Book Review: How I Survived My Childhood by Marilyn Meredith

 

You've been fascinated by the writing of Marilyn Meredith for decades. Now, it's time to learn her story from the very beginning. 

How I Survived My Childhood is Marilyn Meredith's first memoir. Taking the reader through her years growing up during World War II in a suburb of Los Angeles, California, through to her marriage to her beloved Hap, this is a story of the ups and downs of life, memories of a time when life was simpler--at least in some ways, and of a young girl who grows up, graduates high school, and finds the man she will marry and start a family with. 

How I Survived My Childhood tells of her father and his work at Paramount Studios, how he could build just about anything, and how he influenced Marilyn's life. It is a story of school days, childhood friends, and childhood antics. It is a story of leaving childhood behind, becoming a young woman, and then a wife. 

If you enjoy a trip down memory lane, then How I Survived My Childhood is a great read. It gives you insight into the life of a well-known author's early years and all of her fond memories growing up in an American suburb. For me, this book allowed me to get to know a good friend on an even more personal level, and that is a true blessing.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CT9W2RFX
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ 31 Months LLC; 1st edition (January 24, 2024)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 24, 2024
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2473 KB
• Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 173 pages

I purchased a copy of this book for my Kindle. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Bargain Seasonal Novel for Kindle: Mistletoe, Marriage & Mayhem: A Bluestocking Belles Collection

In this collection of novellas, the Bluestocking Belles bring you seven runaway Regency brides resisting and romancing their holiday heroes under the mistletoe. Whether scampering away or dashing toward their destinies, avoiding a rogue or chasing after a scoundrel, these ladies and their gentlemen leave miles of mayhem behind them on the slippery road to a happy-ever-after.

***All proceeds benefit the Malala Fund.***

All She Wants for Christmas, by Amy Rose Bennett
A frosty bluestocking and a hot-blooded rake. A stolen kiss and a Yuletide wedding. Sparks fly, but will hearts melt this Christmas?

The Ultimate Escape, by Susana Ellis
Abandoned on his wedding day, Oliver must choose between losing his bride forever or crossing over two hundred years to find her and win her back.

Under the Mistletoe, by Sherry Ewing
Margaret Templeton will settle for Captain Morledge’s hand in marriage, until she sees the man she once loved. Who will win her heart at the Christmas party of her would-be betrothed?

‘Tis Her Season, by Mariana Gabrielle
Charlotte Amberly returns a Christmas gift from her intended—the ring—then hares off to London to take husband-hunting into her own hands. Will she let herself be caught?

Gingerbread Bride, by Jude Knight
Traveling with her father's fleet has not prepared Mary Pritchard for London. When she strikes out on her own, she finds adventure, trouble, and her girlhood hero, riding once more to her rescue.

A Dangerous Nativity, by Caroline Warfield
With Christmas coming, can the Earl of Chadbourn repair his widowed sister’s damaged estate, and far more damaged family? Dare he hope for love in the bargain?

Joy to the World, by Nicole Zoltack
Eliza Berkeley discovers she is marrying the wrong man—on her wedding day. When the real duke turns up instead, will her chance at marital bliss be spoiled?

File Size: 1767 KB
Print Length: 400 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: The Bluestocking Belles (November 1, 2015)
Publication Date: November 1, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B014OI7M54


Purchase here for only 99 cents!

Bargain Kindle Book: Wanting You (A Cowboy Romance) by Mae Martini

The gang is back!

Jake Warner split from his girlfriend. Yep, she dumped him, and wait until you find out who she dumped him for.

Out of control and waking up in some chick’s bed with dirty sheets and bugs, Jake decides to come back to his senses. After a little getaway to Las Vegas, that is. But don’t worry; his buddies won’t let him go alone.
While there, he becomes infatuated with a beautiful strawberry blonde surfer from California, and things are going great. That is, until she overhears him say something rude and crude, then she flees.

Gia Lomusco, is that strawberry blonde surfer. She is also an influential saleswoman who travels to Texas a couple of times a month on business.
After splitting from her boyfriend, she heads to Vegas with a neighbor and her neighbor’s friend, and meets Jake.
She has never had a one night stand or an easy hookup before, but she throws caution to the wind and hooks up with Jake. She panics after hearing Jake say something rude and crude, so she flees. She always flees.

Jake owns a Bed and Breakfast with his friend’s wife, Annie, but what he really wants is his own ranch, his own horse training business and Gia. He needs to find her, as no other woman will do now.

18 and over, please. This book is chock full of sexy scenes as well as explicit language.

File Size: 4555 KB
Print Length: 271 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00K0NVH4K

Purchase here!

New Poetry Book by Bobby Brown Available on Kindle

"On a summer's Eve in 1976 I had a spiritual awakening. After weeping through the night I awoke the next morning and heard the birds really singing for the first time. I also felt inwardly enriched. The living waters of poetry began to flow like a river and these poems are the result." - Bob Brown

Life is tedious. Sin made it that way. The poems contained in this book are hard to read without having your heart stirred. Bob knows full well that the "Holy Spirit" is living inside of him and it is this Spirit that enables Bob to wake each morning in wonder and awe in spite of all the sin in this world.

These poems will cause you to think, to wonder, to be thankful, sometimes to be enraged, and to experience some of the life that God has designed for you. There is beauty in this world. There is beauty in words. God is the Word! Words are important. My hope is that God will use this book to make a difference in your life, as he has so graciously done in mine.

PURCHASE AT: http://www.amazon.com/Seated-Above-Looking-Below-Bobby-ebook/dp/B00KY44A2G

Bob Brown was born and raised in a classic New England town. He enjoys knowing Jesus as his savior, reading, writing, sports - especially baseball (and mainly the Yankees), walking in the woods, drinking tea, and hot summer days. And probably in that order!

"Seated Above - Looking Below" is his first published book. Interestingly enough, the book title "Seated Above - Looking Below" was inspired by Bob's interpretation of scripture - Eph 2:6 which states "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus." This is an incredible piece of scripture because it show's Gods abundant grace towards us - but note the focus is on God; He raised us up and He seated us with Himself. Also, note the tense of the verse! Read it again!

Bob is an old-fashioned kind of guy who strives to limit the role of technology in his life. Hence, this book has been a long time coming, and yes it has also been a struggle. The good news is that the well runs deep and there are more poems to publish!

A lot of Bob's inspiration comes from deep thinking while in his sanctuary - a place called Ashley reservoir located in western Massachusetts. The book cover is in fact a photograph of a wooded path in this reservoir area.

When asked to describe himself, Bob simply said "I wake up each day with a Holy Spirit within, and I look out in wonder as to why people don't seek the better way."

Recent Downloads

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! Get the first two books of the Georgetown Academy series in a special summer bundle! Gossip Girl producer Josh Schwartz calls Georgetown Academy “Smart, sexy and insanely addictive.” Now it’s your turn to get hooked.

It’s the beginning of a new political administration. That might not mean much at most high schools, but at Georgetown Academy, Washington D.C.’s most elite prep school, January 20th means new alliances, new flings, and new places to party.

For self-proclaimed D.C. royalty Brinley Madison (of those Madisons), the first day of school is all about establishing the social hierarchy and playing the part of perfect political wife to her boyfriend, the outgoing Vice President’s son. Too bad he has a wandering eye that puts Bill Clinton’s to shame. Can she keep him, and her own secret vice, in check?

Ellie Walker, Brinley’s best friend, floats through the halls on the arm of golden boy Hunter McKnight. But when her ex-boyfriend, Gabe, returns to town and her Senator mother’s political nemesis is reelected, Ellie’s world is turned upside down.

Shy, quiet Evan Hartnett is more into books than beer, and her closet is full of t-shirts and jeans instead of Jason Wu and Jimmy Choo. No one’s ever really noticed her—but she’s been noticing them. When her star rises as an intern at D.C.’s most-watched political news show, she soon finds herself asking what’s secret and what’s fair game.

New girl Taryn Reyes is all laid-back, California cool; with a father who’s in line to be the first Hispanic president, she’s ready to dive into the D.C. scene with an open mind. But after her first run-in with dirty politics, she realizes that keeping her integrity intact might be a lot harder than she thinks.

With so many new friends and former flames in the mix, things are bound to get a little heated. And while diplomatic immunity might keep the cops away, there’s not much it can do about the press.

In a town where one teenage misstep can turn into a national scandal, the students at Georgetown Academy will have to be on their best behavior—or, at least, they’ll have to make the world believe that they are.

Because there’s only one rule: whatever you do, don’t get caught.

File Size: 607 KB
Print Length: 262 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Coliloquy (July 31, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00E9LRV3K

Two septuagenarians win the lottery's biggest prize, dragging Walt and Ox into the most bizarre cases of their career.

The two 'oldies' are determined to use their new found wealth to re-create the past but instead propel Walt into the future where he must use drones and Star Trek phasers to balance the scales of justice.

When an extortion plot turns into kidnapping, Walt must boldly go where no cop has gone before to save himself and the millionaire.

Come along for another hilarious ride with the world's oldest and most lovable cop!

File Size: 638 KB
Print Length: 224 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1492118273
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00EDQK9OE

First Chapter Review: Irregardless of Murder by E. E. Kennedy

I purchased a copy of Irregardless of Murder by E.E. Kennedy after receiving a recent newsletter from Sheaf House Publishers. This is a cozy mystery--one of my favorite genres.

BLURB:  Amelia Prentice, fortyish high school English teacher, trips over a corpse in the safest of places, the public library. Now, nothing of her cozy small town life in the Adirondacks will be the same.

Amelia (whose pet peeve is the non-word ‘irregardless’) returns to school, but soon she must deal with the facts: this death was no accident and she’s a murder suspect. The victim’s mother disappears; friend Lily is thrown overboard from the Lake Champlain ferryboat, a mysterious millionaire wants to buy Amelia’s house, the school nurse is viciously attacked and Amelia’s old beau Gil seems interested again.

And, of course, there’s the Lake Champlain monster.

It will take all Amelia’s wisdom, humor and faith to figure out what’s going on.

If she survives…

COVER: Love it. Appropriate for the genre and has a tie-in to Chapter One. The Adirondack chair hails to the author's location in northern New York and the setting of the story.

FIRST CHAPTER: Miss Prentice is found unconscious in the public library after spending her typical Thursday night correcting English papers. Muddled, she finds herself surrounded by the head librarian, a paramedic and Police Detective Dennis O'Brien, the last two former students.

She quickly learns from her neighbor, who also happens to be at the library, that Marguerite LeBow, who worked at the library, has been found dead in the copy room.

KEEP READING: Definitely. I was attracted by the interesting setting of this novel--a public library. What makes me want to continue, however, is the engaging cast of characters we meet in the Prologue and the first chapter. In the Prologue, the reader gets a glimpse of Ms. LeBow, but it's really the first chapter that sets this whole thing into play. Though there are several characters introduced, Kennedy does a fabulous job of keeping the reader on track. Some characters appear only briefly with a line or two. Others, like Miss Prentice, the paramedic, and the detective interact more, focusing the reader's attention on their conversation. Some characters, we merely know are there by actions that are mentioned, like the flashing of a camera.

Mysteries lend themselves to wanting to turn the pages, but Kennedy has put together a strong first chapter that encourages the reader to continue. Since Sheaf House is a Christian publisher, I'm guessing faith will also be part of this story. The second book in this series is due out in September.


Paperback: 338 pages
Publisher: Sheaf House (August 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936438186
ISBN-13: 978-1936438181
ASIN: B008CSCVJ0

I purchased an electronic copy of this book from Amazon for my Kindle. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

Book Spotlight: The Devil's Foothold by Marilyn Meredith

Resident Deputy Jessica McGuire’s day starts much the same as usual, but when she jogs by the old family cemetery she discovers the grave of a baby had been dug up and the skeleton missing. It wasn’t much later when Pastor David Tanner reports the theft of a hand-carved redwood cross from his church. Next a baby goat is reported stolen and one of the pastor’s cows discovered mutilated in the field. Jessica and Pastor David team up to investigate these strange occurrences. He is convinced Satan worshiping is going on in their town. Jessica isn’t sure until she discovers a hooded and robed group meeting in the woods who flee upon her arrival. She knows she needs to get to the bottom of things before what’s going on escalates into something worse. Or has it already?

File Size: 390 KB
Print Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Marilyn Meredith (October 14, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B009R7DZ1S

 

Only $2.99 on Amazon!

 

 

Marilyn Meredith is the author of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series as well as the Rocky Bluff P.D. series.

One of the first authors to embrace e-publishing she has several books that are available in both e-format and trade paperback, among them, the award winning mystery Guilt by Association.

Christian horror is another of the genres she writes in-The Choice, Deeds of Darkness, and Cup of Demons are prime examples .

She also has a chapter in the best seller, "THE PORTABLE WRITERS' CONFERENCE" from Quill Driver Press.

Also a writing teacher, Marilyn has been a featured speaker at several writers' conferences. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, EPIC, and the Public Safety Writers Association.

Guest Blogger: Morgan Mandel, Author of Her Handyman

A novella length romantic comedy, with a dash of the serious. Longer than a short story, shorter than a full-length novel - just the right size for a busy reader!

Throw a crazy canine, a handyman, and a quirky artist together and you've got mayhem!

Who'd guess it's Jake, the handyman, who needs rescuing when he answers a call by the distraught artist, Zoe, to stop a toilet flood begun by her crazy canine, FuFu?

Jake's engaged to a sexy, perfect woman, and she's even a great cook! There's no room in his life for a quirky, rich artist, who eats raw vegetables and probably can't even boil an egg -- or is there? Are Jake's perfect plans about to be disrupted?

The Dog Who Owns Me

 by Morgan Mandel

I must admit I’ve been owned by more than one dog. Each time I adopt one, it owns me.  My present owner is Rascal.

My husband and I came upon that ownership by accident. We were eager to meet and adopt another dog we’d noticed online through the Buddy Foundation, and hopped into the van on our way to the Buddy Adoption Event. I actually saw the dog we wanted. It looked absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, it was held on a leash, next to a woman who was signing the adoption papers!

Especially disheartening was the fact our prior dog had recently been lost to cancer, I still missed her, and was hoping to be cheered by adopting what looked like the perfect dog to love and take into our home.

When my husband suggested another Adoption Day Event that same day, this one sponsored by Chicagoland Dog Rescue, I agreed to give it a try. As I stepped out of the van, I was afraid to get my hopes up and be disappointed again.

About eight dogs were lined up on the sidewalk in front of PetSmart. The first looked awfully cute, but it was a pitbull puppy. I did my best to ignore my attraction to the dog, because for one thing I didn’t want a puppy. They’re a lot of work. For another, I’d heard far too many horror stories about pitbulls.

I examined the other dogs, yet couldn’t get the pitbull out of my mind. In spite of my misgivings about her breed and her age, she drew me back to her. My husband felt the same bond. Somehow,  against all odds, a connection had been made and we were powerless to fight it. 

I signed the papers and made it official. Rascal owned me, and she has ever since!      

                               

For more about Rascal, check out her Facebook page at http://facebook.com/ourlittlerascal

And now, a few words about FuFu, the dog in my latest romantic comedy release, HerHandyman.  She owns Zoe, a quirky, rich artist. Zoe hardly ever listens to the news because it’s too gruesome. She lives in a fancy Chicago penthouse in the upscale River North area, and does her best to live in a beautiful, stress-free environment. How FuFu came to own Zoe is similar to my experience. Being a doglover, Zoe set out to adopt the perfect dog. Then she spies FuFu, who belongs to a breed which often wins the ugliest dog contests. As soon as she holds FuFu in her arms, Zoe is a goner, and despite previous resolves, must take her dogchild home.  

Without FuFu, there would be no Her Handyman story. When her toy gets stuck in the toilet in the dead of night, a frantic Zoe calls Jake, the handyman, to stop the flood before it drips through the floor and onto the ceiling below. Jake sets out to rescue Zoe, but little does he know he’ll soon be the one who needs rescuing!

Find HerHandyman on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents at http://amzn.com/B0097EVXBK                                        

Morgan Mandel’s Amazon Author Central Page: http://amazon.com/author/morganmandel

Morgan’s Main Blog: http://morganmandel.blogspot.com 

Twitter: @MorganMandel                                                                     

Morgan Mandel lives in a Chicago suburb with her husband, commonly known as Good Paul, and their loveable pit bull, Rascal. She’s not ashamed to admit her vices: chocolate, ice cream, pizza and a great love of slot machines. Her favorite pastimes are reading, writing, going to garage and rummage sales, attending festivals and watching romances and mysterys on TV and DVDs.

Her Handyman is Morgan’s fifth book. She’s also a contributor to a short story collection. For Excerpts & Links to Morgan’s Books, check http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com .

Novella Review: A Whisper in Space by David C. Drizzit

While space stories aren't my usual fare, the book blurb for this one interested me and I thought it would be nice to read something different. Since it was available as a free Kindle download at the time, I also felt I didn't have much to lose.


This is a novella, which the author states is a primer intended to introduce the characters. The author also released a full-length novel featuring these characters last month. It appears by the novel's title, Big Damn Love Story, that romance will be more prominent in the novel than it is in the A Whisper in Space novella.


Many reviewers of A Whisper in Space by David C. Drizzit mention a resemblance to Firefly. The author also states in his note that this Josh Whedon's series, and the movie, Serenity inspired his work. Reviewers felt if you enjoyed Firefly, A Whisper in Space would be a good match. Perhaps it is because this novella is based upon a TV series that I found it lacking. They are different mediums and need to be crafted as such.

The novella opens with a Introduction told in first person by Captain Miles Knighton, a bounty hunter who is searching for a goon named Santagello. Along with Miles, the Spitfire crew includes Sutherlan, who has flown with him for almost 20 years, and Taro, a good for nothing mechanic who can't seem to fix anything. Retaining a navigator is a real issue for Miles, and he's hoping to find a good one soon, along with a doctor.

Because of the first person narrative, I assumed the entire novella would be presented this way. Instead, it is a mish-mash of first person and third person omniscient that sometimes confuses the reader. Typographical and grammar errors plague this five chapter novella; and while there is a good amount of action, there isn't a great deal of character development. Some characters, like Ah Lam, are quickly able to dissect the meaning of secret conversations and uncover deceits. While there are hints she has some secrets, she just appears too good to be true and always at the right place at the right time. There is humorous banter between Miles and Sutherlan, but much of the dialogue doesn't flow naturally, and situations this reader felt would be more developed, wither and die off. Resolutions come too quickly and easily.

A Whisper in Space has promise as an action-packed space adventure with a hint of romance. In the hands of a good editor, the weaker areas of the story could be worked out. The plot is great. It makes me think of Star Wars. I would consider more works by this author in the future.

File Size: 272 KB

Print Length: 87 pages

Publisher: Forward HR LLC (August 21, 2011)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Language: English

ASIN: B005IGUN9Y

SRP: $.99 for Kindle

I downloaded a free copy of this book to my Kindle Fire. The author did not request a review of this book. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I received no monetary compensation of any kind.

First Chapter Review: Finding Poe by Leigh M. Lane

As a teenager, my son had a fascination with Edgar Allan Poe. He was also a fan of Stephen King. Some parents might be concerned about that, but I was just glad the kid found something he wanted to read. I'm still not sure how I ended up with two reluctant readers.

I picked up this book as a freebie on Kindle. I can't say I'm fascinated with Poe's work the way my son was, but I'm one of those persons who isn't fond of unsolved mysteries. Poe's death is steeped in mystery, so I picked up this book to see what the author does with it.

TITLE/AUTHOR: Finding Poe by Leigh M. Lane

BLURB: Follow the final moments before Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious death, journeying through twisted bits and pieces of his musings, both brilliant and mad, in search of the truth behind his final, unfinished work "The Lighthouse," while unraveling the mystery behind the elusive woman desperately seeking the author for answers behind her husband's haunted death.

COVER:  Spot on. Exactly what I would expect for a book where Poe plays a part: dark, ominous, chilling. You might not be able to tell from the size of this photo, but if you go to Amazon and enlarge it, Poe's face is seen in the beam of light from the lighthouse. Is that a raven overhead?

FIRST CHAPTER: Lady Karina awakes to find herself on a train car bound for Baltimore. She carries with her an envelope for a strange man, which she plans to hand-deliver for her now deceased husband, Brantley.

The story slowly moves backward in time to where Karina unhappily follows Brantley to a New England lighthouse and experiences terrifying nightmares.

KEEP READING:  I'm too fascinated with the idea behind this story to say no, but I am admittedly perplexed by the first chapter. This happens because we have three separate events or slices of time to look at: the train ride, the back story of how Brantley and Karina came to live at the lighthouse, and a disturbing nightmare. Perhaps if the book didn't open with an odd dream of Karina's while on the train, it might have been less confusing to me.

Lane has written Finding Poe in an elegant, literary style where the words nearly fly off the page. Since Lady Karina is the narrator, this is a wise choice. Though as a Gothic story it is dark in nature, Lane's writing is simply beautiful. It definitely draws the reader in, which is why I must keep reading.

Print Length: 210 pages

Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

Publisher: Cerebral Books (March 18, 2012)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

ASIN: B007M7JWTY

SRP: $3.99

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