Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter...:   Reviewed by Christy Most people of a certain age have probably heard of (and read) Go Ask Alice – an anonymous (but allegedly real!)...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Dumplin’ vs Dumplin’

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Dumplin’ vs Dumplin’: Reviewed by Christy             In the past when I’ve watched a movie then read the book, I’ve usually ended up liking both. ...

Market Call: Teen Suspense/Horror Anthology Seeks Submissions

MacKenzie Publishing is accepting fiction submissions for its first anthology, a horror/suspense anthology for teens, tentatively titled OUT OF THE CAVE. Please ensure stories are suitable for that age group. Stories should have a teen protagonist.

Submission deadline: April 30, 2016 (or when anthology is full)

Payment: $10 Canadian per story, paid via Paypal upon publication

Word count: 2,000 to 5,000 words

Publication date (print and e-books): on or before September 1, 2016

MacKenzie Publishing does not accept material which has been published previously, either online or in print. By submitting to MacKenzie Publishing, you are assuring that you hold the rights to the work and are granting MacKenzie Publishing the rights to edit and publish the submitted work. MacKenzie Publishing requires exclusive rights for 12 months from date of publication.

To Submit:
Paste info and document in the body of an email (no attachments) in this order:
-Title of story, your name, email, word count
-Story
-Bio (up to 150 words)

Email stories to MacKenzie Publishing at: MacKenzieSubsATgmailDOTcom.

Put the title of your submission in the subject line.

For more information: https://mackenziepublishing.wordpress.com/call-for-submissions-teen-horror-anthology/

2015 DFW Teen Writers’ Workshop

2015 DFW Teen Writers’ Workshop

Via DFW Writers Workshop-- North Texas Teen Book Festival

North Texas Teen Book Festival

FFB Review: "The Feedstore Chronicles" by Travis Erwin

This week I thought I would do something a little different for Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott here. I thought some humor was in order. So, this week I offer up my review from a couple of years ago of The Feedstore Chronicles by Travis Erwin. I thought the book was funny, at times, and if you check it out I hope you find it funny too.

Building on his experience working at a feedstore as a teen, Texas author Terry Ervin fictionalized those years and all involved to come up with this often funny coming of age tale. Except for references to the author and two former pro wrestlers, The Feedstore Chronicles is fiction. Despite the fact it is fiction, the book on occasion will strike a strong resonance with you if you are of a certain age and grew up in Texas. 

It is the spring of 1989 and the young narrator, Travis, is all of sixteen. Travis has a crush on the nubile Samantha Black who is a certain cheerleader at Caprock High School.  Doyle Suggs, thirty, twice divorced, runs Pearl’s Feed and Seed in Amarillo, Texas. Travis believes that if he had some cash from working he might have a chance with her. So, he gets a minimum wage job at the feedstore and soon learns there are very nasty jobs at the store. Not all of the nasty ones involve Doyle’s dog “Snuggles.”

While working after school making money did not do anything to get him any closer to Samantha it did let him see the world through the eyes of his boss Doyle Suggs. Doyle believes that every woman on the planet is his to bed. He is active and makes every effort to get laid on a daily basis with as many women as possible. When necessary, he is more than willing to work out a trade of some of the store product on credit for some intimate time with the ladies. Doyle also likes practical jokes, to harass his small stuff of Travis and Jerry, and to be the boss and play favorites. As the months turn into years and Travis works closer and closer to High School graduation he learns the good, the bad, and the downright ugly and smelly from Doyle.

There is no great summing up of this book that is possible. No great mysteries are solved, no meaning of life is pronounced, and no great revelations are explained. Something that was made clear from word one of the introduction. The Feedstore Chronicles is a fun read and an ode to a time when, as pimply faced Texas teens, we knew it all. For Travis it also meant he met and married the woman of his dreams. For me it means I still can’t walk into Burger King without shuddering just a little.

Occasionally graphic in terms of language and physical descriptions, this is a book of interconnected stories. Stories that have been fictionalized massively to protect those involved. Stories much like what you would tell while sitting around with your buddies and drinking beer. A fun read that does not take itself seriously nor has any deep meaning or symbolism.

Read it for fun and enjoy.

The Feedstore Chronicles

Travis Erwin

http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/

TAG Publishing, LLC

http://www.TAGpublishers.com

2011

ISBN 978-1-934606-31-5

Paperback (also available on Kindle)

206 Pages

$14.95

Material in the form of a PDF supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012, 2014

Review: "The Necklace" by Shirley McCann

When you are fourteen and your parents want to move, you don’t have much choice in the matter. Tracy Denton is that fourteen year old and she is not happy at all about moving with the family to Stonesthrow, Missouri. This move was the idea of her parents, Jack and Ellen Denton, who have big plans for the old house and small farm. For Tracy, none of her friends are around, the new house is an old dirty one that needs lots of work, and there is nothing fun to do or kids her age as she can see nobody around. The only thing nearby seems to be an old barn.

She soon learns that old barn is a great vantage point to see what is going on all around the area. It is there where 14 year old Tracy will meet the slightly older Harley Peebles. Thanks to Harley, Tracy will meet the Haney Twins as well as be involved in a mystery that goes back decades.

The Necklace by Shirley McCann is billed as a middle grade mystery. While the main characters are teens, this mystery is not at all written for the teen audience and does not remotely read like a teen book. Instead, it is written for adult readers with adult sensibilities. One small example of this is this early passage in Chapter One where Tracy deals with her reaction to being spooked by bull frogs in the nearby pond.

“Not nearly as much as they scared me,” I remarked softly. Embarrassed, I looked away, pretending to conduct a mental survey of the area, before summoning the courage to face him again. I turned back, hoping the color in my cheeks had returned to its normal shade. (Kindle Locations 85-87). 

Then there is this example early in Chapter Two:

 “By the time I returned from the loft yesterday afternoon, my parents had already assembled and made the beds. They had also deposited numerous boxes into each room of the house. At their request, I helped line the kitchen cabinets with decorative shelf paper. Then I rummaged through the boxes marked “kitchen”, distributing plates, cups, and saucers into the designated areas. (Kindle Locations 170-173). 

Paperback from iUniverse

While readers are told that this is a 14 year old girl, the actions and thoughts of Tracy Denton throughout the book suggest something entirely different. Instead of a teen girl, the impression of the character is one of a middle aged conservative woman. She does not see the world as a teen would nor does she ever respond to anything as a teen would. The same is true for the other teen characters throughout the book. All of the characters in the book, teen and adult, display the same adult thought process and mature action far beyond their years. Instead of being the middle grade book it is marketed as The Necklace is very much an adult cozy style novel primarily populated with teens.

Which is not to say it isn’t a good book.  If you ignore the obvious discrepancy between what the book actually is and how it is portrayed marketing wise, the read itself is a good one. Tracy and her friends probe a mystery that goes back quite a few years while doing their best to remain undetected. Author Shirley McCann has created interesting characters in an interesting situation that keeps the reader turning the pages. While not a book that will appeal to its intended audience The Necklace is very much an enjoyable read.

The Necklace

Shirley McCann

http://shirleymccann.blogspot.com/

Self-Published

May 2011

ASIN: B0050UQGGM

E-Book (also available as a paperback)

108 Pages

$0.99

Material was picked up during the author’s recent free book promotion for my use in an objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013

Review: "The Feedstore Chronicles" by Travis Ervin

Building on his experience working at a feedstore as a teen, Texas author Terry Ervin fictionalized those years and all involved to come up with this often funny coming of age tale. Except for references to the author and two former pro wrestlers, The Feedstore Chronicles is fiction. Despite the fact it is fiction, the book on occasion will strike a strong resonance with you if you are of a certain age and grew up in Texas. 

It is the spring of 1989 and the young narrator, Travis, is all of sixteen. Travis has a crush on the nubile Samantha Black who is a certain cheerleader at Caprock High School.  Doyle Suggs, thirty, twice divorced, runs Pearl’s Feed and Seed in Amarillo, Texas. Travis believes that if he had some cash from working he might have a chance with her. So, he gets a minimum wage job at the feedstore and soon learns there are very nasty jobs at the store. Not all of the nasty ones involve Doyle’s dog “Snuggles.”

While working after school making money did not do anything to get him any closer to Samantha it did let him see the world through the eyes of his boss Doyle Suggs. Doyle believes that every woman on the planet is his to bed. He is active and makes every effort to get laid on a daily basis with as many women as possible. When necessary, he is more than willing to work out a trade of some of the store product on credit for some intimate time with the ladies. Doyle also likes practical jokes, to harass his small stuff of Travis and Jerry, and to be the boss and play favorites. As the months turn into years and Travis works closer and closer to High School graduation he learns the good, the bad, and the downright ugly and smelly from Doyle.

There is no great summing up of this book that is possible. No great mysteries are solved, no meaning of life is pronounced, and no great revelations are explained. Something that was made clear from word one of the introduction. The Feedstore Chronicles is a fun read and an ode to a time when, as pimply faced Texas teens, we knew it all. For Travis it also meant he met and married the woman of his dreams. For me it means I still can’t walk into Burger King without shuddering just a little.

Occasionally graphic in terms of language and physical descriptions, this is a book of interconnected stories. Stories that have been fictionalized massively to protect those involved. Stories much like what you would tell while sitting around with your buddies and drinking beer. A fun read that does not take itself seriously nor has any deep meaning or symbolism.

Read it for fun and enjoy.

The Feedstore Chronicles

Travis Erwin

http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/

TAG Publishing, LLC

http://www.TAGpublishers.com

2011

ISBN 978-1-934606-31-5

Paperback (also available on Kindle)

206 Pages

$14.95

Material in the form of a PDF supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012

Reviewing:"Baby Grape & The River Folk" by Thom Rogers

Tony, Gina, Jayne and Robin are on the river heading to Pittsburg as this second book begins and picks up right after the first book, Baby Grape and Huskey.  Toby is looking forward to getting back to Pittsburg and seeing his mom and sisters. It’s been long enough that he figures everything has been forgotten, the charges against him have been dropped, and that he can go back to his old life. He is sure Gina and the Indian girls, Jayne and Robin, will be welcomed in by his mom and sisters and that things are going to settle down.

After a near death experience in the river at night during a storm, the group finally makes it to Pittsburg. The city has been forever changed and as a result his family has moved on to Toby’s aunt. On top of that, old enemies are back. Being chased by the police and others makes it clear that nothing has gone away. Toby is forced to take Gina and the others and make a run for it again. As Toby matures, his relationship with Gina, Jayne, and the others changes significantly. Those relationships are under constant strain because life in the 1840s can be harsh and unforgiving and their enemies show no sign of going away.

Baby Grape & The River Folk is the second novel in this very good series. It builds on the first and details the further development of Toby as he grows into manhood. Somewhat more graphic occasionally regarding his sexual relationships with young women, this Toby gains confidence as the novel progresses and is capable of making astute business decisions. Progress in the form of civilization is coming to the river and Toby is responsible for a good portion of that.

While the wonder at the world around him may be gone for Toby, so too is the naiveté in this second novel of the series. What remains is another fine tale full of interesting characters, hardship and riches, and plenty of action that also manages to make a time period come alive for readers. In short, this second novel is almost as good as the first and does a good job of keeping the adventure going and readers entertained.

It should be noted that the book is “not recommended for under 13 years old” per statement on back cover.  Depending on your particular thirteen year old, this may or may not, be an issue.

Baby Grape & The River Folk: The Second Toby Adventure Novel

Thom Rogers

http://www.babygrapebooks.com

2009

New Horizons Publishing Company

ISBN# 978-1-884687-90-7

Paperback

228 Pages (Includes 15 page preview of third book, Baby Grape’s Southern Exposure)

$12.95

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

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011

Review: "Tom Smith And His Electric Skyship" by Steve Fahnestalk

Billed by the author Steve Fahnestalk as a story of “parallel universe electric steampunk” this young adult novel is a fun read reminiscent of the tales spun by Jules Verne. Conceived and written during the 3-day novel completion over the Labor Day weekend in 2010, Tom Swift And His Electric Skyship is just plain fun for nearly anyone.

In this alternative reality, the gasoline combustion engine never took off. Instead, the skies are ruled by skyships powered primarily by illuminum gas as they fly on air currents over land and sea. Electricity is a new concept and in the hands of only a few which includes Tom Swift. Tom Swift, a famous inventor of many splendid things, is locked in a nearly continuous battle with the evil genius Baron Von Auslander who has hatched various nefarious schemes in order to accomplish his ultimate goal of world domination.

Told through the viewpoint of young Jack, the fifteen year old son of a blacksmith in Iowa, who is, as the book begins, onboard the skyship Frisco Gal chasing a skyship believed to be under the control of the evil Baron. Forced down by fire from the opposing skyship, the Frisco Gal is forced to make an emergency landing allowing the evil Baron to get away at least temporarily. According to the strip of paper printed out from the new radio machine, the evil Baron is bragging that he will kidnap President Roosevelt and there is nothing that Tom Swift or his good friend Jack can do to stop him. Of course, the duo is going to do everything in their power to stop him and the chase is on by air, land and sea across the USA, to England and eventually Russia. Along the way, Tom Swift will put his own genius to work improving the Frisco Gal as well as doing a few other things to make sure the good guys succeed despite the vast array of forces against them.

85 pages in length this is a fast and very enjoyable read that conveys a story of pure adventure in grand style. Reminiscent of the works of Jules Verne from the delightful cover to the events itself, Tom Swift And His Electric Skyship pay homage to those grand tales of our youth regarding exploration, adventure, the wonders of science and the power of discovery. While an occasional edit would have removed unnecessary repeated phrasing, the overall story of action, adventure and deceit in a time that could just have been as easily our shared past is a good one.

One hopes that the assistant managing editor of Tangent Online, Steve Fahnestalk, can find a couple of three day weekends in his future to pen more tales. Currently, while the book will come to Amazon in the future, this book is only available through the publisher listed below.

Tom Smith And His Electric Skyship

Steve Fahnestalk
http://stevefah.wordpress.com

New Venture Publishing

9D

7255 Blake Street

Vancouver, BC V5S 3V6

Canada

2010

ISBN #978-0-9787710-0-2

Paperback

$10 plus $3.50 s/h.

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

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011