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:

                   

Interview with Penelope

Interview with Penelope Crowe,    

Author of

100 Unfortunate Days   

Questions: R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I am currently a writer and artist—and probably SHOULD have been doing this all along. I have been everything from a small business owner to VP of sales for an outsourcing company, which by the way, was NOT my cup of tea. I write dark fiction/horror and also children’s books. I illustrate both.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

Yes. J It was called The Littlest Grape—written and illustrated by six year old me…so nothing has changed. It was the tale of a grape that was so tiny that no one wanted to pick him. Then one day Tanya and Tory picked him and he was made into fine wine.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

I don’t know if inspired is the word—I just always wrote and drew. I was inspired by other people’s art, and I would try and recreate what I saw. My father set up an art area for me in the basement with paints and a table with a light.

What do you like about writing a story?

Neat question. I like winging it. I like starting with a singular idea and letting it go where it wants to go. I love to integrate situations or visuals into a story that do not seem to fit and see if they manifest into something new.

Can you tell us about your book?

100 Unfortunate Days is a book that does not fit into a regular mold. There is no story to speak of and it is written in diary form. Each ‘day’ is a completely new and different idea from the day before. It is very dark and does not have a plot. Some have categorized it as psychological horror, some as dark fiction. It is a look into madness and questions good and evil. It is a book not for everyone. A few people said they had creepy things happen to them after they read the book—especially at 3 a.m..

Are you working on something new at the moment?

Yes. I am finishing a horror anthology called The Daughter of Nostradamus, and an illustrated children’s book called Art Mouse about an art-loving girl named Mary who 

meets a mouse that has a gallery behind the walls of her house.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Only do it if you love it. It is consuming and takes up too much time for a job that you don’t care for.

Where can people go to read your work?

My work is available on Amazon—children’s books under the name Dea Lenihan and dark and creepy as Penelope Crowe.

My latest:

100 UNFORTUNATE DAYS by Penelope Crowe (which is $.99 today only) http://www.amazon.com/100-Unfortunate-Days-ebook/dp/B009WR2BFO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1358715110&sr=1-1&keywords=100+unfortunate+days

Latest illustrated by me:

THE OPEN PILLOW written by David Rowinski, illustrated by yours truly.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Open-Pillow-ebook/dp/B00AMRA61O/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1360107721&sr=1-1&keywords=the+open+pillow

Do you have anything to add?

Thank you so much for having me Roy. Much appreciated.  

Here are my links:

www.penelopecrowe.blogspot.com

www.100UnfortunateDays.blogspot.com

www.artbyDea.blogspot.com

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

Interview with Cindy Smith

Interview of Cindy Smith
Poet, Author of Voices in My Head

Questions by R. Marcus

Can you tell me a little about yourself?  

I am married and drive a truck with my husband of 20 years.  We live in his hometown in Indiana.  I love living in the country so I can interact with nature.   I love flowers, gardening (which I don’t really get to do anymore), and cooking.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?  

I have written poetry as long as I can remember. The first I can recall was a second verse to a song I learned in Girl Scouts.

Were you inspired by someone or something?  

My real inspiration has been Dr. Seuss.  I love how he could rhyme anything!

What do you like about writing a story?  

I like to paint pictures with words—make people see, feel, smell what I am experiencing.

Can you tell us about your book?   

My book is a collection of poems on different topics.  It tells my versions of life as I find it.  Some have been written by request, to help someone express their feelings.

What genre best fits for the book?  

Poetry

Are you working on something new at the moment? 

I am working on another book of poetry.  I am in the editing stage now.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?  

Writers need to believe in themselves.  They need to remember you cannot please everyone.

Where can people go to read your work?  

Several of my poems are available to read on my 
Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/CindysVoices 

Author page:  http://tinyurl.com/clybzs8

Purchase at:

Amazon Paperback: http://tinyurl.com/cv6mcwg

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

Do you have anything to add? 

Hugs, Love and Great Karma to all!

Stonebridge Manor Review

Stonebridge Manor               

Written by Peter C. Bradbury

Reviewed by R. Murry

I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but I have read enough of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels to have figured out who-done-it before the last clues were arrived at, when reading a clone. This is not one.  Maybe it’s because I have read so many mysteries and have good intuitive abilities.  Who knows?

Mr. Bradbury’s novel had me stumped until the end.  He meticulously and slowly develops his characters and story for the first half of the book, bringing you into the workings of an English Manor.  This is needed to hook the read; and it was written very carefully.  You get to know all the characters that might have done the deed beforehand.

Phillip, one of the main characters, is a butler in one of Lord Baldwin’s houses.  He is commanded, so to speak, to come to Stonebridge Manor to help in the servicing of a weekend gathering by Lady Baldwin for her friends and lovers.

The killing you don’t find out about until the appropriate time.  However, one may guess who the victim will be, because of the person’s manner of living.

All is well, sex and hatred aside, until the body is found.  All who are at the weekend affair are suspect, even the one who confesses to the crime.

Good police investigative work through all the kinds of well written side stories leads to a conclusion that I did not foresee.

Maybe you can pick the killer out earlier than I did by reading this character driven novel.  I enjoyed the challenge.

Thank You Peter.

Mr. Peter C. Bradbury’s link: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorPeterC.Bradbury

Peter Bradbury Interview

Interview with

Peter C. Bradbury,

Author of Stonebridge Manson         

Questions: R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I’m an out of work English butler living in Rio Vista, California, USA.  It’s situated on the delta between Sacramento and San Francisco.  I’m a big soccer fan and golfer.  I moved to the USA in 1994 after marrying my beautiful American wife.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

No, I don’t.  Stonebridge Manor is my first published novel.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

I’m always asked what it’s like to be a butler, working for very wealthy people.  So, I wrote this novel.

What do you like about writing a story?

I like getting into the flow of it and because of that I tend to write in spurts, rather than doing a certain number of words every day.

Can you tell us about your book?

Stonebridge Manor is a murder mystery set in a huge English mansion very similar to the one I worked in.  Rather than being set in the twenties like the novels Downtown Abbey or the thirties Remains of the Day, its set in the nineties

What genre best fits for the book?

English Murder Mystery

Are you working on something new at the moment?

Yes, I’ve already completed books two and three and am now writing number four.  I was recently taken on by a publishing house who will be publishing three and four and re-publishing Stonebridge Manor and book number two Prospects.  That was about serial killing brothers in San Francisco, which was inspired by the amount of missing people there are.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

I think too many get caught up in theory, and they must do this and do that.  Just write the story.  Somerset Maugham once said, “There are three rules for writing, but I can’t remember them.”  I totally agree.

Where can people go to read your work?

People can read the first three chapters of Stonebridge Manor at:   http://petercbradbury.wordpress.com/

Do you have anything to add?

I can be found at http://www.donnaink.org/ and https://petercbradbury.com/  along with twitter @petercbradbury and at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorPeterC.Bradbury

Although I’m now with a publisher, it takes time for them to publish your work as there is a lot to it, especially before a book is published.  As an Indie author, you don’t even think about that stuff, it’s all about getting the book out first.  I will continue to support and promote other authors as long as I’m able to.  I’m now bound to my publisher’s wishes.

Good luck to everyone who has a book out there or is writing one, persevere, but tell your story in your own style.

Author Roy Murry,  Thank you for having me.

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.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=regina+puckett