Dustin Reviews: Pieces of a Puzzle by Jenny Gill

Happily married Alison and Mark are chatting about their coming holiday. She goes to the kitchen to finish supper preparations.When she comes out he has disappeared without a trace, taking nothing with him. She never sees him again. Then 17 years later a solicitor’s letter starts her on a search for answers. She needs to piece together the whole puzzle in order to put it behind her and get on with her life.

Pieces of a Puzzle (Southhill Sagas) (Volume 1) is told in snippets of random flashbacks until the story is fully revealed. At times this reader was lost since the flashbacks were not laid out in chronological order. My preferences aside, the overall story was interesting and held my attention.

About the author

Jenny Gill lives in beautiful Cape Town, with her husband, two dogs and a cat. They lived in Surrey, England for many years – where her books are set.

She enjoyed her characters so much that she didn’t want to say good bye to them so you will find characters from one book making a cameo appearance in another.

You can follow her blogs on www.jennygill1.blogspot.com and www.babyboomerfictionwriter.blogspot.com

Pieces of a Puzzle is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Puzzle-Southhill-Sagas-ebook/dp/B00A1AETYC

Print Length: 254 pages
Publication Date: November 2, 2012
Language: English
ASIN: B00A1AETYC

3 out of 5 stars

Dustin Reviews: Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum by Stephen Prosapio

Zach Kalusky, host of Sci-D TV’s Xavier Paranormal Investigators, is ecstatic when he’s given the opportunity to explore the most haunted site in Chicago for a Halloween Special: Rosewood Asylum, a place long made off-limits by the local government, plagued by decades of mysterious fires and unexplained events. It’s Zach’s dream investigation- but there’s a catch: the network forces Xavier Paranormal Investigators to partner with the more dramatic-but less ethical-Demon Hunters. Now, Zach must fight for both his show’s integrity and his team’s loyalty while trying to protect his own secret: that he, himself, is possessed

Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum comes to life much like a real-life docu-drama one might view on an educational TV channel. The story moves along at a nice pace while steadily revealing small clues that will eventually answer the growing number of unanswered questions. Lies and suspicions between the two competitive paranormal investigative teams along with unexplained paranormal activity make for more than just an engrossing ghost story.

About the author

Stephen Prosapio received his Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science from DePaul University in Chicago. After reporting for one of the nation’s largest fantasy football websites, footballguys.com, Stephen wrote his first novel, Dream War. Competing against 2,676 other novels, it won a Top Five Finalist award in Gather.com’s 2007 First Chapters contest. Dream War was released as an eBook in July of 2010. Articles about him and his writing have been featured in the San Diego Union Tribune, The North County Times, Today’s Local News, San Diego Magazine and the DePaul University Alumni magazine.

Stephen’s second novel Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum is a paranormal suspense novel about a paranormal researcher—who is himself possessed—forced to team with a rival TV ghost hunting show investigating a 19th century asylum. He uncovers as many dangerous secrets as he does spirits.

Stephen works as an executive recruiter and resides in Oceanside, California. He is currently crafting a sequel to Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum that chronicles the Xavier Paranormal Investigators next case.

Stephen Prosapio’s author website: http://www.prosapio.com

Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-of-Rosewood-Asylum-ebook/dp/B008KWVPZO

Print Length: 294 pages
Publication Date: May 10th 2011 by Otherworld Publications LLC
Language: English
ISBN: 1936593106

4 out of 5 stars

Dustin Reviews: A Dead Red Cadillac (A Dead Red #1) by R.P. Dahlke

Twice divorced NY model, Lalla Bains, now runs her dad’s Crop-Dusting business in Modesto, California where she’s hoping to dodge the inevitable fortieth birthday party. But when her trophy red ‘58 Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask why a widowed piano teacher, who couldn’t possibly see beyond the hood ornament, was found strapped in the driver’s seat. Reeling from an interrogation with local homicide, Lalla is determined to extricate herself as a suspect in this strange murder case. Unfortunately, drug running pilots, a cross-dressing convict, a crazy Chihuahua, and the dead woman’s hunky nephew throw enough road blocks to keep Lalla neck deep in an investigation that links her family to a twenty-year old murder only she can solve.

A Dead Red Cadillac is the perfect solution for a dreary, rainy weekend. It has just the right amount of humor, drama and suspense to distract from the inclement weather outdoors. Kick off your shoes, wiggle your toes and sink into the couch with a cup of Earl Grey tea. For a couple of leisurely hours, totally lose yourself in Lalla Bains world.

About the author

I got to thinking why I so very much like reading and writing about strong women. To be honest with you, I think it’s because I’ve spent most of my life as a wimp, doing as I was told, minding my manners, saying all the right, and expected, things, until one day I realized being miss-goody-two-shoes was getting me exactly nowhere. Since then, I’ve been called disrespectful, annoyingly forward, and my favorite—uppity. To make up for lost time, I now suit up as Lalla Bains, born again bachelorette, ex-NY Model, crop-duster, sometime amateur sleuth. I might as well let her tell it… she’s crowding me for the spotlight anyway.

Lalla Bains here, and I seldom do as I’m told especially after my lyin’, cheatin’ whoring second ex-husband took up with yet another too-tasty-to-resist side-dish.

So what if I took a baseball bat to his recently restored vintage Caddy? It was worth it just to watch him try to yodel his way out of this latest lie… like I didn’t catch him and his secretary fogging up the windows of his pimp-mobile.

I smashed in the headlights, the driver’s side window, and just for good measure, slashed the tires. That way, he had to get a tow. I skinned him of the Caddy in the divorce and, just for spite, painted it candy apple red.

That’s me, hell raiser–well, sort of. Flying and partying don’t mix during the long hard days of summer. Even if I had the energy I get too damn little sleep as it is and now that I’m fu-fuuu-fu-forty.–’kay, that’s–that’s just–rude to laugh. You try my life for a day–up at three a.m., chasing after lazy pilots and the smart mouthed ground crew I inherited when my dad when he went in for a triple by-pass.

“Would you mind coming home and taking over the crop-dusting business?” he says, coughing lightly into the phone. “I might not be around much longer.”

Miraculously recovered, my tight-wad father is now too busy to take back his desk, what with rediscovering a whole new wardrobe from the back of his closet. He’s in leisure suits, squiring local widows to funerals and scarfing up free meals at the wakes while I try to shake off the ankle biting Chihuahua we inherited from the last murder case.

On the bright side, my love life is finally out of the dumps since I have a wonderful relationship with Sheriff Caleb Stone. Well, that is, it would be, if only I could do as I’m told and stay away from solving crimes. It’s not my fault that people die at my feet, or they’re found six feet under a local lake strapped into the front seat of my trophy red caddy.

But, If I did as I was told and stayed out of trouble, I never would have solved those cases. Besides, it helps keep my mind off turning fu-fuu-forty. So, now you understand why well behaved women seldom make history is now my motto.

Note to self: tattoo the above quote somewhere I can clearly see it when I’m in another jam.

From the Author on Amazon

R.P. Dahlke’s author website: www.rpdahlke.com

A Dead Red Cadillac is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/A-DEAD-RED-CADILLAC-ebook/dp/B004QOAZO2

Print Length: 289 pages Kindle Edition, 203 pages Publication Date: March 3rd 2011 by Dead Bear Publishing (first published March 1st 2011) Series: A Dead Red #1 Language: English ASIN: B004QOAZO2

4 out of 5 stars

 

Dustin Reviews: The Leaving by Gabriella West

At 15, Cathy Quinn is an intelligent misfit living in 1980s Dublin. As the book opens she discovers that her charming older brother Stevie, who’s gay, is falling in love with the one boy in school whom she likes. Over her last two years of school, Cathy struggles with her repressed, unhappy family, coming to terms with her powerful attraction to her best friend Jeanette, and leaving Ireland. “The Leaving” is a realistic yet lyrical look at adolescence and first love.

Above all, the novel offers a wry, raw look at growing up in the conservative, recession-plagued Dublin of the 1980s, when homosexuality was still taboo, and being different was not tolerated.

The Leaving was an interesting read, however, I had mixed feelings about it. There were a number of POV issues that caused me to have to backtrack to more clearly understand the points of views. At times it seemed Cathy was somewhat repetitive and maybe the manuscript could have been trimmed down. It’s not an “epic” tale, more like a slice of “in the life of Cathy”.Still, I wouldn’t dismiss The Leaving, I’m sure there are many folks who would find this story charming and enjoyable.

About the author

Gabriella West was born in Santa Barbara, CA in 1967. In 1969, her parents moved to Ireland, and she grew up there, studying English Literature and Italian at Trinity College, Dublin.

She earned an MA degree in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University in 1995.

She’s published two well-reviewed novels. “Time of Grace” (Wolfhound Press, 2002), the story of a passionate love affair between a young English governess and a maid, is set in Ireland against the backdrop of the 1916 Easter Rising. “The Leaving” (2011) is a semi-autobiographical look at a rebellious adolescent girl coming of age in Dublin in the mid-1980s.

She often reviews indie/small press books on her blog, http://gabriellawest.net. Her day job is proofreading and editing. (http://editforindies.com)

The Leaving is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/The-Leaving-ebook/dp/B005BSYMQ4

Print Length: 232 pages
Publication Date: Shaggy Dog Publications (July 7, 2011)
Language: English
ASIN: B005BSYMQ4
Published May 30th 2011 by Smashwords
ISBN13:9781458133779

4 out of 5 stars

Dustin Reviews: The Nose Knows by David Hudnut

Imagine a romantic comedy combined with the humor of Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Mad Magazine, with a little King of the Hill thrown in, and a dash of Robot Chicken.

Calvin Dunkley has trouble meeting women. But he desperately wants to find true love. Luckily for Calvin, every Friday the beautiful Claudia Aranda comes into the grocery store where he works. He’s been planning to ask her out for months. It took that long to get his courage up, because Claudia is gorgeous.

Unfortunately for Calvin, the mutant nose hair he discovers sprouting from his nostril like a rabid rattlesnake has other ideas…

Relive the frustrations of young love. The laughs always come with a few tears, but everyone knows romance comes at a price. If you like schadenfreude humor and giant squids, this is your bag.

The Nose Knows is a fast paced, zany, off-the-wall, short read that will delight readers who enjoy Seth MacFarlane’s (Family Guy) type of bizarre humor.

About the author

Author, illustrator, and musician David Hudnut is devoted to telling stories that excite, inspire, frighten, motivate and most of all, ENTERTAIN READERS EVERYWHERE.

His newest works,

NIGHT WALK
HANDS OFF
DONUT DOES IT
THE NOSE KNOWS

are 4 tales of suspense designed to evoke our emotions in a world saturated with meaningless distraction. These stories will make your heart race in fear, or swell with compassion, or make you laugh out loud. This is rock-and-roll writing.

Turn off your cell phones, log off of your favorite social networking websites, and start reading! His stories will make your eyes bleed with tears of laughter, sadness and TERROR…

David has also worked as an illustrator for the entertainment industry for the past 15 years. In the process of creating many thousands of drawings, he realized that contrary to conventional wisdom, a word is worth 1,000 pictures. And now as a writer, he is learning that a noun is worth 1,000 adjectives. With that in mind, he asks that you imagine what a single noun can do.

Website: http://davidhudnut.blogspot.com

Tags: comedy, comic-fiction, humor, humorous, laugh-out-loud, laughter, romantic-comedy, trouble-meeting-women, twilight-zone

The Nose Knows is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/The-Nose-Knows-ebook/dp/B0079OXCE6

Print Length: Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 75 pages / Print 95 pages
Published: April 10th 2013 by David Hudnut (first published February 14th 2012)
Language: English
ASIN: B0079OXCE6

4 out of 5 stars

Dustin Reviews: Joshua by John S. Wilson

He had to keep moving, that the man instinctively knew. He had to get away, from the rioting, the lawlessness, the killing. Away from the brutal gangs that ruled the highways. Then there was the boy that he found along the way, an orphan with no place to go. He couldn’t leave the child behind; that would be murder. Together they had to make their way across the razed landscape of post collapse America, west to where there was safety, a chance to begin again. If only they survived the journey.

Excerpt: Man had quickly degenerated to the animal instincts of the species and numerous bloody examples could be seen anywhere one looked. For many there were no more limits in this new world as it had only been the law that kept them from robbing or killing or raping each other, and the law was now gone. Only anarchy remained. Rotting murdered corpses littered his street like so much uncollected garbage. The smell was something of nightmares. It was like some bad science fiction movie but all too real. If it had been a movie the man would have found it laughable and changed the channel.

Excerpt: All around the nation it was the same. The rioting and killing started in the densely populated urban areas but quickly spilled into the suburbs and then out into the countryside, the blood following the line of the highways like water obeying gravity. The mob ruled and the mob wanted blood. Now they would have it.

Every once in a while you run across a read that stands out from the others, a story that shines – Joshua was that and more. This quick paced tale is fiction, but there are a number of parallels with our own current real world that makes this book come to life, sorta like it is foretelling the very near future. An uneasy feeling crept through me as I continued to read.

The main character: Man captivated this reader as his values and perceptions evolve as he maneuvers through a new world of lawlessness and animalistic drive for survival. Man goes (on foot) in search of his remaining relatives. Dead or alive, he has a desire to know what has become of them. Along the way, he makes a promise to a dying woman to care for her three year old child, Joshua. At first, Man only sees Joshua as a helpless boy, but a bond of dependency for survival quickly develops between them. Together, they cross the devastated country in search of answers and attempt to stay alive.

Emotional and heartbreaking are some of the words that best describe this story. Joshua is a disturbing tale yet brilliantly told.

About the author

Over the years John S. Wilson has found himself with various titles, truck driver, warehouseman, security guard, air marshaller, insurance salesman, real estate agent, bottle inspector, assembly line worker, forklift operator, stock boy. Now with this book he can add another to that list, author.

Joshua is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-ebook/dp/B007S0DMT6/

Length: 324 pages Kindle Edition / 322 pages Paperback
Publication Date: Published April 6th 2012 by Createspace
Language: English
ASIN: B007S0DMT6
ISBN-10:1475116535
ISBN-13: 978-1475116533

5 out of 5 stars

Dustin Reviews: The Twenty Dollar Bill by Elmore Hammes

Follow the path of a twenty dollar bill as it is stolen, given, spent or otherwise passed from person to person, traveling from place to place. No bombastic explosions, steamy sex scenes, political intrigue or cosmic encounters. Just slices of life from the people you walk by every day – glimpses into how ordinary people interact, how they think, how they feel and how they love. A contemporary novel exploring every day interactions and relationships.

The Twenty Dollar Bill was an extraordinarily engrossing fast read. The novel is written in mini-vignettes each are a brief description of the individual who currently posses the twenty dollar bill. I started reading and I didn’t want to put the story down. Each mini-tale is unique and as interesting as the one before. I found myself reacting emotionally to the mini-stories from anger, sympathy and once (or twice), on the verge of tears.

About the author

Elmore Hammes has published several novels, including The Holmes & Watson Mysterious Events and Objects Consortium: The Case of the Witch’s Talisman (middle grade mystery/fantasy), The Twenty Dollar Bill (contemporary fiction) and The Cloud (science fiction). His short stories have recently appeared in The First Line and Espresso Fiction.

The Twenty Dollar Bill is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/The-Twenty-Dollar-Bill-ebook/dp/B0012MYS44/

Print Length: 180 pages
Publication Date: November 22nd 2007 by Kanapolis Fog Publishing Emporium
Language: English
ASIN:B0012MYS44
ISBN: 061514716X

4 out of 5 stars

Dustin Reviews: Pike Place by Marilyn Howard Tschudi

When the Johnson family wanders into a new coffee bean shop with a naked-mermaid logo and a strange-sounding name, little do they know what Starbucks will someday become. The year is 1971, and Seattle’s own Jimi Hendrix has just died overdose — just months before the first Bumbershoot music festival. Written in the voice of a ten-year-old girl, Pike Place begins in the town of Richland, home of the Hanford nuclear plant and the Manhattan Project. When the family moves into the “Seattle City Limits,” the kids explore the city on foot and mini bikes. But then the unimaginable happens: one day, one of the Johnson children disappears — magical play lands become forbidden woods, suspicion clouds every interaction, and even Pike Place Market itself stirs up feelings of uncertainty and fear. Pike Place is a story of innocence and innocence lost. It is a quest for what was — for closure, for reconciliation, for a return to a place that only exists in the memory.

Actually Pike Place is told in the voice of a twenty-five year old who recalls her memories of when she was ten. At first, I was having brief WTF shock-waves at the words and phrases little ten year old Bobbi was using to relate her story. No ten year old child would know some of those words, they were too “grownup”. (It’s not till way later in the novel that this issue is resolved with a simple explanation.) Other than that little issue, I found Bobbi (ten year old girl) to be funny, witty and sometimes a brat, but always a young girl. Her observations and reactions to her perception of her world were classic of an inquisitive child. I found myself getting lost in my own childhood memories.

In my opinion Pike Place is an excellent YA story with a real lesson for the reader to grasp.

About the author

Born and raised in the state of Washington, Marilyn has also lived in Cleveland, São Paulo (Brazil), New York and Raleigh – where she lives today. Marilyn is a graduate of New York’s Barnard College and founder and president of Architexture Home Center, Inc. Pike Place is Marilyn’s debut novel.

Award-Winning Finalist – 2007 National Best Books Awards

Finalist – 2008 Indie Excellence Book Awards

Best Novel of the Year – 2008 Premier Book Awards

Honorable Mention – 2009 Beach Book Festival

Honorable Mention – 2009 San Francisco Book Festival

Runner Up – 2013 Great Northwestern Book Festival

Pike Place is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Pike-Place-ebook/dp/B008SVWQRS/

Print Length: 176 pages
Publication Date: August 17th 2007 by Quarrystone Publishing Co.
Language: English
ASIN: B008SVWQRS
ISBN: 0615144551
ISBN13:9780615144559

4 out of 5 stars

Dustin Reviews: The Fridgularity by Mark A. Rayner

Chill out. It’s only the technological singularity.

Blake Given’s web-enabled fridge has pulled the plug on the Internet, turning its owner’s life – and the whole world – upside down.

Blake has modest ambitions for his life. He wants to have his job reclassified, so he can join the Creative Department of the advertising firm where he works. And he wants to go out with Daphne, one of the account execs at the same company. His fridge has other plans. All Blake knows is he’s at the center of the Internet’s disappearance, worldwide economic and religious chaos, and the possibility of a nuclear apocalypse — none of which is helping him with his career plans or love life.

The Fridgularity is the story of a reluctant prophet, Internet addicts in withdrawal and a kitchen appliance with delusions of grandeur.

Although The Fridgularity is a work of fiction, it may give a glimpse into our future when (and if) computers begin to take control. The characters (on the most part) are believable and the vivid images of twenty-somethings lost without access to their social networks is a scary concept. Humor is provided when Blake internally mulls over the characters he encounters and gives them humorous nicknames. Blake reminds me of Noah York’s off-the-wall comments in Leave Myself Behind by Bart Yates.

The story moves along at a nice pace, however, there were a few scenes that bogged down in the last quarter of the novel. Overall, The Fridgularity was an enjoyable read with the right balance of drama and humor. This novel was an eye opener to what may someday be our future.

About the Author

Mark acquired his super-powers on the day he was bitten by a radioactive baboon.

His grandfather had taken him to a petting zoo near Mark’s home town of London (the other one, in Canada) and the ten-year old had been delighted to discover that there were monkeys. The only thing that would have made him happier was the presence of pirates, but the pirate petting zoo had been forced out of business earlier that year because of all the hook-related litigation.

Shortly after his mauling by the red-assed, Old World monkey, Mark began to exhibit his new super-powers. First mimicry, then copious hair growth, and finally, the storytelling. All three powers drove his family crazy.

Despite these gifts, he survived the 70s and 80s. (In fact, he is still pleasantly surprised that he was not vaporized in the mid-80s, though he never took the threat of global thermonuclear war personally, despite his encounter with the irradiated primate.)

Since then Mark has explored many storytelling media; the theatre, radio, print, and of course, the web. He’s had several plays produced, more than two dozen short stories published, and he has written two novels: THE AMADEUS NET (ENC Press, 2005), and MARVELLOUS HAIRY (Crossing Chaos Enigmatic Ink, 2009).

His own tale is currently set in his hometown of London, Ontario (Canada). He shares a home in Old South with his furry faux-progeny: Milo and Max, two Siberian maniacs. He also works as a freelance writer and web consultant, and he teaches at The University of Western Ontario, in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies.

Author website: http://markarayner.com/

The Fridgularity by Mark A. Rayner is available at: Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fridgularity-ebook/dp/B00A2FL9PS/

Print Length: 412 pages
Publication Date: Monkeyjoy Press (November 5, 2012)
Language: English
ASIN: B00A2FL9PS
ISBN-1927590000

4 out of 5 stars

Dustin Reviews: Lunch Lady by T. Watkins

As an up-and-coming star in the kitchen of the city’s best Italian restaurant, Angela’s future had seemed bright. But when a restaurant guest is inexplicably injured and she gets fired, it seems like her dreams are over. With nowhere else to go to do what she loves, Angela is forced to accept a job in a high school cafeteria working for the enormous and sweaty Hildegarde Knoblauch. Adding insult to injury, several items are found missing from the cafeteria pantry and Angela is blamed. Three students go to hilarious lengths to try to prove Angela’s innocence with comical results.

When the International Kitchen King Cooking Contest comes to town, Angela has hopes of regaining her status in the culinary community, but must overcome side-splitting obstacles and her own self-doubt to escape her embarrassing situation as Lunch Lady.

Lunch Lady was a definite surprise read, I began the book with preconceived ideas (based on the juvenile-type book cover… again, don’t judge a book by its cover).

I enjoyed the way the story unfolded, although the character dialog felt stiff and unnatural at times. The characters were interesting and engaging on the most part. The main characters finally blossom just as the story is wrapping up. There were several phrases and image descriptions repeated far too much and I found that annoying. About half-way into the novel, the pace begins to pick up and the story builds. Overlooking the minor flaws, Lunch Lady was an interesting light read.

Available from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Lunch-Lady-ebook/dp/B0096TP6CS

About the author

T Watkins is a writer of novels and screenplays, and is an award-winning director of films. He has held a wide variety of jobs over the years, including English teacher in Japan, military officer in Germany, industrial spy in the Alaskan fishing industry, and bank vice president. He lives in Seattle with his mini-UN of a family – every member is from a different country.

Print Length: 204 pages
Publication Date: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (September 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN13: 978-1479274758
ISBN-10: 1479274755

3 out of 5 stars