Interesting Reading Elsewhere----Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Giant Pink Slugs WBAGNFARB

 Makes me think of Pandemonium by Warren Fahy.....
Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Giant Pink Slugs WBAGNFARB: TreeHugger : High on the dew-dampened peak of Mount Kaputar, in New South Wales, Australia, there exists a world distinct unto itself, an al...

May 2013 Reads and Reviews

With Sandi still in Jacksonville, Florida undergoing her stem cell transplant to fight the non hodgkins lymphoma and me back in Texas with the boys, I have been reading a little more lately trying to keep my mind off of things. In addition to interviews, news, market calls, and other things on the blog, this is the complete list of the “May 2013 Reads and Reviews.” All reviews are mine unless otherwise noted.

Ring Of Truth by Elena Santangelo

The Disrespectful Interviewer: Thirteen Interviews with Authors by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Shotgun Saturday Night: A Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mystery by Bill Crider

Red Mountain: A Detective DiPino Thriller by David Thayer

Swan’s Landing: A Web Sawyer Mystery by Douglas Quinn

Dying Voices: The Carl Burns Mystery Series by Bill Crider

The Coyote Tracker: A Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger Novel by Larry D. Sweazy

BRASS KNUCKLES: The Oliver Quade, Human Encyclopedia Stories by Frank Gruber (FFB Review by Barry Ergang)

Scratchgravel Road: A Mystery by Tricia Fields

They Love Not Poison by Sara Woods (FFB Review by Patrick Ohl)

Robert B. Parker’s Wonderland: A Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins

Silken Prey: A Novel byJohn Sandford

Pandemonium by Warren Fahy

Daiquiri Dock Murder: A Key West Mystery by Dorothy Francis (FFB Review)

My thanks to both Barry Ergang and Patrick Ohl for allowing me to run their reviews on my blog.

Kevin

Birthday--Plus 19

Sandi continues to do the same as her fourth evening in the extended stay facility winds down. She had another doctor appointment today with her cancer doctors who remain pleased with her progress. Her various blood counts continue to trend upward which is a good sign.

A not so good sign is the fact that her cumidin numbers remain very low. It had been my understanding they had given her a shot of this the other day and it was a one time occurrence. I was wrong. In addition to some sort of injection she has been giving herself twice a day of blood thinner, apparently she has been taking cumidin several times a day as well. Because her numbers are so low they have upped the dosage as well as the frequency of the dosage. Until she gets to somewhere between 2 and 3 as they measure it, they will not ultrasound her neck again and check the status of the blood clot.

I really wish they would as Sandi tells me her neck remains swollen, painful and stiff in the area. Her voice becomes very raspy if we talk for any length of time at all. That is caused by the blood clot pressing through the artery and up against her vocal cords. Then there is the fact that her energy level seems to be markedly down the last couple of days and she is very cranky. Of course, she is now expected to do far more for herself than she was while in the hospital and that no doubt is taking a toll on her. It may also be the constant toll of being poked and prodded as well as trying to placate a husband who isn't there and is now very worried because of the blood clot.

I do not know what is going on with her. All I know is that she sounds very weak and sick again and nothing like she has in recent weeks that gave me so much hope that maybe she was going to beat this damn thing. I am hoping that nothing bad is happening to her and the damn blood clot dissolves quickly.

All this just has to work.....

Pretty Much

and it figures that they plan in the next few days to tear up the porch again.....

 

FFB Review: "Daiquiri Dock Murder: A Key West Mystery" by Dorothy Francis

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. Normally I would not select a book that was so recently published in print for FFB. But, when Dorothy Francis announced Wednesday that her book, Daiquiri Dock Murder: A Key West Mystery was now available as an e-book from Untreed Reads, (go here for Untreed Reads price, synopsis, and excerpt) I decided to make it the subject of my FFB review today.….

If it is spring it must be time to go back to Key West via author Dorothy Francis. This year she takes readers there via her latest cozy style mystery titled Daiquiri Dock Murder: A Key West Mystery. Featuring a cast of offbeat characters, plenty of local culture and a mystery that has more than a few twists the read is a comfortably good one. It also fits well into line with the style and tone of other books generated by this author.

Rafa Blue, who has issues with her mother and sister, is at the Daiquiri Dock Marina as this novel opens. It is a dark and stormy night thanks to a tropical storm that has strengthened to a minimal hurricane and is currently pounding through the Keys. Rafa Blue needs to check the family boat, a cabin cruiser named “The Bail Bond” and make sure it is safely secured in its slip. While the boat is fine, somebody is in the stormy sea next to the boat and in trouble.

Rafa flees back to her car and uses her cellphone to call for help. After calling 911 for help for her friend and dock master Diego Casterano, Rafa Blue returns to the scene and eventually goes into the storm tossed waters for him. Unfortunately, there is no help possible for Diego and the effort puts Rafa into the hospital for a brief time.

Rafa is interesting and has her fingers in many pies. She dreams of writing novel length fiction, currently writes a column for the local newspaper about interesting local people, lives in a hotel and helps out at the Frangipani Room. Not to mention a painful personal history with her family, a boyfriend that wants marriage, and a few other odds and ends. Getting considered a suspect in the murder of her friend Diego means that she has to investigate---something the local police chief surprisingly seems to encourage.

The latest mystery from author Dorothy Francis is another solidly good one featuring strong primary and secondary characters. Several secondary characters in this novel closely resemble characters from other books. Once again, several of the suspects are Rafa’s friends and they all work at an open air restaurant deal that opens around sundown, food is served, and music is played. That background setting is clearly one the author feels comfortable with as it is used again in this novel. There is another “Mama G.” who once again is territorial about music and makes a special kind of food for the patrons. Once again the heroine is conflicted about the intentions of her boyfriend and her feelings, drives a Prius, and has extensively read about psychopaths and sociopaths. 

The primary mystery is different and strong in all cozy style aspects. An interesting and complicated case, the classic assemblage of characters to be questioned by the police, and other aspects are all done well.  The constant misdirection as various people in Rafa’s life are considered in the role of the suspected murderer before they either eliminate themselves or are killed removing them from the suspect list also works well. The end result in Daiquiri Dock Murder: A Key West Mystery is another steady and good novel by Dorothy Francis.

Daiquiri Dock Murder: A Key West Mystery

Dorothy Francis

http://www.dorothyfrancis.com

Five Star (Part of Gale, Cengage Learning)

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

April 2012

ISBN# 978-1-4328-2574-4

Hardback

292 Pages

$25.95

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

Kevin R. Tipple ©2012, 2013

I was amused

feel free to groan if you must....

Go Buy A Book---- Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Robert J. Randisi Westerns on Sale at Amazon

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: Robert J. Randisi Westerns on Sale at Amazon: Bob Randisi's publisher is having a big sale on Bob's westerns.  If you're looking for some good reading, you might want to chec...

Sandi on Facebook

While amazingly quick to needlessly block my wife, Sandi Tipple, from Facebook today they now will take up to 24 hours to restore her access. Considering what she has been through recently all you can do is laugh at the Facebook stupidity. Health wise she is still doing okay and will see the cancer docs tomorrow for more blood work. I am hoping they will also check the blood clot and see how it is doing, but, I don't know that they will actually do that.

Poetry Market Call: Crab Orchard Review

Got this yesterday and was glad to see that for once in a call, Dallas was included. That does not happen very often so I am passing the call on....

Crab Orchard Review — Submittable Only Reading
https://craborchardreview.submittable.com/submit

13 Cities — 80 Hours

CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW is looking for poems specifically focusing on Omaha, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Denver, Salt Lake City, Boise, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Dallas, San Antonio, and El Paso for our "Prairies, Plains, Mountains, Deserts" issue. Only poetry will be considered for these submissions.

There is no submission fee. Please send only one poem per submission via Submittable and each poet is limited to three submissions. The submissions will open today, May 29, 2013, at 4:00 PM (CDT) and will close at 11:59 PM (CDT) on Saturday, June 1, 2013. All of the work submitted will be read and rejected or accepted within 80 hours of the close of submissions. Please submit your file in .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, .odt, or .wpf. Single space. 12-point font, Times New Roman or Times preferred. Remember, only poetry will be considered for these submissions.

Payment for accepted work is twenty-five dollars per published magazine page (fifty US dollars minimum for poetry). Accepted authors will also receive two copies of the "Prairies, Plains, Mountains, Deserts" issue and a year's subscription to CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW. Payment will be made upon publication.

Review: "Pandemonium" by Warrren Fahy

It's been a few months since the events depicted in Fragment and the survivors who escaped from Henders Island as well as the human race in general are struggling to adjust. It hasn’t been easy for anyone. The “Hendros” are quarantined in Area 51 for their protection while the world argues as to their status. What it now means to be human is just one of the many issues facing mankind on the wake of the discovery of this separated evolutionary tangent. Henders Island no longer exists, but for Biologist Hell Binswanger the nightmares of what happened there have not gone away as she is troubled by post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Her new husband and fellow Biologist Geoffrey Binswanger is doing his best to help her adjust back to the real world and put the trauma behind her. Their plans for a honeymoon away from the constant Secret Service protection and the prying eyes of the media go astray when they meet a wealthy Russian by the name of Maxim Dragolovich. A legendary Russian Oligarch, he wants their help and will pay 2 million dollars-- each -- for their expertise for several weeks work. He wants them to take a look at some possibly previously undiscovered species somewhere in Kaziristan. When the money proves not to be enough of an enticement, he shows them a sample jar containing a living specimen unlike anything they have ever seen before.

Nell and Geoffrey agree and before long they are far from home and outside contact as they are deep underground in a vast subterranean city in the former Soviet Republic. They are certainly not alone as the promised creatures are there along with fellow scientists that were involved with Henders Island. So too are the creatures from Henders Island as some managed to escape and have been deliberately brought alive to this underground city first constructed during Stalin's time. As the aging city systems begin to collapse and outside forces move against them, the battle begins again to save the planet from a future where mankind is overrun and eliminated as the weakest link in the food chain.

While the first book was weakened by stereotypes and two laughable plot twists at the end such is not the case here. A fitting sequel that is stronger than the original, Fragment is a good book could be read as a stand-alone though it would be better to have read the first book. Certain relationships between various characters continue to evolve here as do some of the dynamics first seen in the previous book. Things are set into motion there that are ultimately resolved here in a book that gets wilder and wilder as it chews and kills its way to the end.

This is primarily a science fiction thriller and as such character development remains very limited. Most of the characters returning from the last book are not developed further- with a couple notable exceptions that can't be mentioned without ruining the read. The primary character development in this novel is with Maxim and his precocious daughter, Sasha, who becomes a major character by the end of this read. Building on Fragment author Warren Fahy takes readers deep underground into a biological hell in Pandemonium. The result is an intense thriller that works on every level and proves the accuracy of the blurb on the front of the book from the Wall Street Journal- “’Think Jurassic Park but scarier.’”

Indeed.

Pandemonium

Warren Fahy

http://www.warrenfahy.com

Tor (Tom Doherty Associates)

http://www.tor-forge.com

2013

ISBN# 978-0-7653-3329-2

$24.99

320 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System. If you are in the area and would like more information about Plano libraries go here.

My review of the previous novel, Fragment can be found here.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013

Birthday--Plus 17

This on and off stormy evening here in North Texas finds us dodging the worst of the weather--so far. Hopefully that will continue as things are hard enough in so many ways without weather damage compounding things. I'd whine about a few things, but I am pretty much sick of myself at this point and you folks don't need to hear it.

Sandi continues to do well and is spending her second night in the extended stay facility. Earlier today she had a doctor appointment where they pulled blood and checked her vitals. Unfortunately, they did not further evaluate the blood clot in the right side of her neck. They seem confident, according to Sandi, that it should dissolve in a matter of days and will not catastrophically break free and do damage. I hope they are right about that as I remain very worried.

They did run more blood work today and the numbers continue to trend upwards. This includes her white blood cell count which is rapidly approaching pre stem cell transplant levels. Normally, this does not happen like this at all. The folks involved remain exceptionally pleased at how well she is doing. Because she is doing so well they are giving her tomorrow off from medical stuff for teh first time since the week before she was admitted into the hospital there. Her next appointment is on Friday.

I've asked her not to party too hard tonight and tomorrow.....

Sandi Update

It took far longer than planned today, but Sandi is moved from the hospital over to "The Atria" for the next phase of things. This is where she will be for the next two to three weeks while they monitor her and make sure things are staying on track.

Things are on track, but there has been a definite wobble of the train. Apparently yesterday afternoon she started having a little soreness in the right side of her neck. The area was also slightly puffy. While she didn't tell me because she knew I would worry, she brought it to the attention of the nurses. By this morning it was clear it was a little worse in both regards. Before they pulled the three line deal out of her, they did a quick ultrasound of her neck

Sandi has a small blood clot in the main artery that runs up the right side of the neck between the heart and the brain. After they explained this happens to about 90 percent of patients who go through what she has gone through the last several weeks, they then told her that her particular clot is very small as compared to what they normally see. They believe it will soon dissolve. They gave her some cumidin today and sent her over to the extended stay facility with a box of shots that she is to administer to herself twice a day into her stomach.

Blood clots are bad news and while I am rather freaked out about this, she is taking the attitude that it is no bog deal and will go away quickly. Hopefully, it will. Her first appointment back at the hospital is tomorrow and she has a schedule for the next week where on most days she will go over for a doctor visit and/or blood work as they monitor things.

Review: "Silken Prey: A Novel" by John Sandford

Politics is seen by many as a life and death situation. In the latest in the Lucas Davenport series from author John Sandford, Silken Prey: A Novel, it is literally true as a political operative by the name of Tubbs is dead. Tubbs occasionally was a fixer, sometimes a bagman, and sometimes he did dirty tricks projects. Now he is missing and presumed dead by Lucas Davenport.

Not that Lucas knows about Tubbs initially when gets the call from Governor Henderson. Nine days out from the election and the Republican candidate for Senator has had his campaign torpedoed by allegations of kiddy porn. Porter Smalls was winning until disgusting images on his computer at his campaign office were accidentally found by a young campaign staffer. Lucas doesn't care for politics and doesn't care that Porter Smalls is now in huge trouble. But, the Governor does and wants Lucas to investigate the situation.

Elmer Henderson, a Democrat, is the Minnesota Governor and in four years just might be a legitimate Vice Presidential candidate. He has good reasons to want to see conservative republican Porter Smalls go down in flames. But, the governor is absolutely sure Smalls isn’t into kiddie porn. He wants Lucas to investigate. Not only because it is the right thing to do and Smalls was quite possibly framed. If he was framed this is taking things way too far and everyone, no matter their party, is at risk. Once this sort of thing happens, you never come back from it, and media never fixes things after they destroy you.

 “’You’re saying the media is dangerous, immoral, and anti-democratic?

 “Well…yes,” Henderson said. “They don't recognize it in themselves, but they're basically criminals. In the classic sense of that word.’” (Page 16)

While readers know early on how the storylines connect together (as we usually do in the recent books of the series) it takes Lucas and others a bit longer to start to put the pieces together. A secondary storyline involving the actions of a computer hacker and his wife who still has the itch to steal competes for equal attention with the primary storylines by the end of this enjoyable 400 plus page novel.

While the novel does not chart new ground for Lucas and the other characters one does not expect anything new in that regard this deep in the series. Everyone is locked into who they are---both professionally and personally. No one is about to have a midlife crisis, dump everything for a fancy sports car, and hit the open road. These characters are firmly established and, as such, change is going to have to come from outside of them.

Politics has often been a major component of the Prey series and clearly is a huge element in Silken Prey which is the 23^rd novel in the series going back to Rules of Prey. While again in this novel Lucas claims to not care about politics and has virtually zero interest in the subject, much of what he does in pursuit of suspects has definite political motives to it. He makes deals with everyone about what he will say and do in the investigation and expects others to wheel and deal with him. As in previous books, Lucas is once again working all the angles to ensure that the guilty parties are caught in this solidly good read. It is a dangerous minefield to pursue the guilty when they are rich and powerful. That time is coming when the politics will take Lucas down as Rose Marie warns:

  “’A lot of people in the Department of Public Safety and over at the BCA don't like this kind of thing, the political stuff. And you've been doing a lot of it. When I'm not here to protect you, when Elmer's not here...”

  “Ah, it’s all right, Rose Marie,” Lucas Said. “I’ve been fired before. Stop worrying about it.’” (Page 21)

Silken Prey: A Novel

John Sandford

http://www.johnsandford.com

G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group)

http://www.penguin.com

May 2013

ISBN# 978-0-399-15931-2

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

$27.95

416 Pages

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System. If you are in the area and would like more information about Plano libraries go here.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013

Birthday--Plus 15

Sandi continues to stun doctors and staff who say she is doing amazingly well. Every blood category they measure has shot way up and that includes her white blood count. Without question her modified stem cells have definitely grafted to her system and have started replicating things. Unless something goes absolutely horribly wrong overnight tonight they are going to cancel her third week in the hospital and move her to the extended stay facility sometime tomorrow afternoon. 

A couple of doctors not directly involved with her care have come by to pick up some more chemo hats for their patients. All the hats she had made are now gone though she still has the small lap blanket she made while in the hospital. I think she is going to take that as well as what little is left of her yarn over to the extended stay facility tomorrow. She will move over there unless her blood work tonight and/or tomorrow morning shows a sudden dip. Obviously,we hope not.

The current plan is for her to be in the extended stay facility at least two weeks and then move back to the hotel on her own where she would be for around two weeks while they did some outpatient monitoring everyday. They want to make sure she is strong enough to function on her own in that kid of setting before setting up they nurse who will fly home with her and turn her back over to me for care here. At least that was the plan a month ago when they said she would be in the hospital at least three weeks.

So, all we can do is wait, keep our fingers crossed for good things, and see what happens....

Memorial Day 2013

In honor......

Interesting Reading Elsewhere--- Bookbrowsing Blog

I have mentioned PJ Nunn's blog before. Check it out as well as the interview with David W. Berner here.

Sandi is Fourteen Days In .....

Today marks fourteen days for Sandi since she was admitted and they did the Stem Cell Transplant. Overall, things have gone way better than anyone expected or thought possible considering how sick she was when she left here. Despite feeling pretty sick at times, she has made over 20 chemo hats.

The hats seem to be a major rage there because a number of doctors, including ones not treating her, as well as other staff members have made the pilgrimage to her room to see them. Some of the doctors have taken a few to their patients to help them which is really cool and the rest have gone to the donation box in the infusion room on another floor of the hospital.

During her stay, from time to time, she has done a little teaching showing others how to make them. Hopefully, some of those folks will keep doing them after she leaves as the hats very popular. Unfortunately, there is quite the demand for them. 

She also made a small lap quilt too with some of the yarn she had left.

I hesitated to say this as I didn’t want to jinx things, but since she went and announced it on Facebook yesterday I guess it is safe to blab here. Sandi was originally supposed to be in the hospital for three weeks and then go to the extended care facility for at least two weeks. The third week of the hospital stay has now been canceled because her blood work is trending up so rapidly and she seems to be doing so well. At this point they plan on moving her over to the extended care facility that is located on the hospital grounds sometime Tuesday afternoon.

She will still be rather restricted in the extended stay facility but will have a little more freedom outside of her room--with extensive precautions---than she currently does in the hospital. Just another step on the road to coming back home where she belongs.

Interesting Reading Elsewhere---Benjamin LeRoy

I have suggested to you before that you should be reading him. You should also be buying the books that come out from his company, Tyrus Books. But, that is a separate issue. He is still writing a column for "Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room" (another blog you should be reading daily) and this week Ben addressed queries. More importantly what not to do in "Top Five Things Not to Put in your Query because Kristin Asked" which you can read here.

Read it. It is worth it. As always.

Interesting Reading Elsewhere---- Jan Christensen – RESEARCH TOOLS FOR TODAY’S WRITERS

 Not just for writers, Jan has links to research tools useful to everyone. Well worth your time to take a look at: Jan Christensen – RESEARCH TOOLS FOR TODAY’S WRITERS

Why Write?

My answer was always--to stay sane. Getting happy would be better.