Rooting for the Killer: A Book Review of Merryll Manning: Trapped On Mystery Island

My Review of Merryll Manning: Trapped On Mystery Island:

Merryll Manning: Trapped On Mystery Island by John Howard Reid is an eccentric, odd mix of a British murder mystery and a screwball comedy, with an offhand, often irreverent manner. It has worthy qualities, but I found it disjointed and lacking somewhat in focus.

The book revolves around an island murder mystery getaway, a police detective, his girlfriend and an assorted bunch of peculiar individuals. These characters are prepared for a weekend of mystery and murder games. Instead a real life killer pops up and claims an actual victim.

This book has problems, the main one being setting. It is supposed to be set in Florida and there are one or two American references, but the tone, dialogue and descriptive passages are peppered with Australian (the author’s nationality) allusions. This is prevalent enough in the novel that it made it impossible for me to believe the Florida location, unless the book takes place in an alternate universe. These anomalies kept pulling me out of the narrative and interrupting the stream of the book.

I sometimes found the pace and dialogue a bit off-kilter, and the characters pushed to the edge of comedic parody. Much of the character interaction comes off a bit forced, like a series of staged, interconnected monologues. The individual viewpoints are lively and interesting, but they often veer into theorizing, philosophical or moralizing debates that do not flow naturally, but are randomly thrown at the reader.

Also, the lead detective character seemed, well, a tad incompetent. Subsequent to the real murder he doesn’t hunt for clues or try and keep to any sort of police procedure. Our detective barely interviews the suspects or examines for possible motives and appears to be far more comfortable in haphazardly choosing probable killers based on his “experience” and bad clichés. He does somehow manage though, to stumble on the killer and figure the rather apparent solution to the mystery.

I wanted to like this book for its quaint unconventional charm and the author’s excellent turn of a phrase, but I could not overcome the distracting aspects of the plot. For me, Merryll Manning: Trapped On Mystery Island unfortunately does not rise above the level of mediocre.

A Light Speculative Trip: A Review of Warped and Wired

My Review of Warped and Wired by Joshua Caleb:

Warped and Wired by Joshua Caleb is an enjoyable adventure novel, part sci-fi, part fantasy. You are not going to find any deep meaningful angst or heavy introspective character development, but you will find an amusing, delightful book full of sly humour, action and an intriguing premise.

"She shoved the glittering tangle into her pocket then thrust her fingers into the brick wall. The chill of cold space slid down her spine. Taking a breath of concentration and fortification, she grasped the edges of space and tore an opening in the wall. Her small, faintly lit apartment opened up before her. She stepped through the portal and into her cool living room. The portal whooshed shut behind her just as the footfalls turned into looming shadows. Angry shadows."

The book follows the escapades of two girls: Portia, a magical Sky Wryter, and Mlina, who has a serious computer problem. They are on the hunt for Mlina’s father so he can shed light on the secret of both girls’ past. Complicating matters are Portia’s odd relatives and a malevolent Dark Wryter who wants both Mlina and her father for his own malicious purposes.

"Looking past the creature, Portia noticed a dark figure walking down the tunnel toward them. She’d stake her staff it was Dragwen. A shaft of light struck the figure, revealing her suspicions. How had he followed them? Uncle Vi’son was about as secluded as a person could be. Dragwen stepped fully into the light, the blue glow glinting off his fangs."

The book is breezy and an easy read, giving the reader a fast-pasted plot and engaging characters, nicely realized. The tone blends the conflict and peril with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek wit and homage. I did think it faltered a bit in the emotional resolution; I found it somewhat rushed and shallow, with all the family threads tied up a bit hastily. Also, there were a few grammar gaffes here and there. Still, overall it is an entertaining book.

This book is available on Smashwords

Also, on Amazon in print and ebook form:

Stunning Sci-Fi: A Book Review of Beautiful Red

My Review of Beautiful Red by M. Darusha Wehm:

If you like your sci-fi full of cyber-tech, intrigue, moral questions and just that slight touch of nihilism, then you should read Beautiful Red by M. Darusha Wehm. It is a well-written, well-crafted and engaging novel.

It is the story of Jack, who works as a security officer in a world where corporations run the show and most human interaction takes place in a virtual environment. One day she stumbles on some anomalous security breaches which lead her into the path of a radical protest group that may be engaging in sinister and criminal activities.

“She meticulously picked apart the code left behind by the intruders at Buyside, running every individual line through the nets looking for possible authors. She followed the path of the intrusion back to the other end, the originating end, hypothesizing and guessing where there were gaps in the information. She cross referenced, indexed, filled in the blanks and made progress. Eventually she narrowed it down to a shadowy group called variously the Red, the Society for Creative Anarchicism and nowherenet, depending on the part of the world. They had been blamed for various incidents in many municipalities and corporations, many of which were illegal in some jurisdictions, but there didn't seem to be any coherent understanding of their goals.”

The author, M. Darusha Wehm, knows how to write credible characters and how to create a realistic, potential society. She shapes a complete civilization where you feel the characters could exist comfortably. As a reader I felt her postulated world could easily come in to existence as a possible future.

“Even the people were eerily alike, with their vacant plugged in stares, fashionable bodies and faces, uniforms or corporate approved dress code outfits. Jack stopped and looked at her reflection in the mirrored window of the building next to her. She knew she wasn't as fashionable as most of the other people on the street; she couldn't be bothered to get a new face every year and she while she went through a phase when she was younger of going through several body types, she finally found one that felt right and just kept it. Even her hair colour had remained the same since she was a teenager - she now bought number 772 (sapphire) by the wholesale case.”

I enjoyed Ms. Wehm’s point of view and her plot was both interesting and provocative. Many of the themes woven into the novel’s structure tackle compelling societal questions. I highly recommend this book.

Author Website:  http://darusha.ca/



Beautiful Red is also available in e-book format at Smashwords 

Pen Name or No

Another guest joins the blog today, author John Betcher.  He stops by on his virtual book tour to give tips on using a pen name:

Pen Name or No

Today's post has to do with an issue I have recently confronted in my writing -- whether to use a pen name instead of my real one.

A pen name . . . or nom de plume . . . as some say, is simply a made up name used in place of your real name as author of your work. There are reasons why one might want to do this. And reasons why one might not want to.

Why you may want to use a pen name:

Here are several popular reasons to use a pen name instead of your real one.

-- You want to change your gender. In certain genres, romance for instance, it seems that female authors are better received. This is particularly true if your main character is a female. And in other genres, thrillers perhaps, there is a preponderance of male characters. So you may want your author gender to be male. (These are just examples. I'm not trying to pick a fight.) If you're writing in a genre where readers prefer authors of a certain gender, maybe you want to switch yours if your God-given version isn't right for the task.

-- If this is your first book, you may wish to preserve your privacy by using a pen name. We all know that once our personal information is spread across the internet, it is widely available to anyone with nefarious intent. So privacy might be another consideration.

-- If you are already known for writing in a different genre, or appearing in a different medium, you may consider a nom de plume either: 1) to avoid confusing your readers as to the type of book they are buying; or 2) to preserve an alternate image for your previous work. St. Paul newspaper columnist, John Camp, writes as John Sandford, presumably for this reason.

-- If your real name is very common (eg. John Smith), or you share a name with another author, you might consider a pen name so your fans can more easily find your work on a search engine, or to avoid confusion with the other author.

-- If you want your author name to have a certain pizazz, you could spice it up a bit. "Rocky Savage" may sound more masculine to some than "Tracy Ween."

-- Or you may have one of those given names that might be male or female (like Stacy, or Sean, or Jamie). And perhaps you want to make your gender clear for the readers.

Why you may not want to use a pen name:

-- For many self-published writers, their personal name recognition (at least by friends, relatives and community) may be their best initial marketing tool. You might not want to lose that advantage by using a pen name. Community is a great place to start building your following.

-- If you have already established some name recognition with your other writing pursuits (columns, short stories, etc.), you may want to extend your "brand" to your new works. Using your real name as author of your new book(s) is a great way to do this. Hopefully, any goodwill you have established in your previous writings will transfer to your new audience. This is called "leveraging goodwill" in the marketing world. And lots of big companies use it. At one point the Gerber Company was known only for its quality baby food. But they have leveraged the the goodwill of their brand into baby clothing lines, and other areas as well. Why should we think a food packager can make clothing? Who knows . . . but leveraging works.

-- If your name is recognizable in some non-writing circle -- eg. you're a sports or entertainment figure -- using your real name can be a huge advantage. How many people would have bought "Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang, Bang" if the author weren't a famous comedian?

Well . . . those are a few reasons I have come up with.
I'm currently trying to balance name recognition, with the potential to confuse (or even alienate) my audience, as I approach publication of a new novel in a completely different genre from my "Beck" suspense/thriller series. I'll be happy to let you know later what I decided to do.

If you have other reasons for using a pen name or not, maybe you'd like to leave a comment.


Thanks, Anita, for allowing me to share your blog . . . and your readers. All the best to everyone!

About the Author:

John L. Betcher is a University of Minnesota Law School graduate and has practiced law for more than twenty-five years in the Mississippi River community of Red Wing, Minnesota. He possesses substantial first-hand knowledge of the Prairie River Nuclear Plant’s real world counterpart, as well as Red Wing’s airport and the flight rules around the nuke plant.

In addition to The 19th Element, he has published a second book in the “Beck” series entitled, The Missing Element, A James Becker Mystery. The second book is available everywhere.

The author has also been a long-time supporter and coach of youth volleyball in and around Red Wing and has authored three feature articles for Coaching Volleyball, the journal of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. His most recent article was the cover story for the April/May, 2009 Issue.

His book on volleyball coaching philosophies entitled The Little Black Book of Volleyball Coaching is available at http://www.johnbetcher.com/ and at amazon.com.



Push Forward and Write Your Tale

I have a guest today, stopping by as part of his virtual book tour.  So please welcome, Joel M. Andre:

Push Forward and Write Your Tale by Joel M. Andre

Everyone has a story to tell. There is little doubt about it. Over the course of the day, I have different friends and others pitching me story ideas. Why do they do it? Because it is a tale they want to read. For some, I will take the time to write a short story that they can read and the tale dies there. Other times, I suggest they write the story themselves.

Yes, it takes about 6 months to draft a book and to stumble through the editing process. In some cases, it can take longer. There are many factors that come into play. But this information isn’t to discourage you. Instead it is there to inspire you. Think about the number of times you’ve read a book and were depressed at how it went. Often, you feel you can write a better story.

That motivation alone should push you into writing for a living. While you might never be able to live off your royalties from the book you draft, you will have something you can be proud of. This can be a tale that slowly takes off and then quickly becomes something people talk about years from now. You never know until you sit down and write it.

You might be surprised at how much of a stress reducer this can be for you as well. Many of us have stress and anxiety that can be taken away from writing stories. This can be your chance to escape to a work full of dragons, or fairies. There is no limitation to the world you create and that is the beauty of writing.

If you don’t feel like you can write a whole novel, then take the steps and write a short story. Take it from start to finish and then read it back. This is your chance to revisit the world you’ve created and to find a place you’ll love for a lifetime. You have the talent in you and I believe you have what it takes to write.

So push forward and tell your tale. Share it with the world if you like, or reserve it for yourself and perhaps a few friends. No matter what you do with it, there is one thing to keep in mind. When you are done, there is something to be proud. Most people will spend a lifetime saying they are going to write a book or story and you’ll have done it. Keep that in mind and let it motivate you for telling your story.

About the Author:

Joel M. Andre was born January 13, 1981. At a young age he was fascinated with the written word. It was at fourteen that Poe blew his mind, and Andre began to dabble with darker poetry.

Between the years of 1999 and 2007 Joel was featured in various poetry anthologies and publications. In 2008 he released his first collection, Pray the Rain Never Ends.

Knowing there was something deeper and darker inside of his soul, Joel decided to take a stab at commercialism. Releasing the dark tongue in cheek, A Death at the North Pole, created a dark world among the death of Kris Kringle. Ultimately providing a tale of redemption.
October of 2008 saw Joel release his second book, Kill 4 Me. A tale in which a woman is haunted by a vengeful spirit through text messages and instant messaging.
Taking some time off and doing a lot of soul searching, Joel took things in a new direction and dabbled in the Fantasy Genre with, The Pentacle of Light. The tale dealing with five major races battling for control of Earth, and the acceptance of their God.
Finally, after missing his detective Lauren Bruni, he released the book The Return in October 2009, this time moving the action from the North Pole and placing it in the small Arizona community he was raised in.

Andre’s latest book is The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen about a dead man who seeks revenge on the woman that tormented him in peaceful Northern Arizona.

Currently, he resides in Chandler, AZ.
You can visit his website at http://www.joelmandre.com/.