Monday, July 30, 2012

Review of The Gaunlet Runner by S. Thomas Bailey

Gauntlet Runner, while a work of fiction, is about real battles that took place in early America before the fight for independence. As a reviewer I must mention that there is a graphic description of the torture of Indian captives that some may find disturbing. It all depends on the individual reader and their level of comfort with the descriptions. Many such incidents have been recorded and depicted in numerous movies dealing with the “White Man” and Indians (Now called Native American). S. Thomas Bailey, author of the Gauntlet Runner is a researcher of early North American life as a raw historian. If you are at all interested in early American history, Gauntlet Runner is a book that should be added to your required reading list. This reviewer assigns a four out of five stars to Gauntlet Runner with a must read recommendation. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of the Gauntlet Runner for yourself. Reviewer: Robert Medak, Allbooks Review International www.allbooksreviewint.com Title: The Gauntlet Runner Author: S. Thomas Bailey Publisher: iUniverse ISBN: 9789-1-4620-5123-6 Pages: 208 For more info: www.thegauntletrunner1754.com Date: January, 2012

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Review of Lucy Lakota by C.C.Shride

Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer Book One: Rocky Mountain Beginnings Author: C.S. Shride Genre: Adventure Fiction “You will be physically exhausted. Your emotions will be strained at times; your mind will be taxed to its limit. As a result of surviving these challenges, you will become a better person. You will acquire leadership skills, self-esteem and confidence” (Shride, pg.113) Lucy Dakota begins her journey as an ordinary teenage girl attempting to find her way in the world and desperate for the acceptance of her peers. Pushing her way through the difficult situations that surround her within both middle school and onwards past her high school graduation, she is aided by an adventure scouting camp to shape herself. Through the exploration of the backcountry in Colorado she ends up exploring her own personality and begins to transform into the confident globe trotter she was meant to become. C.S. Shride; the author of the Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer series has drawn from the experiences she faced in her own adolescence and young adulthood, to create a character and story that is both realistic and empowering. Throughout the novel one cannot help but relating to Lucy, her emotions and attitudes towards her own life are those that many young people may have experienced or may be going through as they read the book. Shride has written a story that will not grow old, because the emotions and situations are eternal. Everybody will struggle with their sense of self and try to find out who they are at some point and the book depicts Lucy’s adventures perfectly and shows her journey of self discovery. Shride too found her lifelong love of high-altitude trekking and mountaineering through a club she found in high school. In her life, it led to a career of twenty years as the owner of a multi-million dollar adventure travel company, where she led thousands of tourists on treks through the wilderness of South America and the mountains in Nepal. Her experience creates a unique and realistic voice for Lucy throughout the novel and pulls together a story that draws you in like no other. In conclusion, I believe that Rocky Mountain Beginnings is a wonderful book that tells a story any preteen or young adult would enjoy. Page after page it fills you and allows you to relate to the main character and empathies with the tale she tells. Filled with adventure, friendship, love and enthusiasm this is a great book to get and I truly believe that everybody should have the chance to enjoy this book. Lucy Dakota: Rocky Mountain Beginnings is highly recommended by Kirsten Bussière, Allbooks Reviews Int.; www.allbooksreviewint.com Lucy Dakota: Adventures of a Modern Explorer Book One: Rocky Mountain Beginnings ISBN: 978-0-9833863-2-2 $12.95 USD www.lucydakota.com Author: C.S. Shride http://csshride.com/ and www.LucyDakota.com ©2011 by My Piece of the Puzzle, LLC www.mypieceofthepuzzle.com

Interview with author Fadi Hattendorf

Please state your name and location. (city and State or Province, Country) Fadi Hattendorf Phoenix, Arizona Tell us the title and publisher of your book: CreateSpace Tell us about yourself: I’m married and a proud mother of one child. The book “What Is Love? Perspectives On Love” is my first general fiction based on real life stories. My book “What Is Love? Perspectives On Love” was a Fall 2011 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award Winner in the fiction category. I’m at http://fadihattendorf.com When was the book released? July 30, 2011 Give us an overview of your book. The book “What Is Love? Perspectives On Love” offers a look at the meaning and application of “I love you” as well as whether or not, these words ever come off as sincere as we want them to. The book contains fictional stories to explain one of the most complicated feelings human beings will ever come to know. These real life based stories demonstrate how people find love in one another, and why some begin to search for it again right after they have found it. Every story of the book is unique so is every chapter of the book. What inspired you to write this book? Everyday’s life. People round me. My own experiences served as a platform. The hunger of understanding of what is love? How is your book different from other books in this genre? Readers may know what love is but there are so many aspects of love. The book contains more than 40 real life based stories to explore the complexity of love. Readers may discover others’ love lives, learn from them and perhaps even put them to use in their own relationships. Where can people buy your book? It can be purchased on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. www.amazon.com www.barnesandnoble.com Check it out on amazon.com here with its Look Inside feature: http://www.amazon.com/What-Love-Perspectives-Fadi-Hattendorf/dp/1461146798 Are you working on another book? If so when do you expect it to be published? Yes, I’m working on several books: children books and my second fiction book. I expect to release my second fiction book next year. If you self published, what advice can you give to fellow writers? Self publishing is generally speaking easy. However, marketing the book is a challenge. I believe there is an audience for every story including yours, so don’t give up writing and stick to your story. If published traditionally, tell us how you benefited: I self publish my book with CreateSpace. Can you share one of your marketing successes with us? I’m constantly looking for affordable marketing opportunity and book review like Allbooks. I also like entering book contests which I recommend Allbooks to organize. How did you find Allbooks Reviews and what are you hoping for in your relationship with us? I found your website through Google search for book reviewers. I’m looking for exposure, so that is what I’m hoping for in my relationship with Allbooks. Was the low cost a surprise? What other things would you like Allbooks Reviews to offer writers? Allbooks cost is very affordable considering the benefits offered in the package. You have pretty descent offers for review, advertisement and more. I would guess the more exposure you could provide the more valuable your service would become to authors. My suggestion for Allbooks would be to provide a book contest! Thank you for the interview. Fadi Hattendorf Thank you for this interview and best of luck with your book.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Allbooks Review July 2012 Newsletter

Allbooks Review is the review and author promo source for POD AUTHORS as well as traditionally published authors. Authors around the world use our service. Great coverage for your book for twelve months +.Our complete review and author promotional package is less than $50.U.S Unbelievable value!! http://www.allbooksreviewint.com/ For complete details contact us. SUCCESS STORIES Matt Freese is delighted to inform you that This Mobius Strip of Ifs is the winner of the 2012 National Indie Excellence Awards in the category of non-fiction. Also finalist in Leap Frog Fiction contest 2012. Emily Jane Hills Orford, announces her lastest book "F-Stop: A Life in Pictures" has been named Finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Tip: If you haven't been to a book fair or participated in one because you think it won't work or there is nothing in them for you, you might watch this video produced by www.AuthorsBroadCast.com at http://youtu.be/NbZHMR_kCgM. It is worth watching all the way through to get the information on how pitch sessions go and how other writer benefits that may be offered at book fairs work. FEATURE: Your Soul's Gift When difficult or traumatic experiences occur in our lives, we naturally wonder, “Why did this happen? What does it mean?” Often, such experiences may appear not to have any particular meaning; they may seem to be nothing more than purposeless suffering. Yet, in my years as a spiritual author and teacher, I have found that not only are our greatest challenges rich with meaning and purpose, but also that very often we ourselves planned those experiences before we were born. I explored this premise in detail in my first book, Your Soul’s Plan, and I do so again in my new book, Your Soul’s Gift: The Healing Power of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born. In this article I would like to share with you some of the healing and empowering insights in my new book. First, a word about my methodology. In both books I interviewed people who had experienced common life challenges like physical illness, the death of a loved one, addiction, or mental illness. Those individuals then had sessions with gifted mediums and channels in which I asked Spirit, “Was this experience planned before birth, and if so, why?” In my books I present all the wisdom that then came forward. My intentions are to help people see the deeper meaning of their life challenges and, in so doing, heal from them. It’s important to understand here that painful experiences can catalyze profound healing for our souls if we, the incarnate personalities, respond to those challenges with love (including self-love) and an open heart, and if we learn the lessons offered by these experiences. Let’s take an example. In the Suicide chapter in Your Soul’s Gift, I share the story of Carolyn, whose only child Cameron suicided shortly after he graduated from high school. Carolyn and I had a channeling session in which we spoke with Jeshua (Jesus). Jeshua began by telling us that suicide is never planned prior to birth as a certainty, but it is often planned as a possibility and sometimes as a high probability, as was the case with Cameron. In other words, Cameron knew that he was taking on so much in this lifetime that a suicide was likely. In another chapter I explore the pre-birth planning of miscarriage and abortion. Here, I share the story of Rebecca, who was devastated by a miscarriage. Rebecca felt she had killed her unborn child, Calvin, by doing some heavy lifting that led to the miscarriage. In a channeling session, Rebecca spoke with Calvin. We learned that in their last past life together, Rebecca had been male and the commanding officer of an army fort in the old West. Calvin was a subordinate officer and also a close friend. When the fort was attacked, Rebecca (as the commanding officer) sent all the soldiers, including Calvin, out to defend it. The soldiers were massacred. Rebecca blamed herself for her friend’s death and was never able to forgive herself. After that lifetime was over, Rebecca decided she wanted to work on the lesson of self-forgiveness. She therefore planned before she was born to experience a miscarriage, knowing that she would blame herself and thus have the opportunity to do what she could not do before – forgive herself. Having set that plan, she then asked Calvin if he would be the soul whose energy was associated with her unborn child. In service to and out of love for her, he agreed. For a very long time, Rebecca was unable to heal from the miscarriage. She was sad and defeated, filled with doubt and self-loathing. Yet, when she learned that she had planned the miscarriage, that realization “changed my life,” she said. “It brought me home to myself. That’s a journey I could not have made on my own.” Such deep healing often occurs when someone comes into an understanding of their pre-birth plan. Your Soul’s Gift also looks at the pre-birth planning we do with our beloved animal companions. In the Pets chapter, I share the poignant story of Marcia, who plans before she’s born to be a dwarf. Today, as a grown woman, she stands four feet six inches tall. Marcia knew that dwarfism would be a tremendous challenge, particularly during childhood, when her peers at school would tease and ostracize her. With that in mind, she planned to have many unconditionally loving animals in her childhood and throughout her life – dogs, cats, horses, even a rooster named Crooked Beak. She also planned to have the ability to communicate with them telepathically. Choosing to receive unconditional love from animals was a wise decision in Marcia’s pre-birth planning session. Too, I explore some of the most traumatic experiences a person can have while in body. There are chapters specifically about the planning of both incest and rape. I agonized for a long time about whether to include such subjects in my book, as I most certainly did not want to re-traumatize anyone or cause those who had experienced incest or rape to feel that they are to blame. No one who has had such experiences is to blame for them. Ultimately, I felt that the wisdom in these chapters would offer healing, and I decided to share what I had found. Why would anyone plan before birth to experience incest or rape? A fundamental spiritual truth is that there is no unexpressed consciousness. In other words, whatever is within you, whether at the conscious or subconscious level, will be expressed in the outer world. The outer mirrors the inner. Almost all of us have had past lives in which we came to believe things about ourselves that our souls know to be untrue. Two of the most common false beliefs are that we are worthless and that we are powerless. If you are someone who has one or both of these false beliefs within your consciousness, they will outpicture in the world around you, sometimes in the form of traumatic experiences like incest or rape. The purpose of this outpicturing is not to punish you. On the contrary, the purpose is to bring your false beliefs to the light of conscious awareness, where they may then be healed. This is a particularly difficult type of life plan, but within it is the potential for profound healing. We can, if we like, deny that the Earth is round, but that will not make it flat. It will still be round. Similarly, we can deny that souls sometimes (though certainly not always) plan before birth to experience trauma like incest and rape, but that will not mean that such planning doesn’t occur. It does. For millennia humanity has learned through suffering. If we want to move beyond the learning-through-suffering paradigm, then we need to take a courageous, unflinching look at what lays within our consciousness. And then heal. * * * Robert Schwartz is a counselor and certified hypnotherapist who helps people heal by understanding what they planned before they were born and why. He offers Spiritual Guidance Sessions (usually focused on the life plan), Past Life Soul Regressions, and Between Lives Soul Regressions. He is the author of two best-selling books, Your Soul’s Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born and Your Soul’s Gift: The Healing Power of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born. Your Soul’s Plan explores the pre-birth planning of physical illness, having handicapped children, deafness, blindness, drug addiction, alcoholism, the death of a loved one, and accidents. Your Soul’s Gift discusses the pre-birth planning of spiritual awakening, miscarriage, abortion, caregiving, having pets, abusive relationships, sexuality, incest, adoption, poverty, suicide, rape, and mental illness. For more information please visit Robert online at www.yoursoulsplan.com. Allbooks Reviews INTERVIEW: Please state your name and location. Michele Doucette, Stephenville, Newfoundland, Canada Tell us the title and publisher of your book: Healing the Planet and Ourselves: How To Raise Your Vibration St. Clair Publications Tell us about yourself: A Special Education teacher of 27 years, I am as equally passionate about the written word; I love to orchestrate and manipulate words. I spend countless hours working on genealogy; sourcing and validating relationships. I am a firm believer in the healing energies of crystals, stones and positive thinking. Having been a spiritual seeker of the past 20 years, I am learning that spirituality is far easier to discern and embrace, than we have been led to believe. When was the book released? June 20, 2011 was the publication release date. Give us an overview of your book. As Anastasia of the Siberian tiaga has stated throughout the Ringing Cedars series, Man is Creator. In keeping, so, too, is God Creator. Likewise, God/dess is thought; henceforth, thought is also Creator. After all, was not the beginning stated as being the word? What was word, then, if not thought? Man creates his/her own reality through thought. It all comes down to what does Man wish to create, does it not? Thought is tangible. It is believed, by many, that crystals represent the heart, the inner soul, of the Great Mother. Healing the Planet and Ourselves: How To Raise Your Vibration is a volume whereby the author took the time to simply sit, eyes closed in meditation, all in an attempt to connect with the energies of various crystal spirits, asking the stones to share the messages that needed be made known at this crucial time. What inspired you to write this book? I am always studying, learning, growing. In the course of my spiritual evolvement, I do my best to listen to my intuition. This includes being inspired to write on a specific topic that quickly leads to other subtopics. While there are times when I am unsure how my writing projects will unfold, it is in listening to my heart that I know and believe that I am always being guided. As a Crystal Healing Practitioner, the idea came to be when I was meditating with my crystals. How is your book different from other books in this genre? I have been told that this volume is to the point, and yet full of hope for the future. I have always felt the need to raise my vibration for positive endeavors. Through doing the related work, one can actually change the way they process information, thereby changing their lives for the better. This is the message that I felt compelled to share. In this unique tome, I extol in vivid detail, from personal experience as well as from extensive research, the virtues, energies and healing qualities of an enormous number of crystals, gemstones, metals and petrified woods, all in relation to their affect on the human experience. For the novice, this book can be the gateway to the study of harmony in the human spirit, addressing how spiritual attributes such as wisdom, individual truth, positive energy, peace, love, forgiveness and spiritual destiny can be obtained, in part, through meditation as an experiential method; a method that can be utilized singularly (on its own) and/or enhanced with various minerals (as discussed within). For the more aware individual, someone who is looking for a greater explanation of these fascinating stones and minerals, this book offers a deep and thorough study, whilst still keeping the terminology on a level that can be understood, and appreciated, by all. To get the full thrust of this book, as in the old adage, you just had to be there, this is a volume that you simply have to read for yourself. In so doing, you will have embarked on an inspiring, passionate and illuminating journey into understanding and mastering the inner self. In short, you will learn to "become what you have always been," so that you may learn to concentrate on the things that really matter in life. Where can people buy your book? Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble Direct from the publisher at http://stclairpublications.com/ Direct from the author via email at michele.doucette@nf.sympatico.ca Are you working on another book? If so when do you expect it to be published? I am working on several books of an inspirational nature; namely, [1] Living the Jedi Way and [2] Vicarius Christi: The Vicar of Christ, both of which I hope to publish the spring of 2012. Likewise, I am also working on several major volumes of a genealogical nature; namely, [1] Germain Doucet, Sieur de LaVerdure: Ancestry of Michele Doucette, a book that outlines my paternal ancestry from 1632 Acadie to the present, as well as [2] Men and Women of Renown: My Maternal Ancestry. It is my intent to publish them before the end of 2012. In addition, I am also working on another novel, Time Will Tell, that involves a present-day heroine with a past life as a Cathar of southern France. If you self published, what advice can you give to fellow writers? Take the time to conduct thorough research into POD (Print On Demand) publication services before making a final decision. I also heartily endorse Stanley J. St. Clair of St. Clair Publications as a possible publisher. How did you find Allbooks Reviews and what are you hoping for in your relationship with us? A good friend of mine, an author by the name of Jean-Claude Koven, was also reviewed by Allbooks Reviews, winning the Editor’s Choice Award for Best Metaphysical Book. It was this that led me to you. Was the low cost a surprise? What other things would you like Allbooks Reviews to offer writers? I was pleasantly surprised by both the low cost as well as all that was contained within that price. To be featured for one month with the review thereafter being posted in the Review Showcase for the period of one year is sensational. In addition, the initial review is posted in a wide variety of publications, both printed as well as online. Interviews are also posted on the website. To know that your website is denoted as being one of the best websites for authors speaks volumes. Just knowing that each book is automatically considered for the Editor’s Choice Award at each year end is quite the opportunity. While I am unsure as to anything else that Allbooks Reviews might be able to offer, especially after citing the previous information, I am sure that they will be able to come up with something fantastic. I absolutely love the updated, user friendly website. Thank you for this interview and best of luck with your book. www.allboooksreviewint.com