was. With nothing to hide and no wrongdoing at all it seemed ridiculous that we had to wait. The only positive aspect of this garbage was it meant Karl was home to spend time with his Mom and to help me with her care. It did concern me as the weeks passed that the Union representative was not returning Karl’s calls or making any effort to stay in contact, but he has had a long history of not keeping Karl up to date the way he should have before. While Karl’s issues have never made it this far before, he has been through the Union grievance process several times since Karl was transferred to Kroger 581. Karl has had to file numerous grievances over his schedule, verbal abuse and harassment by the store manager, out and out discrimination because of his disabilities, etc. and the Union representative has always been slow to respond once he had written statements (typed by me) on matters from Karl. Then there were the holidays to consider which for most were a time of rest and relaxation and for us were just another time broken up by appoints for chemo and the rest of it.

Middle January rolled around with the Union representative playing phone tag with Karl. By now the BANK OF TEXAS had closed Karl’s account having churned it for hundreds of dollars as had PAYPAL. That got an FDIC complaint filed on them that has now also been filed with the COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY and may be filed elsewhere with other agencies as necessary. Time will tell what will happen there as they both knew the situation in detail and Kroger’s culpability in it. Even though Karl had no outstanding items being presented for payment, both managed to churn his account in such a way to present a bill for several thousand dollars to him before turning it over to collections. That means his credit rating has been harmed and we have yet more harassment and stress from collection agencies to deal with.

Then the COBRA paperwork started coming with an effective date of December 18^th. The obvious conclusion was that sixty days after wrongfully suspending him without pay, Kroger had wrongfully terminated Karl.

Still the Union representative (UFCW 1000) kept playing phone tag with him. So, since Karl can’t read or write very well, on his behalf I wrote a letter to the Union representative and documented the issues and sent the COBRA paperwork as well as the stuff from the BANK OF TEXAS and PayPal to him as resolving those issues would be part of the case. Clearly Karl was suffering increasing economic damages from the fact that he hadn’t been paid his back pay and returned to work as he should have been back in October and apparently had been terminated.

Finally, a little over two weeks ago, the union representative managed to talk to Karl. At that point he was told that the case had never progressed to level three (as it should have back on December 18 and as the Union representative repeatedly told him it had), that he had been transferred to the McKinney store, and that there would be no back pay or vacation pay as he had won his case and abandoned his job. He had till February 18^th to report before his termination would go through.

Of course, if he had not been terminated, this would not explain the COBRA paperwork, why he had been locked out of the system, why his employee discount does not work anymore, etc. It also does not explain why he had been told otherwise for months, he had never gotten anything in writing as required under the union contract, etc. Nor does it explain why those who demonstrably lied still have jobs and why he does not.

So, at that point, Karl called the Texas Unemployment crowd and explained the situation. They, like Social Security and the EEOC, had been ready to go for months on the case and were just waiting on Kroger to either do the right thing and put him back to work or actually terminate him. They agreed with our assessment that Karl was terminated and the machinery began to start on his unemployment claim. That triggered the Social Security Administration to start rolling forward with their own investigation as what happened again and again to Karl is a clear and obvious violation of the Americans With Disability Acts as well as other statutes and laws. Apparently, according to several folks we have talked to, this case may become a civil rights case not just for Karl but some sort of class action case for other special needs people in that store who have been victimized like Karl has as well as in other Kroger stores in this area. Apparently they already had information against this particular store manager and those involved from other individuals--disabled and not.

I’m sure this is all going to wind up in court with attendant media coverage. Not only has his small business at http://www.amazon.com/shops/thundercatsnyy been nearly destroyed, he has been harmed financially as well as had his good name ruined. Karl’s once promising career with Kroger is destroyed as is his private business that had nothing at all to do with Kroger.

Going forward, Karl has provided a small fraction of the additional evidence he has to the government investigators. We are told that they have informed the store and the district manager they have thirty days to produce any shred of evidence against Karl (something they can’t do in any way, shape or form unless they fabricate it) during his entire nearly seven year career with Kroger as well as to provide records on ALL those involved in the case for the same time period. That is going to be fascinating as well as show clear wrong doing unless the records are tampered with as Karl, having served for two years plus as the youngest Union Steward ever IN THE HISTORY OF THE COMPANY, knows quite a lot of information and can document it about those involved.

They have no case and they know it. This was nothing more than a personal vendetta carried out by three people at store 581. Having targeted Karl for abuse and removal and having been aided and abetted by several folks who should have known better and will now be held accountable, we wait for the government at the state and federal levels do their thing.

In the meantime, Karl is actively looking for a job close to home so that he can walk to work if at all possible. He has had several encouraging job interviews so far. When asked why he no longer works for Kroger after nearly seven years, he explains fully and completely why he no longer has a job with Kroger. He did nothing wrong and has no reason to hide.

The same can’t be said for those involved in the case.

Kevin

Mission Accomplished---Food Bank Saturday

2012-02-04T10:29:00.000-06:00

We are back home from the food bank. Sandi is back home and so far so good.

For our next excursion out, we will go to the cancer doctor Tuesday morning for a visit and if the PET SCAN came out the way we hope and pray it did, the start of round 4 of chemo.

Food Bank Saturday

2012-02-04T08:09:00.000-06:00

Today is our day at the local food bank. We are very grateful for the help. Especially as our food stamps for this month don't come for about another week and a half. So, this will really help today.

Sandi spent nearly all of yesterday in bed after the PET Scan. We never got a call from the hospital like we did last time so there was not the emergency x-ray like before. Since we both have to show up at the food bank, hopefully she can put on her surgical mask to protect herself and go.

PET SCAN---DONE!

2012-02-03T14:14:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry.....I was just reminded I had not updated here. We got home from the PET SCAN shortly before noon. Sandi slept in the tube during the entire procedure. She ate a little bit and then went to bed and to sleep as she feels so bad.

Hopefully the scan today won't give somebody at the hospital the idea she needs another emergency x-ray or something this afternoon like it did last time.

K

FFB Review: "THE FABULOUS CLIPJOINT" (1947) by Fredric Brown--Reviewed by Barry Ergang

2012-02-03T07:52:00.003-06:00

THE FABULOUS CLIPJOINT (1947) by Fredric Brown

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

I’m tempted to call this novel mystery fiction’s version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It’s not a wholly accurate description, and I’m sure there are a lot of folks who’d take me to task for it, but The Fabulous Clipjoint may be the closest thing in spirit — though without the comedy — to Mark Twain’s masterwork that the genre has.

At eighteen, Ed Hunter is older than Huck and a good deal more worldly. When his father is beaten to death, the apparent victim of a random mugging, he wants answers but knows he‘s out of his depth when it comes to getting them. He therefore enlists the help of his father’s brother Ambrose, a carnival barker savvy in the ways of the mean streets. In teaming up with Uncle Am to solve what they eventually determine is a deliberate murder rather than an impersonal mugging, Ed undertakes his own Huck-like voyages of discovery through the streets of Chicago and thus performs his rite of passage.

The characters, with perhaps one or two exceptions, are neither all good nor all bad. Most exhibit morally gray behaviors and attitudes. The story itself is as “naturalistic” as any I’ve ever read in the genre, a superb example of the kind Raymond Chandler alluded to when he wrote about Dashiell Hammett (and by extension other good pulp writers) giving “murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reasons, not just to provide a corpse.” Anthony Boucher called it “a singularly effective job of portraying people as they are and murder as it is — a solidly compelling story.” But while it contains its share of dark moments and situations, and has a strong sense of place, Brown’s style — though eminently readable — is relatively pedestrian, lacks the brooding lyricism that infuses, for instance, a David Goodis novel.

The Fabulous Clipjoint has been marginalized as a minor classic for many years. An article by Dick Adler argued for the elevation of its stature. Read it for yourself to decide if Fredric Brown merits being ranked with Dashiell Hammett, Ross Macdonald, and Jim Thompson.

Barry Ergang (c) 2012

*****

PET SCAN TODAY

2012-02-03T07:20:00.000-06:00

Sandi has a PET SCAN this morning to "reimage" the cancers and see what is happening. Her last scan was back on December 2 and showed either one or both cancers in every major organ, all her bones, and virtually everywhere with most showing both cancers at the same time. The only places that were clear was her brain and her spinal cord.

Hopefully this scan will show something that the bloodwork is clearly not---that the chemo is working at least a little bit. That is our hope---that three rounds of chemo it has done something, anything to the cancers. If the chemo has failed......I don't know what we will do.

Barry will put up our FFB column later today.

Kevin

More Truth!

2012-02-02T20:53:00.000-06:00

Review: " Southern Living: 2011 Annual Recipes"

2012-02-02T12:22:00.000-06:00

With a delectable chocolate cake with white icing and strawberries on the cover (far different than the Amazon cover below), this book jumps right out at you. Featuring “Every Single Recipe from 2011-Over 750” this book theoretically has something good to eat for everyone. Featuring very few color photographs, lots of tips and suggestions, this book celebrates southern cooking as well as the magazine’s 45th birthday.

After a brief introduction, the multi-page table of contents, and brief excerpts of their favorite columns with page number citations, it is on to the recipes. The recipes are divided by the months of the year. Therefore, the first chapter is on January and opens with an “Elegant Citrus Tart.” Along with the black and white picture accompanying the recipe on page 28 there are other recipes for items using citrus, other items such as “Blackberry Maple Syrup” (page 31), various types of Mac and Cheese (pages 32-33), and dips for games and parties (page 38-40). Unfortunately, as is usual in most Southern Living cookbooks, there is very little if any nutritional information or suggestions to make a healthier version of the many recipes.

February follows with a section on spicing up various foods such as hot dogs, boiled peanuts, catfish, chicken, among other items on pages 42-45, before considering various drinks (page 48) that seemingly would be more appropriate in a warm weather month. That eventually leads into supper suggestions such as “Cheesy Chili Hash Brown Bake” (page 52) or “Chicken Cutlets with Pecan Sauce” (page 53) and various other items and desserts.

The same format follows throughout the cookbook month by month. The pictures are in black and white with the rare color picture included. Nearly always the text lacks nutritional information or advice while page after page having a flat washed out appearance. Months with holidays such as November and December have the most recipe coverage. Not surprisingly, but even here in the holiday sections, the black and white continues leaving a washed out look on every page.

It also becomes clear as you move through the cookbook month by month that the recipes of a given month, excluding holidays, have very little to do with that given month. Items may not be in season for the month selected or have any link or relation to the month they are included. That could make the final approximately sixty pages of the book the most valuable to you as a cook.

After the months, the book follows with a section on “Quick! Slow-Cooker Favorites.” For thirteen pages, recipes such as “Grillades and Cheese Grits” (page 312) and “Beef Stroganoff” (page 313) and “Cheesy Ham and Noodles” (page 315) among others are covered. Space is at a premium now so there are no pictures at all, not even the usual washed out black and white ones, to guide you when you make the dish.

“Holiday Favorites” starting on page 325 follows and is a very short section. “Sweet Tea and Limoncello Martinis” (page 326) and “Parmesan-Pancetta Crisps” and “Lamb Sliders” (both on page 327) are featured here among other items.

This is followed by a page of “Metric Equivalents” on page 337 and six pages of menu suggestions. Starting on page 337, there are menus that are for “Holiday Brunch” or the “Progressive Dinner” among other types of menus. If you are entertaining diverse groups of people this section could be an asset.

That is followed by a “Recipe Title Index” starting on page 343 and extending four pages. If you know the exact name of the recipe you are looking for this is the place to check.

Followed by the “Month-By-Month Index” from pages 348 to 352 this index features recipes alphabetically organized within each month. This means if you know what month the recipe was published in the magazine, you can easily find it in the book by way of this index.

That is followed by a ‘General Recipe Index” broken down by either the food category such as “Dips” or by a major ingredient such as “Apples.” Extending over five pages from its start on page 353 this most helpful index provides yet another way to search within the book.

A one page place to write down your favorite recipes and an ad for a special offer on a subscription close out the 370 page book.

While this book is helpful in the sense that it pulls together literally hundreds of recipes and tips published in the past year in the magazine, the book overall is a disappointment. Again his year those involved have made the decision not to include vital nutritional or dietary information with nearly all of the recipes. While one does not look to Southern Living for the best things to eat from a dietary or nutritional standpoint, the fact that they continue to ignore the obesity problem in their products does a disservice to the consumer.

Visually this book is a real disappointment. For a book celebrating 45 years of a magazine well known for its colorful photographs of mouthwatering food, the use of pale black and white photographs was a serious mistake. The pale black and white photographs add to the washed out look of the text and adds to the overall drab appearance of the book. This is a major turnoff to the folks drawn in by the excellent cover and expecting to see food photographed well.

The resulting cookbook does not live up to the standards of Southern Living Magazine and is average at best. Producing a book as cheap as possible, as it appears was done here, does have serious consequences. One hopes that next year they will do a better job in all aspects.

Southern Living: 2011 Annual Recipes

Southern Living Food Staff

Oxmoor House

http://www.oxmoorhouse

2011

ISBN # 978-0-8487-3487-9

Hardback

370 Pages

$34.95

Reviewed material provided by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

Truth!

2012-02-01T21:03:00.000-06:00

Thank You

2012-02-01T09:05:00.000-06:00

Because of your generosity again this past month our rent is paid. If it wasn't for you, we would be out of here as they do pull the eviction trigger very quick.

Thank you on behalf of all of us.

Kevin

Barry's Reviews: "THE BODY AND THE BLOOD" (2010) by Michael Lister

2012-01-31T08:15:00.000-06:00

THE BODY AND THE BLOOD (2010) by Michael Lister

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

John Jordan is a man beset by conflicts, internal and external. An ex-cop, he's currently the chaplain for the Pottersville Correctional Institution and a sometime investigator who is trying to reconcile his capacity for violence with his calling to pacific ministry. He's experiencing a crisis of spirituality, if not exactly of faith. He has a tenuous relationship with his father and brother. He loves and has reunited with his wife Susan, from whom he had been separated, but is still in love with a co-worker, Anna Rodden, who is also married. Susan lives in Atlanta and loves city life; Jordan prefers the rural life he has in Florida. Where to live together has yet to be decided and could potentially be a source of friction, especially considering the surprise Susan has for him.

Jordan also has to deal with his father-in-law, Tom Daniels, the Inspector General of the Florida Department of Corrections. Like Jordan, Daniels is a recovering alcoholic. Unlike Jordan, who has been sober for quite a while, Daniels' sobriety is very recent. It's a kind of shocked sobriety, the result of his wife Sarah having been raped by Juan Martinez, a prisoner at the Pottersville Correctional Institution. It has become Daniels' mission to put him away for the rest of his life. He's feeling good about accomplishing this because he has found a witness, another prisoner named Justin Menge, who is willing to testify against Martinez.

When Jordan learns this, he's taken aback because (when the novel opens) he's just had a conversation with Menge's sister Paula, who has visited her brother for the first time in the four years since he's been incarcerated. Menge, Martinez and others are kept in G-Dorm in the Protective Management unit of the prison. PM is for inmates who are at risk from the general population, and G-Dorm is supposed to adhere to rigid security protocols.

Technically, Jordan's workday is over and his time is his own, but he's returning to the prison because of a flyer he's received announcing a Catholic mass in the PM unit. The flyer is a doctored version of the one the priest distributed, and includes the words "A murder will take place." He discovers that Tom Daniels is on-site, too, conducting interviews and taking depositions, and shows Daniels the flyer. The two return to G-Dorm, where those who are not attending the mass are locked in their cells. Shortly thereafter the mass begins. Jordan and Daniels chat with one of the correctional officers who oversees the unit, a slacker named Potter. During Holy Communion, Jordan notices blood seeping from under the door to Justin Menge's cell. It can't possibly have happened—the cell was locked and the unit under observation by Jordan, Daniels and Potter—but Justin Menge has been murdered.

There is no dearth of suspects. Besides Martinez himself, there are inmates who would commit murder for him. There is Chris Sobel, Menge's boyfriend, and Paula Menge, who had visited her brother earlier. There is the priest, Father McFadden. During the course of his subsequent investigation, Jordan learns that an inmate named Mike Hawkins is in the PM unit. He's the son of the racist, homophobic sheriff of Pine County. Paula Menge insists that her brother was set up for eventual incarceration by Sheriff Howard Hawkins, and that Justin was in fact innocent. Jordan later finds out that a prison psychologist, DeLisa Lopez, might be intimately involved with an inmate who is a suspect in the case. And then there are Potter and Pitts, the correctional officers whose laxity frequently leaves the PM unit vulnerable to problems.

Correctly guessing (rather than deducing) the identity of the murderer very early on didn't diminish my enjoyment of The Body and the Blood. Michael Lister does a good job of weaving together the various storylines and, although what attracted me to the novel in the first place was the locked-room puzzle, what ultimately proved most appealing was the credible complexity of John Jordan.

I wish I could say that for all of the other characters, but I can't. Many of the novel's suspects are not sufficiently fleshed-out. Some appear in brief scenes but don't make distinctive impressions, so when they're referred to later on, you'll either page back to see exactly who they are, or you'll shrug and keep reading. The characters who most come alive, apart from first-person narrator John Jordan, are his wife, his in-laws, his best friend Merrill Monroe, and Anna Rodden. In other words, those to whom he is closest.

Lister relies heavily on dialogue which, along with his lucid narrative style, speeds the story along nicely. But he has a habit of interrupting conversations with expository paragraphs, then returning to the conversations. I found myself often having to go back to the dialogue that preceded the exposition to recover the point of that which succeeded it. He also has a fondness for acronyms, but doesn't always explain what they stand for. I can only guess that FDLE stands for Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Although its impossible-crime aspect isn't in the league of John Dickson Carr, Paul Halter, Hake Talbot and Clayton Rawson, The Body and the Blood nevertheless merits a Golden Age Mystery-type illustration depicting the layout of G-Dorm and the relative positions of inmates' cells to where the mass was held at the time Jordan discovered murder had been committed. I found it difficult to envisage from the verbal description given.

Whether the following comment applies to the print edition I can't say, since I read the e-book—specifically, the Kindle edition—but the latter is in dire need of a good proofreader. It teems with punctuation errors and misspellings, and at least a couple of sentences are missing necessary words.

Despite its locked-room puzzle, The Body and the Blood is not a cozy whodunit/howdunit in the manner of the aforementioned Golden Age authors and others. It is very much a hardboiled detective story involving onstage violence, raw language, and some sexuality. Readers who find these elements repellent are advised to stay away. Those who can deal with them can expect a fast-moving read starring an appealingly human protagonist. My nitpicks notwithstanding, this one is recommended.

Barry Ergang's own locked-room mystery novelette, "The Play of Light and Shadow," is available at Smashwords and Amazon in e-reader editions for 99¢. Formerly the Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and First Senior Editor of Mysterical-E, winner of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award for the best flash fiction story of 2006, his written work has appeared in numerous publications, print and electronic. See Barry’s webpages. Remember, too, that he has books from his personal collection for sale at http://barryergangbooksforsale.yolasite.com/ He'll contribute 20% of the purchase price of the books to our fund, so please have a look at his lists.

CASE DISMISSED!!!!! Update on the CITIBANK/ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES Lawsuit

2012-01-30T15:47:00.000-06:00

Today was the hearing for the lawsuit brought by ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES on behalf of CITIBANK after they told me for months they were only a third party debt collector while telling the court they were retained counsel. That and other issues were going to be a part of my case today before the judge.

I arrived at 10:25 for our 11 AM hearing fully prepared with my four inches of records regarding the actions of both CITIBANK and ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES case and supporting paperwork. According to the electronic marquee outside his chambers that listed today’s court docket for Judge W. M. "Mike" Yarbrough of the Justice of the Peace we were still scheduled at 11 AM. In fact, we were the first case of the day which explained why the court room was empty and closed as I was very early.

I checked in with the court clerk and was instructed to wait in the lobby area outside the courtroom. During the next thirty minutes, I visited with a number of people including a Game Warden I have known for nearly twenty years while we all waited for someone, anyone, representing ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES or CITIBANK to show up.

11 AM came and went and their people were STILL a no show.

Judge Yarbrough and I continued to wait and wait for the people who brought the lawsuit and promised to bring at least 11 witnesses against me today to show, as promised when they had filed, how ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES and CITIBANK had suffered “great economic harm and damage” because of me. This was the trial they had insisted upon having today despite knowing the great economic harm we have suffered here due to my loss of employment from PISD (who could not find another job for me anywhere in the district doing anything), Sandi’s probably terminal cancer, etc.

Finally, at 11:20 the court got tired of waiting for opposing counsel to show and the hearing began. I stood before the judge braced against the defense table and hoped like crazy I would not fall. Noting their lack of appearance on time as scheduled, Judge Yarbrough opened the trail by asking me if I knew of any reason why anyone for ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES or CITIBANK had failed to show.

I did not.

I noted for the record that I had, in addition to the summons to them sent directly by the court back in November, provided to both parties my copy of the summons. Furthermore, while documenting circumstances and proving the appropriate proof, I had reminded them in every single letter the date and time of said hearing. The judge noted that as well as the fact I had kept the court and both sets of Plaintiffs clearly fully aware of our financial situation, Sandi’s health, etc. He further questioned me as to whether or not I had ever received ay responses to the communications I had sent, especially during the last three months. I explained that other than the filing with the court by them of the 11 expert witnesses list (all ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES paid employees) that arrived in November while Sandi was in the hospital, I had received nothing from them at all.

After several minutes of answering his questions it was clear that the Judge was annoyed and not at all with me. I pointed out again and again that I had fully documented the situation once I had been served. I reminded the court that clearly I had made all the efforts in the case in an attempt to not waste the court’s valuable time. That I had even had filed a motion two weeks ago to dismiss the case because there was nothing to adjudicate since the case had been settled as far as I was concerned back in September when I agreed to their one and only settlement offer of $900. I noted they had not responded to the court at all on the matter.

I furthermore pointed out that I had promised in my motion to dismiss that I would continue to make payments of $5.00 per month directly to CITIBANK until the sum and total of $900 was paid and would continue to honor that, with or without a court order today to do so, as I had promised under the settlement agreement. I pointed out to the court that the figure of $900 that I agreed to was what ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES had offered back in September and was approximately the amount I had owed before CITIBANK ceased to work with me in March 2010 and had returned my payments instructing me to no longer pay if I was not willing to pay the full amount each month regardless of my circumstances at that time.

I noted again that I had clearly agreed to their $900 figure back in September as the sum and total of the debt owed and had made my promised payments with no reply from them at all. I explained to the court that as far as I was concerned that meant they had agreed to said settlement and that no payments had been returned to me as of today before I left for court. I reminded the court that I had followed through on payments as promised and had provided proof to all parties on said payments.

By this point it was 11:30 and they STILL were a no show. No sign of any counsel OR any of their eleven witnesses.

The judge instructed me that he was dismissing the case due to their failure to show. When I asked, Judge Yarbrough stated they could appeal but would have to show good cause for their missing the hearing they were fully aware was scheduled today.

My sense of the hearing was that it was very clear he was very unhappy with their actions in the case to this point and was extremely unhappy with their failure to appear. Judges do not like it when you waste their time. It seemed pretty clear to me as he reviewed the extensive case file and asked if they had ever responded to the various materials I had sent them month after month for more than a year now (the answer was no each time), he was not happy at all. Couple that with their failure to show today and he was obviously not at all pleased.

With a final “good luck” to me, he said the case was dismissed and sent me on my way.

According to the online system this afternoon, Judge Yarbrough has signed the order dismissing the case. A copy of his order should soon be in the mail to all parties. Pending an attempt to appeal by them it is a done deal.

Now that Sandi and I have this weight off of our backs we can focus on her PET SCAN and lab work this Friday morning.

CASE DISMISSED!

Kevin

COURT!

2012-01-30T07:19:00.000-06:00

COURT TODAY ---11 AM

Judge W. M "Mike" Yarbrough

Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 4

Collin County Courthouse

8585 John Wesley
Frisco, TX 75034

More information about the court can be found at http://www.co.collin.tx.us/justices_peace/jp4/jp4.jsp

Obviously, I will update one and all in detail as to what happened later today regarding CITIBANK--the only creditor who refused to work with us in any way, shape, or form.

Kevin

We Need Your Help

2012-01-29T09:38:00.001-06:00

As embarrassing as it is, we truly need your help. As you can see by the donation widget over to the left we are coming up short this month. Please know that we are not asking for anything to deal with the CITIBANK/ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES lawsuit (going to court tomorrow so come see me if you are in the neighborhood), getting my car fixed, or anything beyond the bare minimum to hang in here another month.

This is just for the rent, keep the local phone service on so we have access to the internet, and pay for Sandi’s insurance so that she can continue to get her cancer treatment and meds without interruption along with a couple of other things. The insurance statements are now coming through¸ both for her hospitalization back in November, and what has been going on since then with the chemo. Baylor Regional Medical Center of Plano is STILL trying to figure out whether they can grant charity on the five thousand they and insurance have determined to be our share from her November hospitalization. Not to mention the three thousand they have determined to be our share from her strokes and hospitalization back in July.

Our primary focus, obviously, is the situation with the cancer treatment. One round of chemo is billed to insurance at approximately 18k. We are not sure what our share of that is going to be just yet. Insurance keeps stopping the processing of a bill to ask for yet more information. Or, they recalculate the bill and then two days later send another statement that replaces the first one and recalculates things a different way. Everyone involved here at the doctor is very much working with us on the issue while focusing on trying to save Sandi’s life. Her next deal is a PET SCAN on Friday morning to see what is happening in her. Considering what the chemo has done to her and continues to do, that stuff better be doing something to her cancers. The possibility it has done nothing is unacceptable and unthinkable.

Please know that we are not wasting your donations. We are only doing what we absolutely have to in order to hold things together here as long as we can. We are truly grateful for your help and it means so much to all of us.

Thank you.

Kevin

Review: "Killer in Control: A Key West Mystery" by Dorothy Francis

2012-01-28T10:18:00.001-06:00

Dorothy Francis takes readers back to Key West in Killer in Control and it’s another good very atmospheric cozy style mystery from the author. Full of guilt and heavy with memories, suspended Iowa police officer Kitt Morgan plans on spending time with her sister, Janell and her husband, Rex at their bed and breakfast inn, “The Poinsetta” located at Key West. When she isn’t lecturing one and all about her Prius and how environmentally responsible it is, Kitt’s plan is to relax as much as possible and try not to think about her role in the shooting back home in snowy Iowa. Something that is never far from her thoughts as her police officer father never once shot anyone during his long career.

Sensing something wrong on her arrival, it is not long before Janell and Rex explain to Kitt that they are in real trouble. Fortunately, despite the fact that Rex is bald, it does not mean he is dying of cancer as Kitt quickly suspects on arrival. Instead, one of their guests is dead. Abra Barrie was murdered. Not at the bed and breakfast but elsewhere. They are involved since she was a guest and there is evidence indicating someone at the inn was involved. Both Janell and Rex, as well as their small staff, are suspects in the murder case. Janell and Rex would like Kitt Morgan to quietly investigate, when she is not relaxing and seeing the sites, to clear their names and the business.

How can Kitt tell her sister and her husband no? She can’t. The problem with that, is by sticking her nose in the case when she is not seeing the sites of Key West and the immediate area, she makes herself the target of a killer. While the suspects are many because they are all eccentric in various ways there is only one killer among them. A self-proclaimed “killer in control” who will strike again in this cozy style novel before the case is solved. Despite all Kitt’s reading and experience, and a sister who seems to know much more about police investigative work than she does, it isn’t an easy case to solve when some many characters fit the profile of sociopathic behavior.

Dorothy Francis has penned yet another enjoyable stand alone novel set at Key West. Once again she recounts the sights and sounds along with the unique history of the area while assembling a cast of rather eccentric characters for her latest cozy style mystery tale. A tale of serial murder that fittingly eventually ends on the beach. Killer in Control is another solidly good story from this talented author.

Killer in Control: A Key West Mystery

Dorothy Francis

http://www.dorothyfrancis.com

Five Star

http://www.gale.cengage.com/fivestar/

ISBN# 978-1-43282-502-7

July 2011

Hardback

274 Pages

$25.95

Material in the form of an ARC was provided quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my objective review.

FFB Review: "The Maya Stone Murders" by M. K. Shuman

2012-01-27T07:48:00.000-06:00

It is the late eighties as this novel set in New Orleans opens. Private Investigator Micah Dunn, home from Vietnam for quite some time and still suffering flashbacks and war injuries, is used to people staring at his left arm. He doesn't have much use of it and usually tucks his left hand into his pants pocket for support and control. Something that Dr. Gregory Thorpe notices immediately and asks if his handicap is a detriment in his line of work.

After Dunn explains that most PI work is documents related and waiting, lots of waiting, Dr. Thorpe finally begins to outline his problem and one that the police can't help him with at all. Somebody is messing with Dr. Thorpe's exhibition of artifacts brought back from the Mayan city of Ek Balam located on the Yucatán peninsula. Somebody keeps adding items one at a time to the various displays. When a display is supposed to contain three items and suddenly contains four, visitors and staff notice. Dr. Gregory isn't a popular man and he has several suspects in mind.

Somebody is going to considerable effort to plant the realistic fakes in an effort to discredit Dr. Thorpe and Micah Dunn figures a couple of days max and the case will be wrapped up. That is what he thinks, before a death of one of Dr. Thorpe's suspects happens literally outside Micah Dunn's home in front of him in the middle of the night and Dr. Thorpe is subsequently arrested for the murder. What begins simply enough in the Crescent City will finally end at the ancient Mayan city making everyone wonder about the curse.

Written by M. K. Shuman who also wrote as M. S. Karl (Killer's Ink among others) this is the first novel of the Micah Dunn Series. Published in 1989 the novel doesn't follow the current conventions of mysteries that mandate a body to fall in the first chapter, a breakneck opening, etc. Instead, this is a novel that opens slowly and deliberately with background on the characters to give them depth before slowly picking up the story pace. Setting and character developments are the main keys here with action scenes few and far apart with most saved for the last thirty or so pages of the novel.

Slower moving that his Peter Brady Series written as M. S. Karl, this book also has a darker tone to it than that series. Not just because of the frequent Vietnam flashbacks which serve to build character back story in several very different areas, but Dunn's perceptions of the world are much darker. While Peter Brady packs it in and runs to rural Louisiana to own and operate a small town paper and lick his wounds, he believes ultimately that most people are good at heart and want to get along. Dunn is much more cynical about the world and looks it as a hard place where everyone is hiding some dark secret or action. Dunn is often right but is that because the world is such as he sees it or a self fulfilling prophecy?

While not engrossing, this book overall is a solidly good read that delivers on well thought out characters, a complex mystery and themes of history and morality. Not easily available, it is a novel well worth hunting for as it will keep you turning the pages.

The Maya Stone Murders
M. K. Shuman
St. Martin's Press
http://us.macmillan.com/SMP.aspx
1989
ISBN# 0-312-02608-8
Hardback
246 Pages

(My sincere thanks to the staff of the Central Library of the Houston, Texas Public Library system who provided a copy of this book via the interlibrary loan program. If it was not for the staff of the local Plano, Texas library system as well as staff of libraries across the country, many of the reviews you have seen of mine in various places the past decade simply would not have ever appeared. I also would not have had the many hours of reading pleasure made possible by librarians.)

The rest of the books selected for Friday’s Forgotten books can be found at:
http://pattinase.blogspot.com/

Seems Appropriate

2012-01-26T09:58:00.000-06:00

A Sandi Update--One Week After Chemo Round Three

2012-01-25T11:50:00.002-06:00

A week ago today Sandi finished her third round of chemo. This one has hit her much harder and for far longer than the first two rounds. I’m sure some of what she is feeling is stress and clearly there is a lot of stress around here. I still have to be in court Monday as I wrote about yesterday, Karl is still home on unpaid suspension from Kroger #581 here in Plano while we and various government agencies await their decision, my car is still dead in the lot, and we are very, very far short paying the rent--- let alone anything else.

But, I think the biggest culprit is the chemo. A good friend of ours at one of the local libraries warned me that the third round of chemo would brutalize Sandi. The friend had something similar and hadn’t been as sick as Sandi had been in the weeks leading up to the start of chemo. The theory was that the body recovers a bit after the first round and then not nearly so much after the second round. By the third round, the body has nothing left in reserve to recover or bounce back. She equated it to jumping off a cliff without a parachute.

That seems to be the case here as since last Thursday afternoon Sandi has been in bed with the flu like symptoms caused by the chemo. Shakes, chills, and severe fatigue have been the biggest issues though nausea has reared its ugly head several times. So far today as we approach noon she is a little better. Hopefully the worst is over.

This picture was taken last Wednesday at Chemo as Sandi wore her new hat thanks to an online friend. The hat is actually a light green, but due to the overhead lighting, it appears white in the picture.

Update on the ALLEN ADKINS AND ASSOCIATES/CITIBANK LAWSUIT

2012-01-24T10:59:00.000-06:00

On January 12, 2011, unbeknownst to me, ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES needlessly filed suit here in Collin County against me on behalf of CITBANK. CITIBANK had been the ONLY creditor that refused to work with me in any way, shape or form while my health worsened, I lost my job with the school district (you can’t work with violent not verbal autistic children if you can’t walk, chase them, and also just flat out fall on your own at random times among other issues) and applied for state assistance while I waited for my Social Security Disability case to proceed.

I had no idea that the lawsuit had been filed until a process server showed up on the Saturday, January 15, 2011 and after taking one look at me, shook his head, and told me how sorry he was as he handed me the paperwork. Their lawsuit resulted in my first blog column here about the case on back on January 16, 2011 where I explained I had been served on behalf of ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES representing CITIBANK in a lawsuit for $1701.71 plus court costs, etc. I noted at that time that I had (and still have) severe medical issues, no job, no income, had applied for food stamps, etc. I noted that we had no money and had tried to work out a payment deal with CITIBANK. They had absolutely refused all efforts and ignored the documentation I had provided before turning it over to a collection agency based in Lubbock, Texas d/b/a as ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES.

I’m sure the folks at ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES expected me to do like most folks do and just ignore the deal so they could get their quicky judgment and move on. That wasn’t going to happen. On Thursday, January 20, 2011 I blogged about how I had filed my twenty page plus answer to the court and all parties and detailed the true facts of the case using my extensive and detailed records. I also pointed out to all parties that CITIBANK and their collection agency, ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES, were the ONLY creditors that had refused to work with us.

I was notified by the Court in early April the trial was now scheduled before Judge W. M "Mike" Yarbrough’s Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 4 located in Frisco, Texas on Monday, May 16,2011 at 9:30. Once I was notified that we were going to trial on the issues, I had to comply with the voluminous information requests generated by ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES that were designed only to bury me and not generate any new information as they already had the items requested as did CITIBANK. I was not happy about it but did so extensively with copies of everything to everyone including the Court.

Since that time where I supplied about seventy pages of material they already had as the Spring of 2011 progressed, I also provided updated copies of our approval for food stamps and my status regarding my appeal of Social Security disability. In my extensive correspondence, I noted the fact that the caseworkers in both cases had remarked that the fact we were approved for food stamps should have made it clear to all involved that we had nothing of value. I further noted again and again that I owned no home, no land, etc. and that what very little I had was exempt under Texas law. I again and again requested that ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES stop wasting the court’s time, withdraw their lawsuit, and work with me.

Having received nothing from anyone besides the court in months, I was prepared to go to court in May and further document the facts of the case and my situation at trial. Sandi was now home on unpaid medical leave for her knee injury. It seemed inevitable that ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES as well as CITIBANK were ignoring the reality of my situation. Then suddenly, just days before trial, I received a copy of a continuance request dated May 6, 2011 that ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES had filed with the court. “In the interests of justice” they wanted 120 days to negotiate a settlement of their claim and needed time to contact me. I had to read it twice to understand they now wanted four more months to discuss things with me. Considering they had filed their unnecessary lawsuit four months ago almost to the day, it made me laugh that they had waited till now to want four more months so they could talk to me about settling.

Thankfully, the continuance was granted and we were then scheduled for trial on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 10 am. I was absolutely thrilled their request for time has been granted. I hoped they would finally work with me as they knew in detail then as well as now what the situation was here.

Weeks passed into months with no contact from them. Sandi’s knee surgery was delayed over and over again due to our lack of money as well as huge errors by her insurance company. Then, Sandi had her strokes and cardiac deal at the end of July and was hospitalized for a week. We were still on food stamps, still waiting on the appeal of my social security disability case and still surviving only because of charity. I kept ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES and the Court fully apprised of everything by written letters detailing the facts and copies of food stamp award letters, medical paperwork including doctor notes, billing statements, etc. and other paperwork.

Early September 2011 found me making my own motion to the court for a continuance. I did it because four months plus later, I still had yet to hear from ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES regarding a settlement of their unnecessary lawsuit. Remember, they had filed for a continuance back in May asking for time to contact me. Having heard nothing from them, I filed my motion for continence citing their reasoning. Thankfully it was granted by the court. No date for trial was scheduled at that point.

Then finally, I got their first and only settlement offer. DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES offered to settle the case for a total amount of $900. I agreed immediately as that was about the amount I owed when CITIBANK instructed me by phone and in writing to not make any payment unless I could make the full monthly payment owed.

So the case was settled for a total of $900. We were making progress I thought.

DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES also wanted after his extensive review of my case for me to sign paperwork guaranteeing monthly payments of $85.00 to ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES. I could go ahead and start sending payments and then at some unspecified point at the future after I had made some unspecified number of payments he would file a motion to withdraw the case. Considering how they had misrepresented the case to the court in their initial filing, how they had misrepresented their involvement to me in writing and other issues, as well as what I had read online from others that had received this kind of paperwork from this debt collection company, I wasn’t at all inclined to sign anything from them. Beyond their record with me and others, considering the fact that we were still on food stamps and charity, Sandi had suffered permanent brain damage thanks to her strokes which meant ever going back to work was very questionable and she still needed knee surgery if we could get the insurance straightened out, and my own worsening health among other issues, $85.00 a month simply wasn’t remotely realistic or even possible.

I explained reality again---that a real review of my case would show that we were on food stamps and charity with various medical situations, that we had no land, homes, or property to sue for and no resources. I pointed out yet again how hard it is to get food stamps in Texas and that if we had anything at all, we would not have been recently approved yet again for assistance. I informed DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES that the absolute best I could do was the same payment that had been refused and sent back to me by CITIBANK---$5.00 PER MONTH. I would immediately begin payments and all I needed from him, besides filing paperwork with the court to withdraw their still unnecessary lawsuit, was the mailing address at CITIBANK to send my direct payments on our settled case.

No reply at all. Of course, like everything else I have done in the case, I once again supplied copies of their letter and my response and supporting documentation to Judge W. M "Mike" Yarbrough’s Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 4 located in Frisco, Texas. I wasn’t concerned and figured that if it took nine months for their first and only offer to be made, it would take them a couple of weeks anyway for a letter to be sent with the address to make payments.

Nothing from them as the weeks passed. Knowing the case was settled, we had more pressing issues. Sandi had her knee surgery back on October 1, 2011 and it was successful. She started rehab for the knee and the deficits from the brain damage she had suffered from the strokes at the end of July got somewhat better. The neurologist and cardiologist had her stabilized and things seemed to be getting better on all fronts.

November arrived and still nothing from DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES or anyone there. Sandi’s knee was healing nicely and there was some talk from various doctors that just maybe she was going to be able to go back to work on a very limited basis by sometime in early December. I now had legal representation for my appeal of my social security disability case as BINDER & BINDER had agreed to represent me. I also had been informed that in Texas it can take 12 to 18 months before one has his or her hearing before the Administrative Law Judge.

Then, Sandi’s breathing problem started around November 14 and our world shattered.

It was while she was in the hospital being diagnosed with her two forms of Hodgkin’s Lymphomas and being told that both were very advanced and aggressive and her prognosis was not good at all, that I was informed that the Court---because ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES had once again done nothing--scheduled the trial for MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2012 AT 11 AM.

Obviously, when the doctors tell you horrible news, the last thing you are worried about is going to court in a couple of months. I spent hours upon hours at the hospital watching as they put her through surgical procedure after surgical procedure to determine the status of her cancers, to help her breathe by draining liters of fluid from her lungs and belly, and numerous other tests. Mail piled up on the kitchen table and it was only in December, just after she got home and had started chemo therapy to try and save her life, that I realized there was finally a letter here from ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES. Instead of withdrawing their case, somebody else at the collection agency had filed with the Court a list of designated EXPERT witnesses---all eleven listed being employees of the business including DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES.

Despite the fact we had settled the case back in September, the intimidation by paperwork had continued on their part. How they would testify regarding the paperwork they sent me and what they told the Court would be interesting at some level, not only to me but to the public at large as I noted in my response, but there was no need to continue to waste the Court’s time on their unnecessary lawsuit. I had agreed to their settlement offer months ago and documented the fact that I had begun my monthly payments by money order directly to CITIBANK using the last payment address I had for them.

As I have done the entire time, I provided copies of everything I asserted to both ALLEN ADKINS & ASSOCIATES and the Court. Therefore all parties received copies of the payments, Sandi’s diagnosis/prognosis at the hospital, the first billing of over 65 thousand dollars from the hospital, the schedule for chemo therapy, etc. I again requested DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES to withdraw the lawsuit since we had a settled case and I had clearly begun payments.

Still nothing from him or anyone there. No response at all.

On Thursday, January 12, 2012, I filed my MOTION TO DISMISS the lawsuit with the Court and sent copies to DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES. As of this morning, the Court has not ruled on my motion nor has there been any response from anyone at ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES. That same day, we completed our phone interview for re-certification for food stamps and did our phone interview for Medicaid.

On Friday, January 20, 2012, we were notified by Texas Department of Health and Human Services that we were once again certified for food stamps. We also were notified by them that, due to her cancers which they had verified as well as our financial situation, both Sandi and I now qualified for Medicaid. Something I have long needed as I have had no insurance for more than a year now. But, I never wanted it because of her like this.

I sent copies of the award letters to DEBT COLLECTOR MICHAEL A. MOSS of ALLEN L. ADKINS & ASSOCIATES as well as to the Court keeping all involved fully updated. Nothing has changed. We still have nothing and unless we get some help very quickly, we will be homeless next week.

Despite all of my efforts I am still scheduled to have to be before Judge W. M "Mike" Yarbrough’s Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 4 located in Frisco, Texas on Monday, January 30, 2012 at 11 AM. So, assuming Sandi’s old car will start (mine is still dead in the parking lot) next Monday morning, I will go up to Frisco with my extensive documentation and my cane and limp into court to appear.

If you would like to join me and witness the hearing, the court is located at

Collin County Courthouse map
8585 John Wesley
Frisco, TX 75034

More information about the court can be found at http://www.co.collin.tx.us/justices_peace/jp4/jp4.jsp

Kevin

Review: "Assault With A Deadly Glue Gun: An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery" by Lois Winston

2012-01-23T10:36:00.001-06:00

Anastasia Pollack is not having a good time lately. Her husband Karl recently died in Vegas. The fact that he died on a roulette table at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas was pretty bad. The fact that he was a closet gambler, cleaned out every account they had without her knowing about it, and made a deal that has resulted in a 50K debt to a loan shark is worse.

Ricardo, the loan shark, wants his money. Anastasia has no way to pay him as she has no money. She also, for all intents and purposes, has no help other than what little her young sons do around the house. It is a real tossup which is worse--the loan shark or the mother-in-law. Her dead husband’s mother, Lucille Pollack, wants to keep living rent free and doing nothing to help while criticizing Anastasia right and left. She also wants to pontificate on the merits of the “American Communist Party” while doting on her annoying dog Mephisto.

Work is her escape from the reality of home and it isn’t much fun these days. There have been lots of changes since Trimedia took over. Despite all the negatives with the new ownership and the long commute to work, Anastasia does like her job as Crafts Editor for the “American Woman” magazine. Some of her coworkers she could do without. Especially Fashion Editor, Marlys Vandenberg, who got her job the old fashioned way according to the scuttlebutt around the office. A prima donna hated by nearly one and all, it isn’t long before she is found dead in a very fitting way. There should be a long list of suspects starting with anyone Vandenberg ever had contact with inside and outside the office. Instead, because her glue gun was used in the killing as well as the fact that the despicable Vandenberg was murdered at Anastasia’s desk, Anastasia is the main suspect.

With Stephanie Plum as her inspiration, Anastasia starts investigating to clear her name. Chaos builds as Ricardo puts the pressure on to get his money, Anastasia’s mother with her cat named “Catherine the Great” moves in, the cops move closer to arresting Anastasia, and numerous other incidents occur. Adding to the mix of noise in the house is a certain parrot that quotes Shakespeare every so often.

The result is an often funny cozy style read that overall provides a good mystery. Written in the style of a Janet Evanovich mystery, there are frequent references to Stephanie Plum and her situations. Not only does Author Lois Winston make direct references to the Stephanie Plum series, one can’t help but notice amidst the sassy tone, the fact that several characters seem very reminiscent of that series.

A nice touch is the occasional section with craft instructions. Short and quick they provide an interesting angle to the character and the overall mystery. At the same time, they are not so prevalent to slow down the read or serve as a distraction.

Assault With A Deadly Glue Gun: An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery is a good book that does not take itself too seriously. Author Lois Winston has provided an interesting and well done angle on the crafting niche in the cozy mystery.

Death By Killer Mop Doll is the second book in this series and was released earlier this month.

Assault With A Deadly Glue Gun: An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery

Lois Winston

http://www.loiswinston.com

Thorndike Press (a part of Gale, Cengage Learning)

http://thorndike.gale.com/

2011

ISBN# 978-1-4104-3461-6

Hardback--LARGE PRINT (also available as paperback and e-book)

376 Pages

$30.99

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

Reviewed: "Chicks With Guns" by Lindsey McCrum

2012-01-22T11:10:00.001-06:00

Women posing with guns are not something new. There are plenty of sites on the Internet that depict this as well as several TV shows that specialize on this topic. But usually it is a case of women wearing bikinis or less, firing automatic weapons at some target, while literally everything moves in slow motion. If that is what you are looking for, this well done book is not for you. This is a classy quality coffee table style book well worthy of your attention.

From a cover to that brings to mind a bye gone era to numerous pictures throughout the book, this is a book that pays homage to both firearms and the woman who own them. According to the introduction written by attorney Stephen L. Meagher, there is “unsettling” quality to the beautiful images in the book. Instead of “unsettling” the images portray to this reviewer determined women who tolerate no nonsense or interference and have the firepower to easily make their point.

The book contains 78 color and black and white portraits of female gun owners from across the country. Among the many variations are portraits with women posed in Old West style period costumes with antiques, others are in hunting garb, and still others are in law enforcement. Every picture makes it clear that these usually unsmiling women are clearly ready and able defend themselves against whatever man or beast walks the mean streets or crosses their land. These are not blonde blue eyed bunnies in swimsuits flaunting themselves for the camera. These women are serious and depict the plain fact that approximately twenty million women from every race, creed, and walk in life and all ages own guns and know how to use them.

The actual portraits start on pages 12-13 and lead off with “Cynthia” in hunters garb in a cornfield. From Stamford, CT she is pictured with her “Beretta 20-gauge over-and-under” with an accompanying several paragraph text regarding how she field hunts. That same format of the gun owner and her perspective on firearms is carried throughout the book.

A frequent point made over and over by the women is the role that guns have played in the family going back generations. “Jenevieve” of San Antonio, Texas is photographed in her wedding dress holding an “antique single-shot percussion dueling pistol. It was her wedding present from her father who got it from his father. The picture on page 24 pays homage to her husband as well as her father and the role both play in her life today.

The guns range the spectrum from antiques as mentioned above to very modern day weapons such as the “PWA-AR15” held by "Samantha" of Livingston, MT (page 29) and just about everything in between. By no means is this the only automatic weapon in the book, but there is clear preference for pistols and shotguns of various types.

"Sarita" of Armstrong, Texas, in a powerful image on page 33 that would make John Wayne proud, has a “Parker 20-guage side by side” that is the gun her father gave her a teen. One of several Texas women that favor shotguns, it is clear from her picture it would be best to stay off her land. Texas women play a large role in these pictorials and fittingly the book closes with “Windi” of Houston, Texas on page 166 holding a Beretta Silver Pigeon 20-guage over- and- under.” In the accompanying text, she states she knew she “…married the right guy when I got a custom-made monogrammed, pink alligator shell bag for my anniversary.” (Page 167)

That idea of femininity is key to this book. Contrary to the idea of “unsettling” expressed eloquently by attorney Stephen L. Meagher in the introduction, these portraits depict confident women ready for anything and refusing to tolerate nonsense or interference from anyone. These pictures pay homage to the Old West as well as modern times while honoring each and every single woman or young lady in the book. A visual treat that not only entertains the reader with the skill involved to take these powerful portraits, Chicks With Guns by Lindsay McCrum also provides a history lesson about firearms and their role in families and this country.

This is a splendidly done book and well worthy of your consideration. This review simply does not do the book justice.

Chicks With Guns

Lindsey McCrum

http://www.chickswithgunsbook.com/

The Vendome Press

http://www.vendomepress.com/

October 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-86565-275-0

Hardback--Coffee Table Sized

168 Pages

$45.00

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

A Sunday Funny

2012-01-22T08:16:00.000-06:00

If you are as sick of the politicians from both parties as I am there is one candidate we can all support.......

Getting A Break For A Day

2012-01-21T18:25:00.000-06:00

Today was my writer's group meeting and I went thanks very much to two special friends who came by and took me to the meeting. Thanks to them and a couple of neighbors who came by and checked on Sandi while I was gone, I was able to go today. It was a nice, even though very temporary, break from reality.

I desperately needed the break--more than I even realized. The end of the month is coming way too fast and things don't look good at all money wise or in any other way.

Exhausted and hurting I will work on playing catchup with e-mail and things tomorrow.

Kevin

Senior News Column--January

2012-01-21T07:52:00.000-06:00

For some time now I have been writing a monthly book review column for the Senior News newspaper. The Senior News is aimed to the over 50 crowd with news relevant to seniors regarding various issues, humor pieces, and my review column among other things. The newspaper is a giveaway at doctor offices, stores, etc. and can be received by via a paid subscription.

My column every month focuses on books of interest to the Texas audience. Therefore books selected for the column, fiction or non-fiction, are written by Texas residents, feature Texans in some way, or would have some other connection to the Texas based readership. At least two books are covered each month in the short space I am given.

Below is/was my January column with the addition here of the relevant book covers……

Texas Standoff: A Novel Of The Texas Rangers

Elmer Kelton

Tom Doherty Associates, LLC (Forge)

http://www.tor-forge.com

ISBN# 978-0765364777

Paperback

288 Pages

$6.99

Recently released in paperback form, this book is the ninth and final installment of the Texas Ranger series. Newly married Texas Ranger Andy Pickard is thinking that it is about time to leave the Rangers and settle down. The bean counters are getting worse down in Austin, his wife Bethel is urging him to quit and making it hard for him to leave when he has to, and this latest mission, chasing a lowly chicken thief, is not worthy of his talents. If that is not bad enough, the sergeant is sending Logan Daggett with him. Pickard knows Daggett by reputation only and that reputation is not a good one.

Not only do the two Texas Rangers find their chicken thief, they also find a lot more trouble with some of it their own making. A blood feud between the patriarchs of the McIntosh and Teal families, the desire by some to start fencing the range land and the ominous presence of the “regulators” are just some of the issues that Pickard and Daggett, who rarely see eye to eye, must confront in this very good 288 page novel.

EUROSTORM

Payne Harrison

Variance Publishing

http://www.variancepublishing.com

ISBN#978-1-935142-14-0

Hardback

326 Pages (book includes six page ad preview of The Emperor’s Tomb by Steve Berry

$25.95

Also now available in e-book form for the Kindle, Texas author Payne Harrison (author of the bestseller Storming Intrepid and others) is back with a weak thriller featuring a clichéd plot in EUROSTORM. At its heart, the book is about a lethal substance being sent by the British government to France on the Eurostar train. Unfortunately, the train is captured by terrorists and it is up to an elite group of French commandos to take back the train and its contents.

Fortunately the commandoes, as are all those on the side of right defending the planet, are amazingly strong, sexy and can perform at a super human level doing amazing feats of strength—or die. The same is true of the evil doers. The reason why all of this is happening is simply amazing and a plot device that should have been buried long ago.

As compared to the numerous books the author has done before, EUROSTORM is a serious disappointment. On its own, the novel is average at best and a disappointment in terms of overwriting, sense of pace, clichéd characters, clichéd plot and other issues. That is a crying shame as the novel could have been so much better.

Texas Standoff came via the library and EUROSTORM was supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

FFB REVIEW: DRUM BEAT—DOMINIQUE (1965) by Stephen Marlowe ---Reviewed by Barry Ergang

2012-01-20T07:19:00.001-06:00

DRUM BEAT—DOMINIQUE (1965) by Stephen Marlowe

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

Although his primary office is in Washington, D.C., private detective Chester Drum has opened another one in Geneva, Switzerland because so many of his cases take him to Europe. When Drum Beat—Dominique opens, he's come to Paris at the request of his old friend and former colleague in the F.B.I., Jack Morley. Morley, whom Drum remembered as always immaculately dressed and who, after leaving the Bureau, once had a high-level position with the State Department, is now an unkempt drunk. He presently works for the Army, specifically the Graves Registration division of the Office of the Adjutant General.

"You see," he explains, "the Army never shut its books on men missing in action during World War Two, even though it's been almost twenty years since old Adolf blew his brains out. Well, most of the MIA's have been accounted for to the satisfaction of the Department of the Army and the next-of-kins, and the whole mess of field investigators has been reduced to a team of three custodial ghouls who poke around Europe tracking down dead men and, as I said, I'm one of the ghouls."

He has summoned Drum to Paris to ask for help he can't afford to pay for. Senator Clay Bundy thinks Morley is blackmailing him. When Drum asks about what, Morley refuses to say, but it becomes clear that he has discovered something about Bundy that makes the man vulnerable to blackmail and, unless he's lying and guilty as charged, that someone else knows what Morley knows and is using his name to bleed the senator. From Morley's companion Jill Williams, Drum learns that a mysterious caller warned Morley he'll be killed if he doesn't cease trying to extort money from the senator. In spite of Morley's irritating unwillingness to provide relevant information, Drum agrees to talk to Bundy on his behalf—but as his friend, not as his employee.

The arrogant and imperious senator has been in Paris for a couple of weeks to attend a conference, and Drum finagles a meeting with him. Though Bundy is skeptical of Drum's assertion that Morley isn't a blackmailer, he knows from a fellow senator that Drum has a stellar reputation in Washington and agrees to hire him to find and stop whoever the blackmailer is. He won't reveal why he's being blackmailed, but he tells Drum he's already made two payments of ten thousand dollars each to a man named Père Massicot, who owns a stall in the Paris Flea Market.

Drum has barely begun his investigation when a key figure is murdered and he first encounters the lovely Dominique Guilbert, for whom he falls hard and who also accuses Morley of being a blackmailer; and tangles with her hotheaded, antagonistic brother, Gaston. Still another murder occurs, and Drum's pursuit of answers takes him to the village of Col de Larche in the French Alps. The only hotel in the village is owned by Dominique's parents, Nicole and Raoul, both of whose faces are marked with small white scars from the plastic surgery necessary to repair damage sustained from wounds incurred during World War II (Raoul fought with the Maquis, the French Resistance). Madame Guilbert also wears long white gloves to cover her arms.

As his investigation progresses, Drum must contend with a "beezniz girl" named Gina; an American named Amos Kidder, who claims to be the vacationing owner of a hardware store in Massachusetts; Rosales, who runs an illicit gambling operation that extends credit to clients and who resorts to extreme methods of collection when and if he must; and Dr. Charles Auber, whose relationship to Nicole Guilbert might be more than professional.

To find the answers and the identity of the murderer he seeks in a case that quickly becomes personal, Drum must uncover the truth about a twenty-year-old wartime event in Col de Larche.

I haven't read any of Stephen Marlowe's many novels and stories outside of the Chester Drum series, so I can't speak to those or the work he published under his birth name of Milton Lesser before he changed it legally to Stephen Marlowe, or to the novels published under the several pseudonyms he used. I can, however, assert that the Drum novels consistently deliver smartly-crafted, vividly-written stories with an excellent sense of place. When I started Drum Beat—Dominique, I was unsure of whether I'd read it previously. If I had, it would have been when it was first published or a few years after, which means I'd have been eighteen or in my early twenties. It wasn't until I reached a climactic scene that I was certain that this time around was a rereading. I'd call it a testament to Marlowe's skill that I remember that scene four decades or so later.

Need a laugh?

2012-01-19T08:29:00.000-06:00

The last couple of days have been really hard. I don't want to say more in public until we know for sure, but things could easily go either way regarding Sandi and her chemo deal. The PET Scan has to be done so we know and we have to wait for two more weeks before that happens.

Not to mention the fact we have nothing in the bank to pay rent or anything else, that despite the fact the case with Allen Adkins & Associates/Citibank was settled last fall and yet the trial is still set for January 30th at 11 am, Karl is still home on unpaid and undeserved suspension from Kroger 581 here in Plano, and numerous other things that I won't mention now, finding any humor in anything is in short supply right now.

But, I saw this this morning and had to laugh....

Sandi Today

2012-01-18T13:54:00.000-06:00

Sandi had her injection this morning to finish off round three of chemo. She came home and went to sleep while Karl and I went and did the shopping. She is awake now and I will feed her and then most likely she will go back to bed. She is sneezing every few minutes and shaking continuously from chills. The nurses at the cancer place believe this is all chemo induced and should subside a bit by the weekend.

UPDATE---CHEMO--ROUND THREE

2012-01-17T16:58:00.000-06:00

Finally back home---The first part of round three went okay and she will do the followup injection tomorrow.

The blood work indicates several issues that may or may not be a major problem. So, there has been a change as far as her daily meds are concerned as she won't be taking a couple of drugs and is back on one she used to take.

Additionally, the PET SCAN that was planned for June is now in a little over two weeks to see where she is at after three rounds of chemo and where we go from here.

Kevin

Chemo--Round Three

2012-01-17T07:10:00.000-06:00

Assuming her blood work and the doctor approve, later this morning Sandi will start her third round of chemo. It is pretty much an all day event under the best case scenario as it takes a long time while also taking a pretty good toll on her. If things go really bad, as they did with the first round, it can easily stretch across three days.

She is still very optimistic she is going to beat this thing. Sandi asked to remind everyone how much we appreciate the prayers, best wishes, and expressions of support. It truly does mean so much to us.

When we are back home some time later today, I will update all.

Kevin

Predators & Editors Poll---THE RESULTS ARE IN!!

2012-01-16T17:44:00.000-06:00

The top five finishers in this year’s Preditors & Editors Poll under the "Review Site" category are:

Night Owl Reviews http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Index.aspx

Bitten By Books--The Paranormal Review Site With Bite! http://www.bittenbybooks.com/

Vampire Romance Books http://www.vampireromancebooks.com/

Bitten by Paranormal Romance http://www.bittenbyparanormalromance.com/?zx=4b58d63d2d75dae5

And then, in at number five after those goliaths comes the little guy:

Kevin’s Corner

I am thrilled with the top five finish! Especially considering how the past year has gone and the powerful sites below Kevin’s Corner and above in the category. Lots of major sites in terms of resources and capability as well as sheer volume of reviews generated each month. Thanks to those who have submitted content such as Barry Ergang, Earl Staggs, Dave Zeltserman and Carolyn Clemmons, Kevin’s Corner competed very well. Clearly, based on the comments we are doing something right.

And, more than anyone, I thank you, our readers, who have supported the blog and voted for us in the Predators & Editors Poll. Thank you! It is an incredible honor for all involved and I am very grateful. Thank you on behalf of all of us who contribute to the blog. It means so much!

Kevin

Reviewed: "Under Investigation" by Jeffrey Marks

2012-01-16T11:32:00.000-06:00

Author Jeffrey Marks has put together an interesting and very enjoyable collection of previously published stories featuring Ulysses S. Grant. Each story occurs during the Civil War and before the time of the first US Grant Mystery Novel, The Ambush of My Name. The stories portray Grant as a detective bringing his skills to bear on cases where the Civil War is a backdrop.

The book opens with “Under Reconstruction.” Ulysses S. Grant likes to start his day with as belt of whiskey. His wife, Julia, as well as many others expect him to be President in about three years. In the meantime he has to put up with nonsense like the planned meeting this morning with Stanton who is Secretary of War.

Too bad there is a dead man in Stanton’s office. In Grant’s opinion, it is a real shame that the dead man is not Stanton. Not only does Grant need to find the Secretary of War, he needs to find out who killed the dead man as quickly as possible to deal with the politics involved.

“Under Siege” follows and moves the action from the White House to the war. Grant has a new regiment from Ohio and they are not ready for battle. Not only are they not remotely ready, but in Grant’s considered opinion, the new troops don’t even know which end of the gun to point at the enemy. Contrary to Grant’s opinion, apparently at least one did.

Because the shot Grant just heard over the flapping of the tents was the shot that killed Private Walters. According to Captain Turner, a man Grant respects even if he is soft on the recruits, it is a suicide. Turner wants Grant to see for himself. The problem with that is that once Grant takes a look he realizes this death was no suicide.

It’s late in 1863 and the various desserts cooling in the kitchen in “Under Cooked” are creating an intoxicating smell. What isn’t so pleasant is the sight of the dead woman bleeding into her own dough. Vicksburg is behind him and the manor home on Lookout Mountain in East Tennessee was supposed to have been a tranquil headquarters for Grant. Now Jenny Rowe is dead and the assumption by everyone else is that she was killed by a stray round fired during drills. If you aren’t hungry for desert when you start reading this story you will be by the end as there is a recipe from 1862 for “Green Apple Pies.”

Shifting the perspective considerably is the story “Under Hoof.” Written from the prospective of a horse, Cincinnati that General Ulysses S. Grant rode during the war, it tells the tale of a death. Since the humans all look so much alike to the horses involved it is hard for Cincinnati and the other horses to know which specific humans were involved. That fact and the fact Cincinnati is going to have to somehow explain the real truth to the General are just two of the complexities in the story.

General Ulysses S. Grant was supposed to be out on one of the Federal boats, dry and comfortable. Instead as “Under Water” opens, Grant is standing over a corpse that lies in the muck next to the bank somewhere along the Mississippi River. Somebody has caved in the man’s skull and most likely it was a shovel. Shovels are everywhere as Grant plans to divert the Mississippi to leave Vicksburg dry and vulnerable to attack. Who the man was, what his purpose was, and who killed him are just a few of the questions Grant needs answered as fast as possible.

Ulysses S. Grant has had men in his command, men he trusted, commit murder and other acts dishonoring themselves and their units. So, the fact that Private Jones says he didn’t do it in “Under Suspicion” does not mean that much to Grant. Plans for the campaign after Vicksburg are missing with the fate of the war hanging in the balance. Private Jones was the last person known to be in the room with the documents. If he didn’t take them, then who did?

Major General Abner Doubleday needs Grant’s help in “Under Hand.” Doubleday has a reputation that is not at all positive. What happened at Gettysburg and Doubleday’s role in it no longer matters but it does to Doubleday. He claims to now have proof for what he has said all along. He wants Grant to meet a witness who is now finally coming forward more than a year later after the events in question. Grant knows that the whole deal is suspect but has no idea how messed up things will become before the deal is finished.

War takes a toll on all. Some die. Some live. Of those that live a significant number will be forever broken. That reality is true today just as it is true in “Under Sedation.” Grant is going to visit those broken men in the hospital in Washington. It is his duty and his responsibility. The fact that somebody killed a patient while Grant was at the hospital won’t be tolerated. Before long, Grant is investigating to make sure the guilty party is caught.

Cyrus Williams disappeared just after the Army of Tennessee took Jackson, Mississippi. Captain Lee, no relation at all to the southern general, has a picture from one of those new-fangled camera things showing what might be Williams as a ghostly apparition in the picture. While some believe Williams deserted, Captain Lee believes the ghostly figure in the picture is Williams pointing out his killer. Then the body of Williams turns out proving he wasn’t a deserter in “Under Developed.”

These ten stories are full of rich history and scene details that all invoke a bye gone era. In story after story, General Grant finds the truth with or without the help of man or beast. War is easier than investigation and yet Ulysses S. Grant manages to be incredibly successful at both while excellently entertaining the reader with his brand of truth, honor and justice.

Under Investigation: US Grant Short Mysteries

Jeffrey Marks

http://www.jeffreymarks.com/

2011

E-Book

$0.99

Material supplied quite some time ago by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Review: "GAME FACE" by Mark Troy

2012-01-15T10:11:00.000-06:00

Texas author Mark Troy brings together in this collection titled GAME FACE eight short stories featuring his signature character Val Lyon. A tough talking wise cracking private investigator that brooks no interference when there is a case to be solved. This former military brat calls Hawaii home. Along with plenty of the sights, sounds, and history of the islands, readers get strong well written stories featuring complex cases and the always present search for justice.

After a forward that explains some of the history behind the character, the book opens with “Teed Off.” Glenn Floeck owns a line of golf shops under the name “Teed Off.” He plans to expand his company to the islands. That means he and his bodyguard, Frodo Baggins, need a car and a driver. Val Lyon can provide both along with plenty of attitude and investigative skills. By working undercover and getting close to him she can get the answers she needs. The answers will come one way or another in this very good story.

Val Lyon is an athlete so there is a sports angle to every story in some way. In “Home Wreckers” star Julie Storm is dead and Coach Sherri Costello, head coach of the Tropical Storm, wants her help. The players of the women’s Professional Basketball League are not supposed to be dead. But, Julie Storm is very dead and the team, as well as Val Lyon, is in huge trouble.

Next up is “Kill Leader” when Val Lyon has to protect Paula Evangelista from a killer. Paula is something else when she is playing beach volleyball and seemingly scoring at will. She scores off the beach too with a clothing line, a generous sponsor, and work as a model. For somebody, all that is too much and he or she wants her dead.

Val Lyon is at Memorial Arena on the campus of U. C. Santa Christa and back on the court she once played far too many games to count in “The Big Dance With Death.” Head coach of the female basketball team, Carol Onofrido, needs her help and Val is more than ready to help. Even if it means the legendary Val Lyon has to go undercover as an assistant coach to stop what appears at first to be stalking while the team works to stay in the tournament.

“Wahine O Ka Hoe” opens with a tragedy in the sea surrounding the island of Oahu. Something went wrong aboard the canoe and now fellow teammate Nani is dead. The medical examiner thinks it was an accident caused by a rogue wave. Was it? Did someone take advantage of the chaos at sea to kill one of the “Women of The Paddle” or was it an accident?

Readers go from the sea to the air in “Drop Dead Zone.” A constant need in Val Lyon’s life is her need for adrenaline. Because of that, she is onboard a Cessna airplane preparing to make a parachute jump as this story opens. All the hard work of learning how to skydive is about to pay off as she and three others leave the safety of the airplane and begin their fall to earth. Not everyone lands via parachute. Was it an accident or was it murder?

Somebody is swiping the sperm from award winning bulls and owner Doyle Gillispie wants it stopped in “Horns.” He doesn’t know who is the stealing his championship bull sperm, but he knows it is happening and makes it very clear he wants Val Lyon to stop it. The last thing Val wants is this case or this client. But, you do what you have to do when you need to make the car payment. The championship bulls Gillispie owns and his possible suspect will be at the upcoming rodeo in Maui and so too will be private investigator Val Lyon.

The bites on the surf board Alana Nichols was using indicate a serious shark attack in “Ripper.” There is blood on the remnants of the surf board, most likely blood from Alana Nichols, but there is no body. Terry, Alana’s mother, is convinced she is alive and not a victim of a shark attack. She has questions, such as what happened to Alana’s computer, and wants Val’s help in finding her daughter.

After eight very good stories, the book closes with Chapter One of the novel Pilikia Is My Business. Pilikia means “trouble” in Hawaiian and public defender Brian Magruder has quite the job for her. I have reviewed the novel before and it is a good one without question.

Val Lyon is an interesting character and one can see how she changes through the years in these previously published stories. Now available as single short stories, GAME FACE not only brings them together it also includes the cover art work from each single. A nice touch that works well in the collection. Filled with plenty of action, interesting cases, and difficult situations this book is a solidly good read. The book also serves to what the reader appetite for the novel Pilikia Is My Business.”

One hopes there will be many more Val Lyon stories as well as a novel or two in the future.

GAME FACE

Mark Troy

http://hawaiian-eye.blogspot.com/

Ilium Books

http://www.marktroy.net

2011

ISBN 978-0-9848081-1-3

E-Book

Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Flat Out Funny

2012-01-14T19:29:00.000-06:00

Sandi's Craft Site

2012-01-13T20:53:00.000-06:00

Sandi has her third round of chemo next week so this weekend is a good time to buy from her store at http://www.ioffer.com/users/sanditipple if you are so inclined. Not only has she marked down things again to try to get some money for chemo but right now would be a good time for us to pack and ship before chemo puts her in bed next week.

Kevin

FFB Review: "Dance On His Grave" by Sylvia Dickey Smith

2012-01-13T08:27:00.000-06:00

It seemed only fitting after reviewing the short story “Growing Up Dead” by Sylvia Dickey Smith that, for Friday’s Forgotten Books, I bring back my 2007 review of Dance On His Grave. It is a disturbing and yet very good novel that creates a solid foundation for the very enjoyable series written by a very talented Texas author.

After the sudden death of her brother Warren due to a traffic accident, Sidra Smart comes to the small southeast Texas town of Orange to permanently close his private investigator business. Recently divorced after thirty years of a mind numbing marriage, Sidra knows absolutely nothing about private investigations or running her brothers business with the intriguing moniker of "The Third Eye: Intuitive Investigations." While she isn't sure what she is going to do with her life she knows that she isn't going to take over and run Warren's business and she isn't going back to her old life as a preacher's wife.

Somewhere during the course of that thirty year marriage that started when she was so very young, she lost her identity. It is something she wants back and just isn't sure how to get it back. She isn't alone with that problem as the visibly agitated blonde woman makes clear by showing up while Sidra is paying bills and clearing mail in Warren's old storefront office. The woman's name is Jewell Stone and Warren had just barely opened a file for her. With Warren dead, Jewell expects Sidra to take over and help her. Jewell is haunted by nightmares of a naked woman who she thinks might have been killed by her father, Roy Manly back when Jewell was a child. If the memories that come out of Jewel and her emotional pain aren't disturbing enough, while Jewell cries and talks, Sidra sees a small blue flame appear in the air over Jewell's head for a few seconds. Despite all the reasons not to get involved, Sidra eventually begins to investigate a sinister world of child abuse and possible murder far different than her experiences of bake sales and back stabbing church politics as a preacher's wife.

This is an intense read with frequent and very graphic recounts of horrible child abuse and molestation. Such scenes are intense and very disturbing and will no doubt upset a number of readers. Author Sylvia Dickey Smith details the horrific abuse over and over again to various parties throughout the entire novel while occasionally adding a little new information at the various tellings. After awhile, the graphic abuse and molestations become a bit much and could distract readers from a compelling story.

This is a shame because the main story is quite strong and would move the story along very well if allowed to do so instead of being stopped by the detailed abuse materials. The novel revolves around a thirty year old murder case and accompanying arson in the small town of Orange as well as Sidra's efforts to find herself. During the course of investigating the case, we learn quite a lot about Sidra, her relationship with her former Pastor and husband as well as the congregation, a fellow private investigator George Leger, Sidra's rather eccentric Aunt Annie, and numerous other characters along with a strong slice of life in that shadowy land full of mystique and mystery where Texas and Louisiana meet.

Evil walks in many forms in this intense novel. Full of suspense, interesting characters and a heroine trying to find herself once again, the novel delivers on all levels while disturbing repeatedly with the constant scenes of abuse and molestation. Few readers will find this a relaxing read but all will certainly find it suspenseful, intense, and not easily put down.

DANCE ON HIS GRAVE

Sylvia Dickey Smith

http://www.sylviadickeysmith.com/

L&L Dreamspell

http://lldreamspell.com/

ISBN# 978-1603180061

May 20074

Paperback (also available via Kindle)

252 pages

Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Short Story Review: "Growing Up Dead" by Sylvia Dickey Smith

2012-01-12T08:02:00.000-06:00

Featuring “Warren Chadwick” this short story occurs before the opening novel of the Sidra Smart series titled Dance On His Grave. Warren is still running “The Third Eye, Intuitive Investigations” so fittingly the story begins at a fog shrouded cemetery. Warren Chadwick is in the mood to hurt someone and justifiably so. However, he has a possible client lurking in the shadows and fog and that takes priority over his personal problems.

A client that knows about a murder that happened a long time ago here in Orange, Texas. Ethel is the client’s name. She claims no one knows about the murder. A murder that she wants solved and justice delivered.

This short story is an intriguing fast moving tale with plenty of twists and turns. Mixing just the right of inner contemplation with physical action, author Sylvia Dickey Smith shows yet again why the author is so talented.

My thanks to Earl Staggs who “loaned” the book to me through Kindle for PC Program. Earl also helpfully sent along his review and that of Randy Rawls regarding “Growing Up Dead” by Sylvia Dickey Smith. Both reviews previously appeared on Amazon.

Growing Up Dead

By Sylvia Dickey Smith

Warren Chadwick is a middle-aged, hot blooded male and a Private Investigator. He's not sure which of those attributes makes him follow a mysterious young woman into a foggy cemetery. When he catches up with her, things only get more confusing. She tells him there's an old murder to be solved and gives him a clue, but then poor Warren passes out. When he wakes up, his PI instincts take over and he's drawn into a situation so bizarre even he finds it hard to believe. Sylvia Dickey Smith has crafted a tale that includes a little humor, a lot of intrigue, and an ending that will have you wondering about life and death and what may be in between.

Author of the Short Stories of Earl Staggs and the novel Memory Of A Murder.

http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com/

GROWING UP DEAD

By Sylvia Dickey Smith

Death. I always thought it was kind of a dead end street (ooh, bad pun), but, obviously, Sylvia Dickey Smith does not agree with me. In her mystery short story, GROWING UP DEAD, she takes us into the life of Warren Chadwick, a private investigator in Orange, Texas. We can assume the life of a PI in Orange isn't too challenging, especially when he has had a mite too much to drink. However, Warren wakes up with a hangover and the strangest remembrance one can imagine. When he attempts to check it out, nothing fits. That is, nothing fits until . . . Well, I can't go there. You'll have to read Ms. Smith's GROWING UP DEAD to get the answer. I did, and I'm recommending it. And yeah, there's a bit of DEATH in it.

Author of Thorns on Roses and the Private Investigator Ace Edwards Series beginning with Jake’s Burn.

http://www.randyrawls.com/

As you can see, I'm not the only one who likes this short story. Read the series from award winning Sylvia Dickey Smith as well. Good stuff.

Another Very Cool Thing!

2012-01-11T09:51:00.000-06:00

Getting mentioned once again in THE RAP SHEET yesterday. Very pleased as always.

Kevin

So Very Cool!--Courtesy of the Type Bookstore in Toronto (883 Queen Street West, (416) 366-8973).

2012-01-10T15:31:00.007-06:00

Best Reads--2011

2012-01-10T08:15:00.000-06:00

In no particular order, below is the list I put together for one of the reader groups I am involved with online. Clearly, it reflects my primary interest in crime/mystery fiction. In no particular order:

“The End of Everything” by Megan Abbot

“Deadly Currents: A RM Outdoors Adventures Mystery” by Beth Groundwater

“Dead Even: A River City Crime Anthology” by Frank Zafiro

“And Every Man Has To Die” by Frank Zafiro

“Inhuman Condition: Tales of Mystery & Suspense” by Kate Thornton

“Nights of the Red Moon” by Milton T. Burton

“A Patchwork of Stories: 9 Tales from Sunny Side Up to Over Hard” by Kaye George

“Double Prey: The Posadas County Mysteries” by Steven F. Havill

“Breaking Silence” by Linda Castillo

“The Wild Hog Murders: A Dan Rhodes Mystery” by Bill Crider

“The Last Call: A Bill Travis Mystery” by George Wier

“The Perfect Defective: a novella” by Clark Casey

Lots of good reading there that came via my library and direct from authors.

Hope you try one or more and agree that these are good books.

Kevin