Book Review: Act of Grace by Karen Simpson

Grace Johnson is an exceptional African American student from Vigilant, Michigan. A racially charged town, few people understand why Grace would take a bullet to save the life of a Ku Klux Klansman named Jonathan Gilmore; especially since rumor has it years ago a member of Gilmore’s family murdered several African Americans--including Grace’s father.

The Ancestor spirits won't be ignored, however. They insist Grace bear witness to her town's violent racial history, so that all involved might transcend it. Looking back over her actions, Grace wonders if she can do as the spirits asked:  lead Gilmore, her hometown, and her own soul on a journey toward reconciliation, redemption and true grace.

Act of Grace by Karen Simpson is an eloquently written, intriguing mystical novel. Raised by an abusive, unloving mother, Grace is looking forward to graduation. Little does she know that her old life will soon be just a memory, as she is called by the Ancestors to bear witness to Vigilant's violent, racially charged past.

I can honestly say, I've never read a book like Act of Grace before. It captivated me quickly, and Simpson's eloquent prose unfolded the story slowly, like the blooming of a flower. Each layer revealed more as Grace shared her story. While I'm not typically a fan of books hosting a plethora of metaphors and similes, Simpson wove them into the plot in such a way that I couldn't imagine trying to read Grace's story without them. This did, however, lead to a slower development of the story. A great deal takes place within the book's 320 pages, and there were times I felt I had been reading forever, but was still less than halfway through it.

Act of Grace is as much a character driven novel as it is a plot driven one. The reader meets many strong personalities within the story. From Grace's mother to her aunts, from her cousin to her best friend and many more, these people will touch you or rub you the wrong way, but you won't be able to shake them. This is a story that will remain with you a long time.

I highly recommend Act of Grace by Karen Simpson.

Title:  Act of Grace
Author:  Karen Simpson
Publisher: Plenary Publishing (March 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0982777949
ISBN-13: 978-0982777947
SRP:  $15.00 (paperback)
Also available in a Kindle edition.

I received a free electronic copy of this book through Pump Up Your Book in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no monetary compensation of any kind for this review.

This book is the sixth book I've read for the following challenge:

This book is the fourth book I've read for the following challenge:

This book is the first book I've read for the following challenge:

Interview with Nicolette Dumke, Author of Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss

Nickie Dumke enjoys helping people with food allergies and gluten intolerance find solutions to their health and weight problems. She began writing books to help others with multiple food allergies over 20 years ago and the process culminated in The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide. She says, “This book contains everything I know to help with food allergies,” and it has helped many people come back from near-starvation. Her other books address issues such as how to deal with time and money pressures on special diets, keeping allergic children happy on their diets, and more.


A few years ago, while listening to the struggles of an allergic friend on the Weight Watchers™ diet, she remembered her own weight struggles many years ago and thought, “There has to be a better way.” This was the beginning of a new quest, and she is now helping those who are overweight due to inflammation (often due to unsuspected food allergies) or high-in-rice gluten-free diets, as well as those who are not food sensitive but want to lose weight permanently, healthily, and without feeling hungry and deprived. Her unique approach to weight and health presented in Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss is based on body physiology and reveals why conventional weight-loss diets work against rather than with our bodies and therefore rarely result in permanent weight loss.


Nickie has had multiple food allergies for 30 years and has been cooking for special diets for family members and friends for even longer. Regardless of how complex your dietary needs are or how much or little cooking you have done, she has the books and recipes you need. Her books present the science behind multiple food allergies and weight control in an easily-understood manner. She has BS degrees in medical technology and microbiology. She and her husband live in Louisville, Colorado and have two grown sons.


You can visit Nickie’s websites at http://www.foodallergyandglutenfreeweightloss.com/ and http://www.food-allergy.org/.


Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’ve had multiple food allergies for over 30 years, but my medical educational background and extensive cooking experience have given me tools to deal with allergies that some people lack. I guess the thing that defines me the most is that I am very much a family person.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Denver, Colorado. The house we lived in was next door to the 100+ year old farmhouse where my father was born. By the time I was born, my grandparents had divided up the land of their original farm and sold most of it to people who wanted to build houses, so we lived in an ordinary neighborhood. My grandparents lived next door in the farmhouse when I was very young, although by then they were farming a few miles north of where we lived.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

Sunday afternoons at my maternal grandparents’ house. All of my mother’s siblings and their spouses and children were there, and we got to play with our cousins. My grandmother prepared an Italian dinner for everyone (about 30 people), and my grandfather told amazing stories to entertain us.

When did you begin writing?

I began writing in the early 90s. Our older son had been diagnosed with multiple food allergies in 1987, and I quickly learned that it took a lot more variety in cooking to keep a child happy on a food allergy diet than it took for me. I told my mother what I had been cooking for him on a near-daily basis, and she advised me to write a cookbook so other mothers did not have to invent new recipes like I was doing. At first I said, “Nah!” Eventually I decided to take her advice and wrote Allergy Cooking With Ease.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments?

I usually write during the day. I find it easiest to make good progress if I have a long period of time for writing – like most of a day, without interruptions - rather than trying to write for an hour here and an hour there.

What is this book about?

Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss is about the real reasons people gain or lose weight. Heavy individuals often are accused of lacking self-discipline or willpower. Yet, they may be skipping breakfast, eating moderately at lunch and dinner, exercising strenuously, and feeling hungry most of the time. Some of these factors, such as skipping meals and continual hunger, will compromise their body’s ability to burn fat. Weight is not determined solely by how many calories we eat minus how many calories we burn. Hormones, such as insulin, leptin, cortisol, and others, are what actually determine our weight and whether we burn body fat.

What inspired you to write it?

A friend provided the inspiration that got me started on the research for this book. However, before she inspired me, I had been hearing from and about many people who had gained weight on gluten-free diets, so I knew that there was a growing need for this book. A University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center newsletter reports that two years after being diagnosed with celiac disease and starting a gluten-free diet, 81% of the people in the study had gained weight, and 50% of them had a BMI (body mass index) of over 25, meaning that they were overweight. (http://www.celiacdisease.net/assets/documents/SP08CeliacCtr.News.v5final.pdf)

But back to my friend – she has multiple food allergies and was trying to follow the Weight Watchers™ program superimposed on her allergy diet. She was really struggling and losing little weight, although she was eating very lightly. I compared her struggle with the ease and lack of hunger I had experienced with my own weight loss over 30 years ago while on a plan that stabilized my blood sugar and insulin levels. Therefore, I thought, “There has to be a better way for her.” People with food allergies or gluten-intolerance must be able to lose weight with a system that allows flexibility for staying on their special diets but doesn’t require counting calories or being hungry.

In my research I discovered that in the last 30 years a tremendous amount of progress has been made in the science supporting the type of diet that worked for me. At that time, blood sugar and insulin were factors known to be involved in hunger and weight control. Today other hormones are known to be equally important – cortisol, leptin, eicosanoids, and more. A major breakthrough in the application of this science to real-world weight loss has been the development of the glycemic index. These factors all are pieces of the weight control puzzle. When we utilize all of them will we succeed at achieving and maintaining a healthy weight without hunger and constant struggle.

If you knew then, what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?

Yes. I would have self-published starting with my first book rather than seeking a publisher.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

They can purchase it online from Amazon.com, Barnes &Noble, or on either of my websites, http://www.foodallergyandglutenfreeweightloss.com/ or http://www.food-allergy.org/. I’m not sure where they can purchase it locally in most parts of the country, but in Denver, they can purchase it at The Tattered Cover Bookstores. NutriBooks, the major health food store book distributor, has the book, so local health food stores might carry it or can get it from NutriBooks.

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers can find out more?

Yes. If they visit http://www.foodallergyandglutenfreeweightloss.com/ they can read how to control their hormones so they can lose weigh easily, permanently and without hunger and can also learn more about the book.

What is the best investment you have made in promoting your book?

I’ve had the best results from co-op library mailings sent by the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association). Library sales lead to sales to individual readers. I have many people call and say, “I’ve checked this book out three times and can’t check it out again. I want to order my own copy.” I’m hoping the online exposure I’m currently working on will also help.

What is up next for you?

I’m currently working on a revision of one of my older books, Easy Breadmaking for Special Diets. When I was researching and writing Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss, I learned that sourdough bread has a low glycemic index score, thus making it ideal for the book’s eating plan to keep blood sugar stable and reduce inflammation. Years ago all sourdough bread was made using live wheat-containing sourdough starters. This meant that people with wheat allergy or gluten-intolerance could not eat sourdough bread. Now there is a freeze-dried starter that is wheat-free and gluten-free and also a new programmable bread machine that easily enables people on special diets to make sourdough bread they can eat. These new products, the next-generation sourdough recipes, and the usefulness of sourdough for weight loss warrant an update of Easy Breadmaking.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Yes. People who suffer from food sensitivities, inflammatory problems, or overweight may receive little real help from our medical system and, therefore, feel their problems lack solutions. I would like to offer them some hope. Their weight loss efforts have failed because the traditional approaches are based on fallacies. Rather than treating allergies and inflammatory diseases with drugs, one needs to find and deal with the root causes. An older book of mine, The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide, discusses root causes of food allergies. Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss tells individuals how to help themselves with inflammation and weight problems. Overweight is not all about calories; it’s about the hormonal control of body fat. By eating to keep blood sugar and insulin levels stable, we can affect the enzymes which allow us to burn recently-eaten food for energy (rather than storing it) and to burn body fat. By reducing inflammation, which inhibits the action of our master weight control hormone, leptin, we can regain normal self-regulating control of our weight. Knowledge is power; with it you can help yourself with problems for which “experts” have no real solutions.

Does Digital Publishing Give Authors An Unfair Advantage?

An article on digital publishing appeared in the December 31, 2011 - January 1, 2012 edition of The Wall Street Journal. Journalist Nicholas Carr discussed the advantages and challenges that can come from being able to edit a book after it is published. You can read the entire article here.

Carr brought up how easy it would be to abuse this functionality: school boards exerting more influence over what students read, editing textbooks that don't fit in with local biases, and governments being able to tweak books to suit their political interests. I honestly hadn't thought of these issues, but I did start to wonder--does digital publishing give authors an unfair advantage over those who select traditional publishing?

Now, I'm sure one could argue the quality of traditionally published books is better. They might be right. Why is it, however, that a digitally published author should have the chance to correct errors or unclear passages, maybe even write a new ending for a book once it's available to the buying public? If a traditionally published author is willing to let his or her work stand as is, why shouldn't everyone? I remember an author once sending me a book to review. She mentioned in her email that she hoped I would realize this was her first book (she had released several other titles since that time, but this was the first in  a series that I had won in a giveaway), and she had grown as a writer in the years that followed. Imagine not having to say that. Imagine having the chance to alter your book after receiving a few less than positive reviews.

And it's not only the text that can be altered when you publish digitally. I've known more than one author who changed the cover art of the book after it was published--some made more than one change. It makes one wonder if in this digital world there are "Books That Are Never Done Being Written."

What do you think?

Great Deal at Amazon on Books by Soren Paul Petrek

Cold Lonely Courage by Soren Paul Petrek is currently available for FREE from the Amazon Kindle Store.

"Madeleine Toche races to the front to find her mortally wounded brother, Ives, as the Germans continue their attack on France. Her twin now lost to her forever, Madeleine grieves with her parents until she is brutally raped by a SS Stormtrooper. Hell bent on revenge, she becomes a trained assassin who seeks out her targets in the name of France and all she has lost."

Read the rest of my review at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-cold-lonely-courage-by.html



Now available are Patience County War and Angels Don't Die.

Kill or be killed. Patience County's Sheriff, Sam Trunce is in the cross hairs of a Mexican drug cartel. He is not alone. Patience County's secret army of combat vets, Masai warriors and history's most deadly female assassin stand at his side. The Cartel's murder squad and Patience's army hurtle towards war, winner takes all.

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When an American agent is taken hostage, famed WWII assassin, Madeleine Toche resurfaces to rescue him, taking on the PLO and all comers in the middle of Israel’s Yom Kippur War. Toche, feared as the Angel of Death, must send the PLO a bloody message, release the agent or die. With the help of the Mossad, Toche unleashes her fury, leaving a path of destruction everywhere she goes.

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Be on the look for our reviews of these new releases.

First Chapter Review: A Promise to Keep by L.C. Lang

I'm still not out of Christmas reading mode, but this is one of my recent free grabs from Kindle, so I thought I would share it with you.

TITLE: A Promise to Keep

AUTHOR: L.C. Lang

BLURB: Marcie Jackson is a new state police detective. At her first crime scene, she finds a gold link bracelet, the same bracelet she had found near her late fiancé‘s body. At first, she figures it is just a coincidence, but there are more murders. And more bracelets. Marcie is sure she knows who is behind it, but has to prove it. During her investigation, she finds a major drug organization. When she finds the real force behind the organization, she is in a race for her life.

COVER:  I like it. The grey marble signifies death and the red rose--love.  While you can't see much of the engraving on the stone, you do get the words "Love Lives On" and see what appears to be entwined rings above it, which can signify not only the unity of love, but the bracelets the main character keeps finding at the murder scenes.

FIRST CHAPTER:  We meet Marcie on the first day of her new job as a state police detective. The only woman, she is pretty much dismissed by this all boys club. Even her partner, Mark, isn't friendly. She keeps reminding herself however, that she's doing this for Jerry, her deceased fiancé.

She and Mark are called in to investigate the murder of a family--parents, three girls and a boy. They meet Detective John Anderson of the Indianapolis Metro Police Department at the scene. Again, Marcie is ignored by her colleagues, so she takes out her notebook, jots down what she hears, and begins sketching what she sees. In the master bedroom Marcie finds an expensive gold link bracelet just like the one she found near Jerry after he was murdered. Maybe it's just a coincidence.

KEEP READING: Not likely. This story is told from Marcie's point of view as a first person narrator. This is a difficult POV to get right. It limits you to what the narrator can see, feel, hear, etc. When you have a strong narrator, the challenge is to show more than you tell. The first chapter tells the reader everything Marcie experiences through her thoughts and senses, but it isn't a deep POV. Here are two examples:

"I am wearing a pair of black slacks, a burgundy turtleneck sweater, and a matching black jacket."

"Down the hallway was a small room that was sort of a mini lunchroom. Inside the room were a small table and two chairs, three vending machines and a coffee pot sitting on a small shelf."

Add to this the many overused words ("building" is used five times in the first paragraph), and it makes for a choppy read.

The idea has great promise. The first person POV could still work if it was deepened to make the reader feel she was alongside Marcie experiencing things with her instead of like she's being spoken at from a distance.


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 300 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005110K3A
Currently listed as FREE

I downloaded a free copy of this book to my Kindle. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

$10 Amazon Gift Card Winner

Congratulations goes out to Julie L. the winner of our $10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! Thanks to everyone who participated. I appreciate the many comments your provided with great feedback. Thank you also for your loyal readership.

Look for more giveaways coming soon.

Interview with Kerry Downing, Author of Time Slice

Kerry Downing set out to become a meteorologist but was hooked by the world of computers instead, becoming a systems analyst and programmer. Astronomy and science fiction are his true passions and he’s been gazing at the stars during all hours of the night since the age of 10 when he received his first telescope.

An avid science-fiction reader, Arthur C. Clarke and his brand of “it really seems as if it could happen” literature has always been his favorite.

In the 90s, Kerry found the third love of his life: his wife, Lucy. They live in St. Louis, Missouri, with their five children.

This is Kerry’s second science-fiction novel. You can find him on the Web at http://www.kerrydowning.com/, or follow him on twitter via @KGDWrites.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Florissant, MO, a suburb of St. Louis. It was a good place to grow up, and I had what I would call a fairly normal childhood. You know, the usual stuff. Good friends to play with, hated going to school everyday, got bullied a few times. Good old Americana.

My dad bought me my first telescope when I was 10 years old and got me hooked on astronomy. I’ve always like reading and kind of naturally gravitated towards science-fiction, although I’ll read just about any genre of book, or at least try it once.
When did you begin writing?

I’ve been a writer of one sort or another for as long as I can remember. My first recognition came in high school when I won a short story contest, and a day off from school! Now that’s a prize that money just can’t buy.

I started my first actual novel back in the late 90s. It all began because my wife expressed an interest in trying to write, but she couldn’t come up with any ideas she thought were good enough or had enough meat on their bones. While we were talking about it, I started telling her about an idea I had, thinking that might spark something in her. After an hour or so of me going on and on about my idea, she suggested that maybe I should be the one to write a book.

I really had no idea whether or not I could do it, but after three months of work the first draft was completed.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments?

When I am actively in the midst of working on a project, I like to write first thing in the morning. I normally won’t even sit down and start unless I have at least two hours to devote. I’ve found that if I wait until later in the day I’m just too mentally tired to be creative.

The only exception would be if I’m just trying to make a few tweaks to something I’ve already completed. That I can do in snippets as time permits.

What is this book about?

Time Slice is a story about normal people placed into extraordinary circumstances. While a science-fiction/fantasy novel (as my sister told me, it must be science-fiction because it has an alien in it!), it’s also a story about the ups and downs of family life, and the connection between husband and wife. As I like to say, it’s science-fiction with heart.

Here’s some details!

Even though Roy Washburn has only been retired a few months, he’s already bored. When he finds a small metal cylinder with odd markings on an all-too-routine trip to the mall with his wife, he can’t help but investigate.

With just a nudge of the cylinder’s triangle shaped pointer, Roy finds he can float back and forth in the time stream and learns that countless civilizations inhabit “his” Earth, each occupying their own thin slice of time. During his travels, Roy encounters a tall, gangly creature, the Traveler, who knows more than a little about the cylinder and who needs Roy’s help.

Roy’s clandestine experiments with the cylinder continue even after learning that his wife is terminally ill. Roy’s daughter sees this inattentiveness to her mother as just another in a long line of black marks against dear old Dad, and further proof that he hasn’t changed over the years. The chasm between father and daughter widens.

Faced with his wife’s sickness, a daughter who resents him, and an alien who needs his help, Roy must decide whether to use the cylinder to satisfy his own wants or to help those closest to him through their crises. Much to his surprise, the goals are not mutually exclusive.

What inspired you to write it?

I was inspired by a concept I heard about while listening to a course on Time and Space. Yes, I’m that big of a geek. I spend my time in the car driving to/from work listening to CDs about the Theory of Relativity and the like. But I digress …

The idea is called Gravitational Time Dilation. It states that the time a person experiences varies based on the gravitational field they are in. A person flying in an airplane, for example, is in a slightly lower gravitational field than someone standing on earth, so the passage of time they experience is slightly (very slightly) different than that experienced by their earth-bound brother.

So, being a writer, I took that little kernel of information and wondered if maybe there are other civilizations that inhabit these other time frames. We all share the same earth, just at slightly different times.

The characters and storyline all stemmed from that one idea.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Time Slice is available in Kindle ($4.95) and paperback editions on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, and Amazon Japan.

Other electronic versions are offered on Smashwords, BN.com, Google Ebooks or at any of the major online ebook stores.

I’m currently working on getting bookstores such as Barnes and Noble to carry Time Slice, but no luck quite yet.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere?

My one piece of advice would be to write for only one reason: because you love it. Don’t write to become rich or famous. It’s not likely that either of those things will happen. If that’s your motivation, I wish you well but the chances are overwhelming that your quest will end in frustration.

If you write simply for the joy of writing, there’s no way you can fail. When your family reads and appreciates what you’ve done you’ll light up like a Christmas tree. If you happen to get published, when you have your first sale you’ll light up like Las Vegas.

Best of all, even if nobody ever reads it but you, it will still be worth it because you did something you loved to do. What better way to spend your time can there possibly be?

What is up next for you?

Immediately next for me is continuing to try and get the word out about Time Slice. If you, dear reader, feel so inclined to help me do that, please feel free!

As far as writing goes, I think there’s probably a sequel to Time Slice in the offing. There might also be a prequel to my first novel, The Collective.

I’m also exploring the idea of publishing a collection of my short stories.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Just one other note about Time Slice. Some reviews have indicated that it’s a novel about “Time Travel”. That isn’t quite accurate. In fact, it’s not accurate at all.

To me, a novel about time travel involves either going back or forward in time to a past/future era. Time Slice puts forth the idea that there are countless civilizations in the time stream, each separated by only a few milliseconds. All of these civilizations are sharing the same home (“our” Earth) but we don’t know of each others existence because each one is trapped in their own slice of the time stream (hence the name, Time Slice!).

If only there was a device that would let us slip backwards and forwards in the time stream to see these other civilizations … if only …

Kerry Downing web site:


http://www.kerrydowning.com

Kerry Downing blog:

http://kgdwrites.blogspot.com

Kerry Downing Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/KGDWrites

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

Time Slice blog tour site:

http://timesliceblogtour.blogspot.com

Paperback
Price: $17.95
ISBN: 9781603818520
Pages: 256
Release: June 10, 2011

Amazon buy link

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1603818529?tag=tributebooks-20

Barnes&Noble.com buy link

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/time-slice-kerry-downing/1102590047?ean=9781603818520&itm=1&usri=time%252bslice

eBook
Price: $4.95

Kindle buy link

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052MNKT4?tag=tributebooks-20
Nook buy link

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Time-Slice/Kerry-Downing/e/2940011342554

Smashwords buy link

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61838?ref=tributebooks