Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Indie Authors 5 Star Reviews of The Audubon Caper


5 Star Reviews of The Audubon Caper
by Authors

 amzn.to/4hPwfgM


Carol Marrs Phipps, author of Good Sister, Bad Sister

The Audubon Caper is a hair-raising, eye-opening story you won't want to miss, particularly if you want to glimpse how one of our intelligence agencies conducts its covert operations.


Danny Kemp, author of The Desolate Garden, wrote: 

I have read this book and can happily recommend it. A thoroughly enjoyable story told with conviction and expertise.


Rags Daniels, the author of  Lallapaloosa, wrote:

'The Audubon Caper' is an utterly compelling, riveting, factual roller coaster ride.

I will devour my hat if it doesn't reach the big screen.

PS; I guarantee you will hate reaching the end.             

Faith Helen Mortimer, author of many mystery novels, wrote:

R. Murry has written a good book here, with plenty to excite and interest the reader and add reality to the story. The fluency and pace kept me on edge until the end. This was a most enjoyable read, and if you like thrillers, then this one could be for you.


Seumas Gallacher, author of SAVAGE PAYBACK says:
I've seldom been seduced by a storyline from the first page as I was with The Audubon Caper...

The fluency and pace keep the reader on edge until the final page. It’s a most enjoyable read...

Kathryn Kimball Johnson, author of many romance novels/professor, says on 
the back cover of the book:

“The Audubon Caper is a page-turner.”

Vonda Norwood, author of many Erotic novels, wrote:

This TRUE story is filled with SEX and LIES.  I LOVED IT.  All the accounts in this exciting mystery are true, and the facts are there. Am I right? I DON'T KNOW!!!

Theresa Brau, author of Groom and Doom and English teacher, wrote:

R. Murry's The Audubon Caper is a fast-paced story. There are so many things going on in this creative non-fiction tale.  One of the most extraordinary things about this book is that it's based on a true story…

Zoe Saadia, author of HIGHLANDER and many historical novels, wrote: 

I had been meaning to pick "Audubon Caper" for some time, but the moment I peeked into the sample chapter, I knew I had to read this book. It gripped me from the very beginning, the author's way of addressing the reader in the friendly conversational way of someone telling you his story…

Cynthia J Smith, poet and author of Voices in my Head, wrote: 

Mr. Murry writes so smoothly that the story flows from past to present without a ripple. His scenes of sex and drugs evoke the activities of that era but are written to add to the story instead of becoming a major piece of it.

Larry B. Gray, author and blogger, wrote: 

Do you want to read a book that you can't put down? Do you want a book that will grab you by the seat of the pants and will not let you go? The Audubon Caper by R. Murry is just the book for you. In this true-crime
 tale, Roy Murry has pulled it all together into a fast-paced adventure tale.

Debbie McEwan, author of fiction, says:
Debbie wrote, "I've just finished this book, and it's brilliant! It will keep you guessing until the end, and the author's notes are also intriguing."

The Audubon Caper can only be found on Amazon Kindle E-books  US  amzn.to/4hPwfgM



Saturday, March 9, 2013

Review of Playing The Coach


Review of Playing The Coach      
Written by Vonda Norwood


Reviewed by R. Murry


What is the orgasm of a positive emotion?  Awe is.  It’s in the eyes of the beholder.  With wonder, comes fantasy.  Ms. Norwood’s character, Vicky, is in awe of a man, Jake Wilson, who does what she fantasizes in doing – coaching a high school football team.

Vicky will do anything to get to work at coaching but is impeded by Jake.  Not because she is a woman, but because he is put in an awkward position which he didn’t ask for.  I won’t give you that reason because it would give away some of the plots.

What I will say is that he devised a way of eliminating the problem.  In this experiment, he leads Vicky on with a ruse of asking her, what you think is my favorite thing.  Vicky believes it’s her body.  She teases Coach Wilson to try and get what her favorite thing is – coaching football, with little by little sexual meetings.

Ms. Norwood does an excellent job at teasing the reader with their sexual encounters.  Each contact is developed to keep the reader’s attention and does its job.   The reader will relish in wanting to see what happens next sexually and will want to read on to their climax.

The story was well structured with sexual content that any reader of erotica will enjoy.  The characters come alive as sexual beings.  I read it twice to find some pitfalls, but I couldn’t find any in this short story of some new highs.    

A quick read before bed is recommended.


Where can people go to buy her work?

US: 


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Interview with Vonda Norwood


Interview of Vonda Norwood
Author of Playing The Coach        

Questions by R. Murry





Can you tell me a little about yourself?

My name is Vonda Norwood. I was born in Alabama, raised in California by a mother from Texas and I now live in Arizona.  I love mysteries and hate long walks on the beach.  :-D

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

Yes!  At 8 years, I re-wrote of the Flintstones’ cartoon.  I didn't like their anniversary special, so I wrote my own.  

Were you inspired by someone or something?

When I was a kid, I heard someone on T.V. once say that if you don't like what you read, watch, or experience - write what you do want to experience. 

What do you like about writing a story?

My favorite thing is creating the characters personalities - how they think, how they relate to each other.  As I write, I get to enjoy their world.

Can you tell us about your book?

"Playing the Coach" - This is an erotica story, which means that my characters have sex with each other and I described it!  LOLOLOL.  One of the most fascinating aspects of this sexual/romance/comedy is the comedy.  Vicky being high-strung about her goal to be the first female football, head coach of her hometown's high school.  That position is held by the one man she's most attracted to.  What does Vicky really want?  Does she want to be a coach or have sex with Coach Wilson.  I'll just say this, Coach Wilson makes certain that Vicky gets exactly what she wants.  :-D 

How did you come up with the story?

That's the best part of this story!  But it would take a story to explain it and then my mind would create another erotica story and I already have too many going on in there to deal with, so I'll just say this:  I tried to make an innocent funny-sexy joke, but I couldn't!  The harder I tried to think of something that was football-coach and sexually-funny, the more inappropriate my thoughts became and the next thing I knew, I had me a whole sexy-funny story that wouldn't leave my mind!  I couldn't stop thinking about a sexy man, lying around in a towel just waiting for me to um...  :-X  .


What genre best fits for the book?

Erotica/Romance/Comedy

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I am working on my sequel.  The title is "Facebook can also make you go to jail too"
And I am writing book 2 of "Indie Authors Make Better Lovers".   I'm hoping to finish Indies 2 before March 10th.  HOPING!!!  My sequel to my "Facebook" - book, is very involved and will take me a lot longer to complete.  I keep finding new short stories to do and the stories clog my mind too much to write my sequel.  So after Indies, I hope to have no more erotica clogging and just complete my sequel!!!   :-/  LOLOLOLOLOL  

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Every writer is an individual.  Just be yourself and be true to your work.  Enjoy writing it so that people can enjoy reading it.  If you don't enjoy your stories, how can anyone else?

Which authors inspire you?

I've only been inspired by one author.  Ernest Hemingway.  Why?  I HATED his character's personality in the book "The Old Man and The Sea."  I didn't want to have to read that book!  It was a class assignment, so I read it.  Nearly completed with the reading of that story and realized that Mr. Hemingway created one heck of a strong character, which seemed so very real.  What an amazing ability!!!  I still didn't like him, but, I have 100%  respect for the man who created him.  :-D

Where can people go to read your work?

Where can people find you on the internet?

My goodreads blog:


I am Vonda Norwood on Facebook
and @VondaNorwood on Twitter

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Review of Blast from the Past


Blast from the Past
Written by Lauren Carr   

Reviewed by R. Murry


Within a few chapters of this snappy moving mystery, there are more dead bodies than the town of Spencer, Maryland, has body bags to fill.

The plots are many, but the solutions are simple if you are one Mac Faraday. His epiphanies, woven into this multilevel crime wave of a small resort town, will keep you awake for this good read. Even his dog Gnarly gets into the act by being his dominating lovable self.

Ms. Carr’s main character is in the middle of a Blast from the Past of others: the woman he is love with, the owner of a local restaurant, and two couples he never met before.

What crimes have they committed in the past? None, but all the action comes from their history because they came in contact with the wrong people at one time – the ones with the broken noses - the mob.

Mac’s and his half-brother’s investigative abilities outshine that of the U.S. Marshals and the FBI.  Mac’s half-brother is the local chief of police and Mac is helping him solve what seems to be a mess of a situation – dead bodies with few clues to follow.

Lauren’s presentation of these situations keeps the reader’s attention. The clues are there. I had to read some areas twice, but they are there.  And it was fun trying to keep ahead of Mac, Gnarly, and all the other crime fighters trying to solve these mysteries.

I can see why @TheMysteryLadie has a good following.  I’m putting her next book on my BTR list.  You should too after reading this one.

The links to Lauren Carr’s books and her other endeavors are listed in her below:
Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1IuSsyH

All of my books are available in both print and e-book. The e-book versions are only 99 cents each.
You can start by visiting my author page on Amazon: 

Do you have anything to add?

Readers can also get the updated schedule for my tour by visiting my sites:
Visit Lauren’s website and blog at:
                 http://mysterylady.net/
Blog: Literary Wealth: http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/



Sunday, February 24, 2013

Review: The Sheepish Pirate


Review of The Sheepish Pirate   
Written by B.L. Genteman

Reviewed by R. Murry

Writers, readers, and dreamers are the ones who lead us into the future.  There are too many to mention.  However, I’ll mention Jules Verne, whose adventures first started with a dream, and then he wrote it down, people read it, and the cycle began to produce those machines he wrote about.

Ms. Genteman’s main character is a reader and a dreamer, albeit an eleven year old sheep.  A child is a child and all seem to love one type of an animal.  Many animals are represented in Pirate: Dog, cat, goat, and a rat or two.

These animal/characters come to life in a story about a sea adventure that The Sheepish Pirate, Ryeland, first dreamt about while living in his dull life of going to school.  He is an outcast because of his shyness and studiousness.

He dreamt of going to sea on one of those great ships.  Inadvertently, that is what happens after he finds a key in a cave. From this point, he learns the hard lessons of life through the pirates and new friends he meets on his Mediterranean voyage captained by a father figure, a ram, who is searching for a lost land and a treasure.

The animal/characters in this children’s book are properly developed i.e. ram is his captain; a dog is his friend; a rat is one of his enemies. Colorful attire is also adorned, showing the character’s position.

This is a book for readers and dreamers.  Others do not apply.  Better still read this to your children so they’ll dream and read more.

Ms. Genteman’s links:
Currently I have my book available on Amazon. http://amzn.to/YAITlP

Do you have anything to add? 
I’m always interested in feedback from everyone.  Those who liked the book, hated the book, which characters they liked and want to see return.  I am always eager to hear what everyone thinks and try to be responsive to everyone’s comments. I try to have every type of social media option available so that the audience can pick and choose how they want/wish to following me.


   


Sunday, February 10, 2013

100 Unfortunate Days - Review


Review of
100 Unfortunate Days
Written by Penelope Crowe    

Reviewed by R. Murry


When reading Ms. Crowe’s Days, Salvador Dali’s name came to mind.  He always haunts me every once in a while.  Dali’s painting The Persistence of Memory, an omnipotence of a dream and an unconscious, shows in oil what Penelope demonstrates in her writing.

She writes with a natural surrealistic aptitude that reminds me of Dali’s paintings.  Example of this is in her don’t likes list: I don’t like Yeast infections…or…American Idol, said in the same breath.  Ms. Crowe does this with a smile in her presentation, knowing she'll hit a nerve in someone’s mind.

Her Days, 100 of them, represent many attitudes, one of which is the theme of Self Reliance.  Ralph Waldo Emerson and his Transcendentalists would be proud of her.  Faith in God or the after-life is not all that is needed to survive underlines her episodes with religion.  I posed the question: Is Penelope a Gnostic?

100 Unfortunate Days is not for the faint of heart, overly religious, or weak minded person.  One must have an open mind to read each individual Day.  She doesn’t hole back any punches on any of the subjects to the point you may feel insulted.  Just forget about it and more on to the next Day.  It’s worth it and you’ll be intellectually stimulated on another Day.

I paid $.99 for a read that I will remember.  Penelope Crowe, whatever her real name is, will haunt me, as Dali has since the Sixties.  I paid a dollar for a haunt - What a deal?!

Ms. Crowe links are attached to her interview below:

                   

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Voices in my Head


VOICES IN MY HEAD        
Poems by Cindy Smith

Reviewed by R. Murry

Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood was T.S. Eliot’s motto for writing.   His name and motto I picked as a stepping stone because of his American fame and the appropriateness of using his motto in referring to Ms. Smith’s style, which is clear and comprehensible – no mental gymnastics required in reading her poems

I give you a microcosm of her writing technique:

From poem:  OLD MAN        (My note: Man looking back on life.)

…You are thinking of your children
    They are all full grown
    “Where are they? How are they?
    Why have they left me alone?”…

From poem:  NEW LIFE        (My note: Pregnant woman talking to unborn child.)

…I will try to show you
   The best way that I can
   How to love and respect
   The whole family of man…

Cindy Smith writes from the heart.  She, as in the poems OLD MAN, NEW LIFE, and the others in this collection of poetry, communicates in an understanding way that we all can relate to.  I am happy to say that her poems meet T.S. Eliot’s motto’s criteria for being genuine poems.

Being an old man and a father, 65 years old with two adult sons, LOL, I connected right away with these two poems.  I read them a number of times because of their theme and the easy flow of the thoughtful words.

I recommend that you purchase VOICES IN MY HEAD for your bookcase.  Take it out every once in awhile and quietly read a good-heart word or two.  These poems will take you away from your everyday life and make you feel good about yourself, or not.


Purchase at:
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1m2lRGp

Barnes and Noble:  http://tinyurl.com/cu4q7c8





Sunday, January 20, 2013

Review of If Love was Enough


Two Short Stories by                  
Regina Puckett                        

If Love was Enough
            And
   Balloon Wishes
(Angel Collection, 
     Book 1&2)

Reviewed by R. Murry

I took note of what an actor on the TV program Bones said the other day.  Yes, TV.  “God gave us words, so we could put wings on them.” Profound.

Ms. Puckett has put wings on her words in her two short stories that I recommend to be read one after the other, because of a common theme.  However, each holds its own as an inspirational motivator.

I’m a fan of Og Mandino, a Christian inspirational writer of the first caliber.  Regina Puckett’s stories are close to that degree of excellence. 

She takes a simple occurrence that has happened to everyone in the world – the death of a loved one and turns it into a faith changing event.  Her words - those of her characters figuratively speaking - sail into heaven.  One must have faith to believe this to occur.

Ms. Puckett’s main characters question their beliefs and are not always answered in the way one may understand, but they are answered.  These answers Ms. Puckett poses are faith based, but don’t impose a religion on the reader.

She uses Love as her main theme, which motivates us all to do what is right for ourselves.  Ms. Puckett conveys this well in her prose.

For two dollars, I believe, you will be pleased with yourself after reading these two well written Faith Builders.


All of her novels and short stories are on Amazon.
     

   



Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Heroes and Lovers Review


Review of                           
Heroes and Lovers
By Wayne Zurl

Reviewed by R. Murry

My uncle Lou used the word spiffy to infer that an individual had class, was cool, and had his act together.  Yes, the 60’s.  I’m dating myself again.  I don’t think spiffy is a real word, but it describes Mr. Zurl’s character Sam Jenkins and spell check didn’t put a red line under spiffy.  Sam is a hero with style.

Wayne’s characters come alive in a small Southern State in the United States of America where the day to day life of a relocated New York gray haired detective is accounted for.  Criminal events happen that must be rectified.  Mr. Zurl goes into some detail in his interview below.  I won’t.

What I’ll say is the character Sam is the center of resolving crimes against his town where he is the Chief of Police. The whole story revolves around how he intellectually finds clues that others don’t see.  Not because he is such a brain, but because of his investigative street smarts that they don’t have in the Smokies.

Sam’s wit is sometimes over bearing, but enjoyable to the reader. Not so for the other characters he is surrounded with.  To them, he comes across as not being sensitive enough at times.  He feels he is and can’t understand why they don’t get it.

Here’s where the love comes in.  Three women love him: his wife, a reporter, and his police desk sergeant.  They’re all in love with him on different levels.  Fair to say, this presents some uneasiness for Sam, who tries to understand the why.  

Even though he jokes about these subconscious affairs going on, they pop up to the surface.  Sam is oblivious to the underlining affect.  All the three women try to explain with some break through.

The adventures in this light crime chronicle are appealing to the reader who wants to enjoy a read that is not over bearing with a blood and guts story.  Heroes and Lovers is a fun read with some frills attached. 

Buy at amazon:  http://amzn.to/1IuSeYr
  
     

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Becoming Mona Lisa


Becoming Mona Lisa
      Written by Cat Holden Robinson

Reviewed by R. Murry

Developing characters is an art and takes time to bring them alive on the written page.  Ms. Robinson was able to bring alive her main protagonist Mona Lisa Siggs from the dead, figuratively speaking.  Mona and her husband Tom for years have drifted apart, loosing whatever connection they had when they courted and wed.

Here is where Holden Robinson begins a story that will have you crying and laughing at the same time.  The Siggs’ battle among themselves to return to the love they once had; they battle with Mother Nature; and they battle an antagonist who is out of his mind with loneliness.

After looking in the mirror, Mona makes a decision to get back her life that has been declining for years.  Living with a husband who she has lost verbal contact with, she probes him into active reaction by getting a makeover.  It works and the characters come out of their cocoons of living daily boring lives.

From here on in, this novel has you hoping for the best for this couple.  As they move into loving reconciliation, their relationship is hit with situations that are comical, heart breaking, life changing, and dramatic in nature.  The twists and turns will keep you reading, wanting to know what else could get in their way from getting back to that loving feeling they yearn for.

This romantic comedy will keep your eyes pegged to the page; and you may reminisce into how your relationship developed and flourished.   Ms. Robinson wrote a creditable story that one would believe that it really happened to the Siggs’ family.  Or, did this happen to you?

I know you romantics will love this read, as I did.  Publisher Black Rose Writing found another fine writer, as they did with me.  LOL!  Have a good read! 

Cat's fans can reach me through my website at http://www.holdenrobinsonproductions.com/,  

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

YOU WISH


YOU WISH
      By Terry Tyler

Reviewed by R. Murry             

Her main character Ruth tells the stories, including her own, about the desire of having something the easy way by wishing for it.  This is where the human imagination kicks in – one believes what one cares to believe.  And we attach the notion that it is some universal circumstance that we put in motion because we wish for it, using a conduit albeit a cross, a candle lit in a church, or a stone.

Ms. Tyler takes us through encounters with fate that keeps the reader engaged to find out what happens right to the end.  The people come alive trying to change their personal situations – love of a particular individual, being the right size, or possessing something that hard work can only attain.

There were no lulls in any of the situations Terry introduces.  She has you thinking from the first plot – why would anyone believe that?  The truth be known, we all might fall into the traps of life that Ms. Tyler puts her characters through.  We all want to be loved.  We all want to be the right shape.  And we all want to say the right thing at the right moment, but we always don’t, like the people in her book. 

I give thumbs up to this novel that gets into what motivates the human mind in such a clear and precise way. 
    

Sunday, October 21, 2012

The Highlander



The Highlander, The Rise of the Aztecs Series,      Book 1
        Author Zoe Saadia

Reviewed by R. Murry

      The Highlander is a well thought out historical novel that portrays real people doing what their nation-tribes have done for years.  The main characters are young leaders breaking out into their own predetermined   adventures.
     The elders are determined to control their situations in the world.  The young people (Coyotl, Kuini, and Izrac) rebel that world in their own way to change it for others and themselves.
     Ms. Saadia brings this out in detailed conversations and confrontations that propels this intriguing developed story forward, keeping the reader’s attention.  The reader will not be bored with historical data. 
    The young people are the future and the only names that are important: Coyotle, the emperor’s first born son, wants to change the way things are done – social reform.  Kuini, the great warlord’s son, wants to change breakdown bearers between peoples.  Iztac, the princess, wants to liberate herself and others from their bondage to the way men think.
     Zoe Saadia makes their points clear, using well developed conversations.  Although these young people are not Aztecs, they see common ground in others, where the elders don’t.  Especially Kuini, The Highlander, in his confrontations and communal exchanges with the only Aztec – The Aztec Warlord.  To a point, the Aztec influences Kuini’s decisions. Against the Aztec and his father’s wishes, Kuini becomes a warrior in Coyotl’s father’s army – their enemy.
     In this end is a new beginning for Coyotl and Kuini, which may include princess Iztac. Fate will determine that end.
     Saadia’s novel is an excellent lead in to the next chapter of the lives of these three young leaders.  I for one will continue to read the series, because of the enjoyable read of book #1.  Will you?     

Purchase at http://www.amazon.com/Highlander-Rise-Aztecs-book-ebook/dp/B009CCBCU4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398682876&sr=1-1&keywords=the+highlander