The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry

The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published offers authors advice on how to write, sell and market their books successfully.

I really enjoyed this book. The information is offered a in concise and entertaining manner, which not only makes it easy to read, but fun as well. This material could be pedantic and heavy, but it really comes across as interesting and light-hearted in the hands of these authors. Even though I don't plan to write or publish a book, I found the information fascinating. I'll never really know how hard authors work, but after going through this book, I have a better idea. They have my upmost respect.

While the book is geared towards helping authors, it contains lots of information regarding the writing and publishing process that others (for example, book lovers) may find interesting. It covers topics such as: submitting the book, self-publishing, working with contracts, touring, selling your book and much, much more. There's also several appendices with invaluable information for the author, including a list of selected publishers and contact names.

The book was first published in 2005, but this recent edition includes a new chapter on social networking sites and all things online. There's tons of information for authors as well as others who use those online sites.

Recommended.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the Workman Publishing website.

Would you like a peek inside? There are a couple of chapters online: Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.

For more information about the authors and other cool stuff, please visit Eckstut and Sterry's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Workman Publishing for this review copy.

The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, Workman Publishing, ©2010. ISBN 9780761160854(uncorrected proof), 468p (plus index).

Up from the Blue: A Novel by Susan Henderson

In Up From the Blue, Tillie is all grown up and about to give birth to her first child. With her husband out of town, she enlists the help of her estranged father. This brings back some painful memories of her childhood. Her mother's erratic behaviour and her disappearance after a move to another city have left some deep emotional scars on the young Tillie. Being raised by her father wasn't easy either, especially since she suspected that her father had something to do with her mother's disappearance. She soon finds out that it's a little more complicated that she first imaged.

I quite enjoyed reading this book. The story is beautiful told. I love the way it all unfolded. The book presented a great look at the life of a military family in the 1970s as they move to another city after the father gets a new job. With a strict controlling military man for a father and a mentally ill mother, Tillie was bound to have some problems and harbour some hard feelings. The parts of the story that dealt with mental illness and race relations of the time (because of Tillie's friend) were quite interesting.

For me, the last few chapters of the young Tillie's narration is what brought the story all together. Up until then, I had a little trouble believing that Tillie didn't have any idea what happened to her mother. Even though she was young, she should have known that something was not right. When she did find out what happened, she kept that information to herself and didn't do very much about the situation. I sometimes forget how unreliable children are as narrators. Their life experiences give them a skewed outlook. Perhaps that why parts of the story came across as unbelievable. I would have loved to hear this story from the father's point of view. Even the mentally-ill Mara's(Tillie's mother) take would have been interesting. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll leave it at that.

I liked Tillie as a child, but not that much as an adult. She just seemed so bitter and aggressive towards her father even when she was asking for his help. He had his faults, but he did come to help her when she was in need. That in itself should have earned him so points and softened her harsh view of him. I understand grudges and bad feelings, but if that's how she felt about him, why did she ask for his help?

Despite what I said above, I would still recommend this book to others. There are plenty of great reviews out there with high praises for this book. They shouldn't be too hard to find.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the HarperCollins website.

For more information about the author, please visit Susan Henderson's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at HarperCollins for this review copy.

Up From the Blue by Susan Henderson, HarperCollins Publishers, ©2010. ISBN 9780061984037(Uncorrected Proof), 317p.

Photo Friday - Vivid

For more "Vivid" photos, visit the Photo Friday website.
For more of my submissions, please my PhotoFriday set on my Flickr page.

Renovating our basement and CSN Stores

When we moved into our house just a little over 18 months ago, we knew that we were going to be renovating the basement at some point. That means insulating the walls, drywalling, painting, installing a drop ceiling and all the rest. Since there are some government grants available now for insulating basements, we figured we'd take advantage of them.

The supplies arrived on Monday and the workmen started yesterday. We were so excited until last night we were standing in the middle of the basement looking at all of the new living space we were going to gain, when we came to the realization that we had no furniture to put in it. Zippo. Nada. That's what happens when you move into a space that's bigger than your last one.

So this morning I was surfing the web and looking at newspaper flyers to see if I could find something (anything) to fill up that space. I came across these beautiful bar tables and stools that will come in handy in our little bar area. It's great because I found them on the CSN Stores website, a website that I love and have used before. They also have some other stuff that will look great in our new basement (once it's done). All I have to do now is decide what to get first.

Stay tuned because in the near future I'll be reviewing my purchase from CSN. Don't know yet what it's going to be, but it should be fun.

The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker

In The Dark Vineyard, Bruno, the Chief of Police in Saint-Denis gets called in when there's a fire at a research station for genetically modified crops. Bruno suspects that some local environmentalists are to blame and begins looking at that angle. Meanwhile, winemakers are interested in the land around Saint-Denis and Bruno is concerned that his small town is about to get very crowded. He has his hands full with suspicious characters and two mysterious deaths, but still finds time for romance, friends, food and wine.

This was such an enjoyable read. I felt like I had been transported to France in this wonderful quaint mystery. There are no car chases or high action scenes, but with writing and characters like this, who needs them. Even though the book is the sequel to Bruno, Chief of Police, you don't have to read that one first to enjoy this one. I haven't read the first one (yet) and I loved this book. There were a few references to past events that presumably happened in the first book, but not really that much. I had been looking forward to reading Bruno, Chief of Police, but now I'm even more excited to read it and to revisit Bruno in France. It should be fun.

I loved that Walker briefly explained the French legal system. It was quite interesting and made the story easier to follow. I was equally thrilled with the descriptions of food and wine/winemaking. Everything sounded so delicious. I wanted to join right in.

Bruno Courrèges was a great character. He clearly cared a great deal about Saint-Denis and wanted to protect it and its inhabitants. That showed in his police work and how he dealt with others.

New words: The book is sprinkled with French words, a few of which I didn't recognise. I was able to work out their meaning, though, so I didn't record many of them.
pompiers (page 3): firefighter
mairie (page 16): town hall

Highly recommended. I'd love to read another book by this author.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the HarperCollins Canada website.

Looking for more recommendations, news from the world of books and other fun bookish stuff? Check out The Savvy Reader, the blog from HarperCollins Canada.

For more information about the author, this series and his other books, please visit the Bruno, Chief of Police website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at HarperCollins Canada for this review copy.

The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker, HarperCollins, ©2009. ISBN 9781554682669(Hardcover), 303p.

The Penguin Book of Crime Stories: Volume II - Selected and Introduced by Peter Robinson

The Penguin Book of Crime Stories: Volume II is a collection of short stories from crime writers around the world. Peter Robinson selected the stories and introduces the lot, which includes stories from: Ruth Rendell, John Connolly, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Sue Grafton, Reginald Hill, Dennis Richard Murphy and many more.

Every time I read a book of short stories, I'm reminded of how much I love them! When the collection consists of stories from various authors, such as this one, it's a special treat. In this book, I loved the variety of stories, characters and writing styles. I enjoyed all of them, but there were a few that really stuck out for me. Among my favourites: "Dead in the Water" by Dennis Richard Murphy (which took a page or two to get into, but was fabulous); "The Listening Room" by Robert J. Randisi; and "Triangle" by Jeffery Deaver. Also, "The Visitors' Book" by Sophie Hannah because it was so creepy. All of these were full of surprises with regards to storyline and ending.

There were two stories that I liked, but didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would. These were Maureen Jennings's "The Weeping Time" and Sue Grafton's "A Poison That Leaves No Trace". I've read books by both of these authors before and really enjoy their work, but for some reason neither of these stories stood out as favourites.

I'd really like to read more works from Jeffery Deaver, John Connolly, Reginald Hill and probably all of the other authors who were new to me. I enjoyed this book so much. I really could have read at least another dozen or so stories.

Highly recommended for mysteries lovers and those who enjoy a great short story.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit Penguin's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Penguin for this review copy.

The Penguin Book of Crime Stories: Volume II by Peter Robinson, Penguin, ©2010. ISBN 9780143172345(Trade paperback), 208p.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

In Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, the Major forms a friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, a Pakistani shop owner from town, after the recent death of the his brother. They have both lost their spouses years before and are drawn together by their love of books. However, this relationship, which is becoming romantic, is seen as scandalous by the town's people, as Mrs. Ali will always be considered an outsider. The Major has a fight on his hands if he wants to continue seeing Jasmina.

Simonson's debut novel was an absolute joy to read. I loved it. The story was just quaint and delightful. It had so many facets beside the relationship. It was also about decorum, honour, respect, traditions and cultures. Because the Major was an older proper English gentlemen, there was no gushy romance involved in the story. His intentions were suggested rather than displayed openly. I also quite enjoyed the side story of the Major's guns. The guns were given to the Major and his brother shortly before their father's death. The stipulation was that when one of the brothers died, the other would get both guns. With the passing of the Major's brother, the guns should belong to the Major. However, not everyone agreed. I'm not a fan of guns at all, however, the Major's outrage and attitude about them was quite entertaining. Had they been arguing about something else (antique coins or the like), I would have shared his annoyance.

I adored the Major. He was proper, chivalrous, humble and utterly charming. He stood up to some characters and came to the defence of others. He did so many great things in the book, I wanted to stand up and cheer him on. I also really liked Jasmina, Mrs. Ali. I think she got stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to her nephew. I didn't envy her position. That part of the story line was quite enlightening with respect to her culture.

Favourite quotes:

He had forgotten that grief does not decline in a straight line or along a slow curve like a graph in a child's math book. Instead, it was almost as if his body contained a big pile of garden rubbish full both of heavy lumps of dirt and of sharp thorny brush that would stab him when he least expected it. (page 35)

--America wielded her huge power in the world with a brash confidence that reminded him of a toddler who had got hold of a hammer.(page 173)

Life does often get in the way of one's reading.(page 200)

A couple may have nothing in common but the color of their skin and the country of their ancestors, but the whole world would see them as compatible.(page 265)

New word Alert:
ossified (page 8): hardened
scimitars (page 28): Arab sabre
tumescent (page 33): swelling
lugubrious (page 35): sad
inveigle (page 188): entice, deceive
ghillie (page 325): another spelling of gillie, which is a Scottish game warden. (I'd like to thank Helen Simonson for emailing the correct definition of this word.)

Highly recommended. I'd love to read another book by this author. Perhaps a sequel to this one?

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the Random House website.

For more information about the author and other cool stuff, please visit Helen Simonson's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Random House for this review copy.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, Random House, ©2010. ISBN 9780385668644(Hardcover), 355p.