Murder in the Magick Club by Byron A. Lorrier

Book Description
“Pure porn!” the critics cry. “Throw it on the fire!” Murder in the Magick Club is an occult-themed murder mystery; perfect for your next banned-book bonfire. Murder in the Magick Club takes place in the exotic, faraway land of Tampa, Florida and offers an insider’s exposé of the “Salem of the South” . . . written straight from the spleen. Murder in the Magick Club is the first in a series wherein the victim needs killin’ and the murderer always gets away with it . . . maybe. All of the characters—moochy customers, cops, self-absorbed and wastrel staff, and the impotent, financially longsuffering owner of the Magick Club—are always ready with an easy bit of slander and perhaps an easy bit of murder. Murder in the Magick Club is a ripping good read to grab on the way to the beach, or to help set just-the-right-tone before the reader jumps off the Skyway Bridge. Perfect to curl up with a steaming hot cup of mugwort tea, a bottle or two of merlot, the beer bong &/or the hashish-stoked hookah.

My thoughts
“Murder in the Magick Club” is a sordid array of characters living and working at the Magick Club owned by Bryn Thomas. Bryn finds no joy in owning and running the bar, and does need the hassle of finding a dead body behind the joint. His employees are a desperate bunch (liars and cheats) and the patrons a weird selection of misfits. Mix them all together and Byron A. Lorrier has written an edgy and humorous look at a seedy club scene of losers.

Pokemon Art Project

I recently have taken an assignment to paint six Pokemon characters in two boy’s bedrooms. It’s been awhile since I have done such a thing, (but enjoy it more than accounting, that’s for sure!) Anyway, my first day I completed two characters and almost finished a third. They enjoyed my work so far, that they want me to do more in the future.

I would like to share my photos with you.

The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson and Martin Dugard

Book Description
A secret buried for centuries

Thrust onto Egypt's most powerful throne at the age of nine, King Tut's reign was fiercely debated from the outset. Behind the palace's veil of prosperity, bitter rivalries and jealousy flourished among the Boy King's most trusted advisors, and after only nine years, King Tut suddenly perished, his name purged from Egyptian history. To this day, his death remains shrouded in controversy.

The keys to an unsolved mystery

Enchanted by the ruler's tragic story and hoping to unlock the answers to the 3,000 year-old mystery, Howard Carter made it his life's mission to uncover the pharaoh's hidden tomb. He began his search in 1907, but encountered countless setbacks and dead-ends before he finally, uncovered the long-lost crypt.

The clues point to murder

Now, in The Murder of King Tut, James Patterson and Martin Dugard dig through stacks of evidence--X-rays, Carter's files, forensic clues, and stories told through the ages--to arrive at their own account of King Tut's life and death. The result is an exhilarating true crime tale of intrigue, passion, and betrayal that casts fresh light on the oldest mystery of all.

My thoughts
James Patterson and Martin Dugard’s non-fiction thriller “The Murder of King Tut” reads like a Patterson novel but filled with facts. The authors have the theory that Tut was murdered and develop that idea with thorough research. The book has you going through three time period. The period of Tut, which was quite fascinating to read; the tale of Howard Carter, the archeologist obsessed with finding the tomb in the early part of last century and present day (Patterson’s life being consumed by the mystery of Tut). In Patterson’s usual style, the chapters are short, making it an easy read. He presents his theory, but I am not sure he convinced me. It was a thrilling read and I enjoyed it much better than some of his other recent works.

Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead

Some time ago I mentioned that there would be a Star Wars book with zombies (it comes out next month). Now there is an Indiana Jones novel with zombies being released next Tuesday!


Format: Paperback, 336 pages
On Sale: September 29, 2009
Price: $7.99
ISBN: 978-0-345-50698-6 (0-345-50698-7)

ABOUT THIS BOOK
There’s no rest for the weary treasure hunter, but that’s how Indiana Jones likes it. Fresh from spying for the Allies in the thick of World War II Germany, the globe-trotting archaeologist doesn’t need much persuading to join his cohort “Mac” McHale in searching for one of the most coveted of artifacts: the fabled black pearl known as the Heart of Darkness. But the partners in adventure are not alone on their foray into the mysterious jungles of Haiti. German and Japanese agents are in hot pursuit, determined to possess the ebony artifact–and its secrets–for their own sinister purposes. And shadowing them all is an infamous voodoo priest, with powers of both diabolical science and black magic at his command.

On a treacherous odyssey across the Island of the Dead, where the legend of the zombi looms large, spiders, snakes, and booby traps will prove the least of Indy’s challenges. And capturing the prize will be child’s play compared to confronting an enemy unlike any other, whose numbers are legion and nearly impossible to kill–because they’re already dead. . . .


What can I say?

A Note From An Old Acquaintance by Bill Walker

Product Description
Brian Weller is a haunted man. It's been two years since the tragic accident that left his three-year-old son dead and his wife in an irreversible coma. A popular author of mega-selling thrillers, Brian's life has reached a crossroads: his new book is stalled, his wife's prognosis is dire, and he teeters on the brink of despair.
Everything changes the morning an e-mail arrives from Boston artist Joanna Richman. Her heartfelt note brings back all the poignant memories: the night their eyes met, the fiery passion of their short-lived affair, and the agonizing moment he was forced to leave Joanna forever. Now, fifteen years later, the guilt and anger threaten to overwhelm him. Vowing to make things right, Brian arranges a book-signing tour that will take him back to Boston. He is eager to see Joanna again, but remains unsure where their reunion will lead. One thing is certain: the forces that tore their love asunder will stop at nothing to keep them apart.

Filled with tender romance and taut suspense, A Note from an Old Acquaintance is an unforgettable story about fate, honor, and the power of true love.

My thoughts
Have you ever received a letter, card or call from someone that you haven’t spoken with in over fifteen years? Now with the internet, it is easier to find someone. What if that one person was the love of your life and the both of you are well known in your own fields? A Note from an Old Acquaintance” by Bill Walker has that and more. Brian Weller has lost both his son and wife in an accident. Although he is a well known author, life has little meaning, until he gets an e-mail from Joanna; a woman he had an affair with many years ago (this was before he met his wife, so don’t think badly of him). Anyway, Mr. Walker has written a thoroughly enjoyable book that is more than a story of lost love.

Detectives Don't Wear Seat Belts: True Adventures of a Female P.I. by Cici McNair

Book Description
Growing up in Mississippi, Cici McNair was always more the tomboy her mother supported than the Southern belle her father demanded. She escaped her suffocating upbringing the first chance she had to travel the world. Whether working at the Vatican in Rome or consorting with a gunrunner in Haiti, she lived a life of international adventure. When Cici finds herself in New York, divorced, broke, and fashionably starving to death in a Madison Avenue apartment, she impulsively decides to become a private detective.

But, as Cici soon learns, the world of P.I.s is tight-knit and made up almost exclusively of former law enforcement officers. By nature, they are a highly suspicious group and are especially wary of a newcomer with an untraceable past. Diligently working her way through the Yellow Pages, doggedly pursuing the slightest lead, Cici is finally hired by a private investigator willing to take a chance. The next day she's working side by side with a pair of seasoned detectives and a skip tracer who is scary to meet but like silk on the phone. She quickly realizes she'll need all her energy and wits to succeed in this new world.

Being a private investigator is as exciting and liberating as Cici ever dreamed, from creating a false identity on the spot on her first case in the field to surviving adrenaline-rushing car chases. Working with law enforcement, she goes undercover, dealing with the ruthless Born to Kill gang in Chinatown and the Middle Eastern counterfeiters west of Broadway. A detailed account of the hidden world and real-life cases of a P.I., this action-packed memoir is as entertaining as any detective novel you've ever read.

My thoughts
“Detectives Don’t Wear Seatbelts” is a fun-filled ride of the true life experiences of a female private investigator. Cici McNair has the knack of a good story teller. This memoir follows Cici as she tries to break into the private detective business. She does it with such flair and humor that I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The P.I. business is not always like they show on television, yet her descriptive off-the-wall narratives are just as excellent!

The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadooriani

Book Description
John and Ella Robina have shared a wonderful life for more than fifty years. Now in their eighties, Ella suffers from cancer and has chosen to stop treatment. John has Alzheimer's. Yearning for one last adventure, the self-proclaimed "down-on-their-luck geezers" kidnap themselves from the adult children and doctors who seem to run their lives to steal away from their home in suburban Detroit on a forbidden vacation of rediscovery.

With Ella as his vigilant copilot, John steers their '78 Leisure Seeker RV along the forgotten roads of Route 66 toward Disneyland in search of a past they're having a damned hard time remembering. Yet Ella is determined to prove that, when it comes to life, a person can go back for seconds—sneak a little extra time, grab a small portion more—even when everyone says you can't.

Darkly observant, told with humor, affection, and a touch of irony, The Leisure Seeker is an odyssey through the ghost towns, deserted trailer parks, forgotten tourist attractions, giant roadside icons, and crumbling back roads of America. Ultimately it is the story of Ella and John: the people they encounter, the problems they overcome, the experiences they have lived, the love they share, and their courage to take back the end of their own lives.

My thoughts
“The Leisure Seeker” by Michael Zadooriani is another road trip story, yet this one is about an elderly couple traveling in their RV, leaving Michigan to go to Disneyland in California by following the old Route 66 trail. The wife is suffering from cancer and the husband has dementia so this makes for a sad, yet sentimental love story. Yes, their grown children try to get them to return from this silly voyage, but they will have no part of it. What we see are two people who’ve spent most of their life together, staying together and reliving their fondest memories though old slides from past vacations. This story is a tear jerker!

Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad

Book Description
From the age of three, Norman Ollestad was thrust into the world of surfing and competitive downhill skiing by the intense, charismatic father he both idolized and resented. While his friends were riding bikes, playing ball, and going to birthday parties, young Norman was whisked away in pursuit of wild and demanding adventures. Yet it were these exhilarating tests of skill that prepared "Boy Wonder," as his father called him, to become a fearless champion--and ultimately saved his life.

Flying to a ski championship ceremony in February 1979, the chartered Cessna carrying Norman, his father, his father's girlfriend, and the pilot crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains and was suspended at 8,200 feet, engulfed in a blizzard. "Dad and I were a team, and he was Superman," Ollestad writes. But now Norman's father was dead, and the devastated eleven-year-old had to descend the treacherous, icy mountain alone.

Set amid the spontaneous, uninhibited surf culture of Malibu and Mexico in the late 1970s, this riveting memoir, written in crisp Hemingwayesque prose, recalls Ollestad's childhood and the magnetic man whose determination and love infuriated and inspired him--and also taught him to overcome the indomitable. As it illuminates the complicated bond between an extraordinary father and his son, Ollestad's powerful and unforgettable true story offers remarkable insight for us all.

My thoughts
Norman Ollestad was eleven years old when He was in a place crash that killed his father, his father’s girlfriend and the pilot, leaving him alone to climb (or slide) down the snow covered mountain to safety. In his memoir “Crazy for the Storm” Ollestad writes about his harrowing experience, and interjects it with tales of what his life was the year before and immediately following the crash. You come to learn about his relationship with his father and how that relationship helped him survive that mountain. I enjoyed to book, although I was not crazy about Ollestad’s writing style.

Travel Writing by Peter Ferry

Book Description
Pete Ferry, our narrator, teaches high school English in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Lake Forest and moonlights as a travel writer. On his way home after work one evening he witnesses a car accident that kills a beautiful woman named Lisa Kim. But was it an accident? Could Pete have prevented it? And did it actually happen, or is this just an elaborate tale he concocts to impart the power of story to his teenage students? Why can’t he stop thinking about Lisa Kim? And what might his obsession with her mean to his relationship with his girlfriend, Lydia?
With humor, tenderness, and suspense, Travel Writing takes readers on fascinating journeys, both geographical and psychological, and delves into the notion that the line between fact and fiction is often negotiable.

My thoughts
An interesting concept; the author and the lead character have the same name and similar lives. Makes you wonder if there is truth in this fictional story. I enjoyed “Travel Writing” as it Peter Ferry has a way of writing that pulls you in. I liked the way he begins with Ferry (the character) teaching a writing class and conversing with his students and comes up with what may or may not be a story about the accident of this beautiful woman. It’s funny, dramatic, part-mystery, romantic and stimulating.

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan

Book Description
The man who calls himself David Loogan is leading a quiet, anonymous life in the college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. He’s hoping to escape a violent past he would rather forget. But his solitude is broken when he finds himself drawn into a friendship with Tom Kristoll, the publisher of the mystery magazine Gray Streets—and into an affair with Laura, Tom’s sleek blond wife. What Loogan doesn’t realize is that the stories in Gray Streets tend to follow a simple formula: Plans go wrong. Bad things happen. People die.

Elizabeth Waishkey is a single mother. She’s also the most talented detective in the Ann Arbor Police Department. But when Tom Kristoll turns up dead, she doesn’t know quite what to make of David Loogan. Is he a killer, or an ally who might help her discover the truth? Loogan suspects his friend’s death is part of a much larger puzzle, and he’s not going to wait for someone else to put the pieces together.

As Loogan and Elizabeth navigate their way through Kristoll’s world, they find no shortage of people with motives for murder, from a young graduate student obsessed with Laura Kristoll to a trio of bestselling writers, all of them with secrets they don’t want uncovered. But as the deaths start mounting up—some of them echoing stories published in Gray Streets—Loogan begins to look more and more like the most promising suspect. Soon it becomes clear that only Elizabeth can find the path to solving both the murders and the mystery of Loogan himself.

My thoughts
Harry Dolan’s novel “Bad Things Happen” is a suspenseful story that begins with the purchase of a shovel which makes us wonder if the purchaser is going to bury a body. But is David Loogan, a killer or the killer. As the story unfolds we learn more about Loogan; why the mysterious past and why was he buying a shovel for his boss, Tom Kristoll, the editor of a literary magazine. Soon people connected to the magazine are being found killed, but why? Detective Liz Waishkey is trying her hardest to solve the murders. This is a mystery story with various layers of mysteries that keep the reader guessing right to the end!

Let Slip the Dogs of Love by Eugene Kachmarsky

Book Description
In an urban legend style of storytelling flavored with magical realism, Let Slip the Dogs of Love blends together a thought-provoking collage of mesmeric short stories. It grips your full attention by flinging open, widely, a few infinite portals of perception. It brings an awareness to consider why we feel the things we do. This tapestry of stories reveals the sublime, ridiculous, triumphant and tragic ways in which ordinary people deal with the often extraordinary consequences of their choices and actions. With a rapidly and frequently changing pace and rhythm, taking gentle curves and sudden, unexpected hairpin-turns at full centripetal force, these ironic and karmic accounts tell tales of love, crime, poverty, tragedy, greed and evil in a thoughtful, sometimes playfully humorous, youthful voice. Delve with wonder into the depths that lie beneath the surface of all things in a quiet, sleepy metropolitan suburb. Eugene Kachmarsky was born in Toronto, Canada, to Ukrainian immigrant parents. The majority of his formative years were spent growing up in the neighborhood of Eatonville, in the western Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, the foundation setting for the stories in Let Slip the Dogs of Love. He lives, writes and swims with the current deep in the heart of Toronto, Canada.

My thoughts
I don’t read many books of short stories, but have read a few. “Let Slip the Dogs of Love” by Eugene Kachmarsky is a collection of Twilight Zone type stories that border on the edge. As stated on the cover, this is a book of suburban legends of the living and the dead (quite a mouth full). Anyway, there are 15 stories in total and interestingly enough, my favorite was the first in the book “Celsius 232.7”, a story about a young man in search of a much needed fix. Other favorites are “The Gateman” and “Banana Yellow Rubber Orb of the Prophets” an interesting tale of a meeting in an elevator. The stories range from short (4 pages) to almost novella size (50 pages). Kachmarsky’s stories take place mostly in Toronto, a city he is most comfortably in and it shows as it makes me feel that I am there. An enjoyably book of absurd and thought-provoking tales.

Who's The Dummy Now? by Terry Fator

Book Description
What happened to the boy who suddenly got everything he ever wanted?

He lived happily ever after.

Terry Fator overcame many odds—an abusive father, a peripatetic and isolated childhood, and decades of struggles—before winning America's Got Talent. In one year, he went from being a struggling entertainer to appearing on Oprah, Letterman and Ellen to sold-out shows in Las Vegas and signed as the major headliner on the Strip in Las Vegas at The Mirage. This is the story of the man with the million dollar voice.

My thoughts
I never heard of Terry Fator or even seen an episode of “America’s Got Talent” and picked up the book because I saw a guy with a puppet. Okay, does that make me weird? Maybe, but I was pleasantly surprised by this autobiography “Who’s The Dummy Now?” I learned so much about a guy who had a really dysfunctional family and a rough childhood; yet he overcame the odds and is now headlining in Las Vegas. Kudos to him! This book is an emotional rollercoaster ride.

The Nine Lessons: A Novel of Love, Fatherhood, and Second Chances by Kevin Alan Milne

Book Description
August Witte is firmly against having children. But after seven years of marriage, his wife is delighted when she realizes she is unexpectedly pregnant. August is terrified, recognizing he never learned the first thing about being a good parent from his father London. A widower since August was a toddler, London has always valued the game of golf--a sport August has never had any talent for--more than his son.

In spite of how he hates the game, when August confronts his father, he finds himself agreeing to meet each month of the pregnancy for a round of golf. In exchange, London will give him the only thing that could make August agree to pick up a club again--memories of his mother, which he has written on golf scorecards since the day he met her. But August quickly realizes that his father's motive is not to teach him about golf, but to teach him about life--and he may discover that the old man just might know something about it worth sharing.

My thoughts
I do not play golf, but have reads two golf themed novels this week. I and enjoyed them both. Go figure. “The Nine Lessons: A Novel of Love, Fatherhood, and Second Chances” by Kevin Alan Milne is the story of father’s nine lessons of golf he offers to his estranged son, who is apprehensive of becoming a father himself. But the lessons are about life, as the father states many times “Golf Is Life”. The story is charming and I found myself a little surprised by some things; which made it all the more fun to read.

On the Bluffs by Steven Schlinder

Book Description
SOMETIMES THE BIGGEST LIES ARE THE ONES WE LIVE While Brian DeLouise was working the graveyard shift at a conspiracy theory-crazed radio station his wife was alley-catting around Washington, DC. But a cheating wife and a dead-end job no longer made him angry or depressed. He was just numb. It took a daring brush with death to awaken his senses and a few clicks on Google to begin a journey to recapture a love he believed was gone forever. Brian finds his lost lover in a rundown mansion on the windswept bluffs of Cape Cod, where he must confront a fast approaching evil while he risks losing everything he now cherishes.

My thoughts
Many people go through a mid-life crisis and wonder what might have been, and Brian DeLouise is no different. In Steven Schlinder’s novel “On the Bluffs”, Brian is in a loveless marriage, loses his job at a radio station and starts to think about the girl he loved when working in summer stock over twenty years ago. One thing leads to another and he is off searching for her. This book is filled with romance, dysfunction and humor. A very enjoyable book indeed.

Zig-zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly How Ziggy Saved My Life by Tom Wilson

Book Description
Our lives aren't composed like a headstone with a straight line that marks the date of the first breath we take to the last; the journey we're on is really a zigzagging series of unexpected detours. Every detour is a destination unto itself, and regardless of our plans, it's what we don't see coming that often affects us most…

Ziggy cartoonist Tom Wilson didn't see it coming: after losing his beloved young wife to breast cancer, it's up to him to raise two children alone and keep the laughs coming in his cartoons worldwide—even as his own personal orbit is falling apart. In this mesmerizing and nostalgic account of a beloved artist's life, Tom Wilson details his compelling journey from growing up in the shadow of his father's genius to inheriting an iconic cartoon when his father falls ill, all while struggling to overcome a crippling depression.

With his trademark humor and self-effacing wisdom, Tom invites you into his intimate life as he searches for hope and strength to overcome his own life detours. In an ironic twist of art imitating life, Tom reveals how Ziggy's own weekly syndicated quest for answers was the unforeseen catalyst that enabled him to say yes to life again and face his greatest challenges. In Zig-zagging, Tom and Ziggy explore the consequences of the upward, downward, inward, wayward, and sometimes backward roads of our zigzagging lives—and discover that while there is no road map for living, with a little character, you don't have to be lost along the way.

My thoughts
“Zig-zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly How Ziggy Saved My Life” by Tom Wilson is as the title states, Ziggy saved Mr. Wilson’s life. Mr. Wilson explains how he grew up, taken over the Ziggy cartoon as his father became ill, injuring himself in an accident and loving and losing the losing his wife to cancer. Although having a popular comic strip did not keep from delving deeper and deeper into depression. He discusses his faith, his two sons and surveying the journey life throws our way. Ziggyisms appear thought the book. This is a moving memoir.

Funko's Sleestak Coin Bank

Okay, for those who love retro stuff, check out the glow-in-the-dark Sleestak bank from Funko. If you recall “Land of the Lost” from your childhood then you will remember the Sleestaks. Okay, I know that Will Ferrell just came out with the movie and this is probably why these were released, but I still like to reminisce.

They are available here, but you probably get them cheaper on eBay. BTW, my birthday is coming up soon!

Labor Day ARC Book Giveaway Winner

The winner of my Labor Day ARC Book giveaway is Marie Burton.

Congratulations Marie!

Please email me your address and the books will go out this week!

Thanks!

Shooting An Albatross by Steven R. Lundin

Book Description
In the fast-paced, based-on-truth novel Shooting an Albatross, author Steven R. Lundin carries us into wartime Hollywood, 1943, and the highly improbable, yet true, story of the only year in the history of professional golf that an entire season was cancelled. The 170th Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army took over a golf course in Los Angeles that same year, setting the stage for a story that rivals anything found in fiction. It’s Army General versus Navy Admiral on the links. Private Evan Wilkins of McCall, Idaho is chosen to partner with the general, laying the groundwork for a story of film moguls and raging passion, distrust and competition, and a commanding officer besieged by jealousy. The story builds to a climax of friendly-fire murder. This page-turner of a story is for anyone who covets an exciting read, whether it be suspense, romance, military, or a great round of golf.

My thoughts
“Shooting an Albatross” by Steven R. Lundin is a fascinating story set during WWII on a golf course in California. It is a story of love, rivalry, deceit and revenge. You don’t have to be a lover of golf to follow along into the lives of the young lovers, his superior officer and the others. Lundin creates an interesting set of characters that are well developed which allowed me to dive straight into the novel and absorb myself into the tale.

Frozen Tears by Mary Ann MacAfee

Book Description
In Alaska's stunning but brutal interior, where white and Native cultures clash, Kale Weaver struggles to survive a devastating tragedy that becomes the genesis for her allegiance to wolves and the circumstances making her target of a primitive superstition. Aided by her best friend, a worn-out helicopter pilot, and the bond shared with a wolf shaman, she then struggles against what follows: the bigotry and rejection imposed on her and her half-breed son,until she is challenged by the ultimate ordeal. Whatever the risks, she must fulfill a wish for her young son that she had never imagined for him. But above all, Kale's page-turning journey shows that love can triumph over life's most dire challenges and painful losses.

My thoughts
“Frozen Tears” by Mary Ann MacAfee is a love story and adventure set in the vastness that is Alaska. Kale Leland, a young environmentalist meets Elliot Weaver, a local Ennuit and fall in love. She is introduced into the Ennuit culture. But after Elliot dies, she struggles to survive in the wilderness with the help of a wolf, so that their child can be born. But rejection is found everyone and Kale has a rough road ahead. Ms. MacAfee describes the rough frozen tundra of Alaska, the animals that inhabit it and the depth of the characters is amazing. She has a way that draws one into the world of Kale. Makes me want to be one with nature.

Tubing down the Delaware River

Labor Day weekend is the last few days of summer for us. We hate to see summer end but are happy that this is the weekend that most of the summer (and noisy) residents leave. Since it’s been a rainy summer, I was quite happily surprised that we had a hot and sunny day yesterday. Finally, we can go tubing!

I've never been tubing and didn’t realize it was over an hour’s drive (my wife did the driving) to the place where they rent the tubes, rafts and kayaks. They loaded us on a bus and drove us across the street to the entrance to the park. Yes, I guess we could have walked there but there probably was a liability issue for a bunch a people to cross the street with tubes in their arms. We walked down to the water’s edge and sat on our tubes and started floating down the Delaware River.

About 3 miles down river and 90 minutes later (that comes to about a float speed of about 2 miles an hour for all you math lovers out there), we came upon the Hot Dog Man; a place to pick up lunch and eat before we finished our trek. The Hot Dog Man is on a large raft and the picnic tables were in the water. Pretty cool, but we could have done without the bees!

Back on the river, I floated far away from my wife and daughter, as they seemed to be drifting towards the Pennsylvania side and I was keeping to the New Jersey side. When I noticed the pylons that marked the end of the trip, I paddled back to them so that we can float together for the rest of the way. The total adventure was 6 miles and about 3½ hours if you include the stop for lunch. Sitting on a tube basking in the sun as you lazily float is a wonderful way to relieve stress and forget about your troubles.

Of course, today we are all sunburned!

David Janssen by Ellie Janssen and Michael Phelps

Book Description
This is the only authorized Biography of the late David Janssen, the film and television star, most noted for his role in ABC Television Series; "THE FUGITIVE" (1963-1967). Originally published in December, 1994 by Lifetime Books, Inc., Hollywood, Florida. This book was Co-Authored by Ellie Janssen, David's wife (1968-1972), and Michael Phelps. An intimate revelation of their marriage, and the agony of their divorce. Ellie Janssen held nothing back. Her love for David endured through it all. Ellie's love and devotion to David never died. Following their divorce (at the time, it was the "longest running divorce case in Los Angeles Court history)., Ellie never engaged in an affair with another man, she never remarried. Her love for David was painfully clear as she worked with Michael Phelps in writing this book. What Ellie failed to divulge in this writing, perhaps out of modesty or respect for David, is the fact that she was "The Woman" behind the "successful" man. She orchestrated his career from his first staring role as "Richard Diamond - Private Eye", a role for which he was personally chosen by DICK POWELL. Ellie was the "perfect" Hollywood Housewife. She planned and executed the most flawless and memorable parties in their Holmby Hills home for Hollywood's "A" List. As part of their divorce agreement, Ellie received a ten percent ownership of "THE FUGITIVE" series (half of David's twenty percent ownership). Ironically, it was Ellie who demanded David receive an ownership in "THE FUGITIVE" series at the outset, before the series became a huge hit. This provided Ellie with a comfortable income for the rest of her life. Sadly, Ellie passed away on July 7, 1999 in Portland, Oregon. She is survived by her loving daughters, Kathy and Diane. Co-Author David Janssen - My Fugitive July, 2009.

My thoughts
“David Janssen, My Fugitive” has been re-released by Michael Phelps (not the Olympic swimmer) and was co-written with Mr. Janssen’s first wife Ellie. I remember the television show “The Fugitive” from my childhood and enjoyed catching a glimpse of what his life was life before and during that show. I knew that he had died young, but this book doesn’t explain much as Ellie was no longer married to David at the time of his death. When reading this book, I can sense that Ellie still loved her ex-husband and it must have been hard to chronicle her relationship with him. It was a nice short trip down memory lane.

No Mad by Sam Moffie

Book Description
Racing home to share news of a long awaited book deal, Aaron Abrams unexpectedly finds his wife and beloved brother TOGETHER. Tossing a few mentionables into the car, along with his golden retriever, Churchill, his now only trustworthy lifelong companion, Aaron embarks on an odyssey like no other. With his own music as a backdrop, while guzzling his favorite Newman's Own Virgin Lemonade, Aaron begins in Youngstown, Ohio, travels interstate 80 in Pennslyvania, and continues into Gettysburg, Pa., Boston Ma., Roswell, NM., to name a few, ultimately ending his road trip in scenic Niagara Falls. Along the way, he continues to embrace each moment, every situation, all relationships and brief encounters. Never losing his zest for life, Aaron stays positive, upbeat and open for adventures, not letting his ex-wife-to-be interfere with his new found freedom, while at the same time rediscovering and recreating bonds that will never be broken. The game of Jinx has never gotten so much attention; what that means the reader is soon to discover.

My thoughts
Catching your wife in a compromising position with your brother in your swimming pool when coming home with great news to share can certainly destroy a guy. This is how “No Mad” by Sam Moffie begins. I almost did not want to continue, but this was just the preface so I did. And I glad that I did. The story follows Aaron Abrams across the country to interview people from his college for his latest book “Yearbook”. At moments it is funny, sometimes cynical and sometimes serious. There are parts that I could have done without, but overall this road trip story was a delight to read.

Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck

Book Description
Every slave story is a ghost story. The haunting words of an historian and former cane worker on the Caribbean island of Nevis launch Meghan Owen on her quest to unlock the secrets of an abandoned sugar plantation and its ghosts. After Meg's parents die in a car accident on the night of her engagement party, she calls off her wedding, takes leave of her job in Annapolis, and travels to land she's inherited on Nevis. A series of discoveries in an old plantation house on the property, Eden, set her on a search for the truth surrounding the shameful past of her ancestors, their slaves, and the tragedy that resulted in the fall of the plantation and its inhabitants. Through a crushing phone call with her lawyer, Meg learns that her father's estate was built on stolen money, and is being sued by multiple sources. She is faced with having to sell the land and plantation home, and deal with the betrayal she feels from her deceased father. In alternating chapters, the historical drama of the Dall family unfolds. Upon the arrival of British abolitionists to the hedonistic 19th century plantation society, Catherine Dall is forced to choose between her lifestyle and the scandal of deserting her family. An angry confrontation with Catherine's slave, Leah, results in the girl's death, but was it murder or suicide? Hidden texts, scandalous diaries, antique paintings, and confessional letters help Meghan Owen uncover the secrets of Eden and put the ghosts to rest.

My thoughts
“Receive Me Falling” by Erika Robuck is historical fiction at its finest. This debut novel tells two tales; one during the 19th century and the other in the present. The connection between the two is a former sugar plantation on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean. Robuck has created colorful characters and situations that you do want to stop reading about. She has done her research and it shows in her writing. If you are a lover of historical fiction, you should read this book.

Dragon House by John Shors

Product Description
Dragon House tells the tale of Iris and Noah—two Americans who, as a way of healing their own painful pasts, open a center to house and educate Vietnamese street children. In the slums of a city that has known little but war for generations, Iris and Noah befriend children who dream of nothing more than of going to school, having a home, and being loved. Learning from the poorest of the poor, the most silent of the unheard, Iris and Noah find themselves reborn. Resounding with powerful themes of suffering, sacrifice, friendship, and love, Dragon House brings together East and West, war and peace, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.

My thoughts
“Dragon House” is a courageous story of Vietnamese street children and the American woman (following her dying father’s last wish) to try and help them. John Shors’ novel is so well written that you feel that you are there experiencing what these characters are going through; not only the pain, but also the love and compassion. I learned what life is like in a country that I have never visited. This is a book worth reading.