It seems that almost anybody has self-published some sort of book on Amazon or on some other retail site. I have reviewed several books by independent authors writing in different genres, children books, romance novels, how-to-books, etc… I even have a few books I have bought on my Kindle that are in the how-to genre. One in practically was about freelance writing and how the author wrote best-selling how-to-books. The book was horrible and I consider the author more of a con artist than an actual writer.

There are some how-to and self-help authors (non-self-published) that are truly professional businessman (and women) and  they give great advice in their books. One of these authors is an entrepreneur Michael Masterson, who has written The Pledge, Seven Years to Seven Figures, Ready Fire Aim, Automatic Wealth, Automatic Wealth For Grads, Power and Persuasion and Confessions of a Self-Made Multimillionaire, where he has been giving business advice to many readers. He's not just a how-to-book writer, as he is currently working on a poetry book, a screenplay and a collection of short stories.

Her Eternal Rogue
By Gina Danna
Publisher: To The Better End Publishing
Pub. Date: June 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615836348
Pages: 284
Buy Links: Amazon, B&N

Review:

At first glance Her Eternal Rogue looks like a Harlequin Regency romance novel at sea, but author Gina Danna puts a twist on the genre by adding a paranormal theme.
The heroine is Lady Lavina Sinclair who has been kidnapped by French pirates, whom plan on selling her into the prostitution trade, but luckily for her, a handsome stranger happens to rescue her.

His name is Captain Alexander Sword (Barrington), who had escaped his controlling uncle in exchange to living on the high seas, but now finds himself known as a ruthless pirate. He was to be hanged for his crimes, but he accepted a deal to rescue Lady Lavina from the French pirates and return her to her betrothed (Nicholas) in England.

The rescue mission seemed to be easy thing to get done, but Alexander didn't plan on falling for the Lady Lavina, who returns his affections. Little does she know that he has cursed - he is actually a vampire.

Most people are thinking about Thanksgiving dinners, Black Friday shopping and Christmas gatherings. I'm not big on Thanksgiving, mostly due to my dislike of turkey and anything with pumpkin (though I do like pumpkin seeds) and most of my Christmas present shopping is finished.

I've been thinking ahead to after the holidays are wrapped and what my New Year's Resolution will be.

Almost everybody's resolution is to lose those extra holiday pounds, but mine for next year is to brush on my writing skills.

What does this mean?

A Cast Of Stones
The Staff & The Sword, Book 1
By Patrick W. Carr
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: February 1, 2013
ISBN: 0764210432
Pages: 432

Review:

I'm not the biggest fan of fantasy novels, but after becoming addicted to Game of Thrones, I now have an open mind when it comes to the genre, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to review A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr. Sadly, this is one of several books that got shoved aside and collected dust for months until I finally got around to reading it last month.

Desperate for money, the orphan Errol Stone takes on an mission assigned to him by a church messenger. Over the years, he has found a liking to ale, which helps him forget the deaths of his family. The money being offered to him could keep him drunk for at least a week, so he eagerly accepts the mission, which he presumes to be a simple task. He leaves the blackwater village of Callowford, and goes on a mysterious quest alongside the priest Martin, Luis and a couple of warriors from a nearby village.

King Rodran is in a lot of trouble as he has no heir to take the thrown; therefore the church is taking up the responsibility of selecting the next king, but a dark force begins killing the church readers, they are the ones with the ability to look into a piece of stone or wood and see the future.

The health and well-being of a person is of paramount importance. Living a healthy life is the first step to having a positive sense of well-being and good health. If you can manage to eat well, exercise, and have a positive sense of self, you will be well on your way to having a healthy life and sense of well-being. If you are like millions of other people, you may have some barriers to implementing the healthiest lifestyle possible. These barriers are varied and can be anything from physical impairments, lack of knowledge, social or psychological barriers, and many things in between. You can help overcome those barriers with help from qualified professionals at places like Miller Counseling Services or other such qualified mental or physical health providers.

Suffering from depression and anxiety is a debilitating illness. It can affect every part of your life, including social, emotional, and educational, your career, and so much more. You can receive counseling for all types of mood disorders including the following:

• Depression 
• Anxiety 
• Panic disorder 
• PTSD 
• OCD

The department stores are already having Pre-Black Friday sales and I'm sure people will be busy buying presents for their children, parents, grandparents, other family members and friends. It would be nice to take a few minutes and come up with your own Christmas list. Sure, Santa probably won't have time to shop for you, but there is nothing wrong with dreaming.

What would my top five wants for Christmas be?

Here is my list to Santa:


1. HP Black Licorice 15.6" 2000-2c29wm Laptop - My desktop is getting up there in age, though it still works great, my deepest fears is that it will quit working one day. Laptop computers are a lot cheaper than desktop computers. Plus, I can work on a short story or the next great American novel from the comfy of my bed.

The Prodigals: Giants in the Land, Book Two
By Clark Rich Burbidge
Illustrated By Karl C. Hepworth
Publisher: WinePress Publishing
Pub. Date: October 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-1606152416
Pages: 248

Review:

Author Clark Rich Burbidge returns with book two in the Giants in the Land series, which is set in a world where villagers relied on Giants to help them dig canals for irrigation, lifted heavy stones for foundations and the Giants built and took care of the levees. Basically, the Giants helped the people with day-to-day living that is until the Giants suddenly vanished, leaving everyone to defend for themselves.

In book one The Way of Things, a young father named Thomas volunteered to look for the Giants by venturing to the forest, which he had to leave his family behind and everything he knew. Throughout his journey, his faith and courage is tested until he finally learns the true meaning of being a Giant.

Seventeen years have went by since Thomas has become the Land's Forest Ward, occasionally over the years he would venture out to visit his daughter, Hope, who now has two children of her own, seventeen-year-old Tommy and thirteen-year-old, Rose.

Times have changed across the land as a ruthless band of raiders invade the villages and take anything of valuable. These raiders attacked Tommy's father and Uncle Samuel and they kidnapped his sister, Rose. It seems the raiders consider humans as valuables too, putting them into slavery for their leader, Big John, who works for The Leader.

Rules of Murder
A Drew Farthering Mystery
By Julianna Deering
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: August 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0764210952
Pages: 336


In the style of Agatha Christie's classic mysteries, comes Rules of Murder, book one in A Drew Farthering Mystery series by Julianna Deering.

Drew Farthering has always loved reading a good mystery, especially the books by his favorite detective author, Ronald Knox. Little did he realize that he would be thrown into a real murder mystery when returns to his family home n Hampshire, England, where his mother and stepfather are throwing a party on the grounds of their country estate. The estate is filled with interesting guests, including the lovely and intelligent American, Madeline Parker, who happens to be his stepfather's niece.

Suddenly, one of the guests ends up dead. Don't forget this is the early 1900s, so there are no cell phones to call for the authorities. Like the game Clue, Drew Farthering plans on finding the murderer himself, but it isn't going to be easy, as no one wants to confess to the crime.

Luckily, Madeline was with him when the murder occurred, so he can rule her out as a prime suspect. Using the murder guidelines he learned from reading Knox's books, Drew along with his best-friend, Nick, (the family's butler's son) plan on unraveling the mystery before someone else ends up dead.

The Tutor's Daughter
By Julie Klassen
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: January 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0764210693
Pages: 416

Review:

November may be the start of the holiday season for people, but this month is book review catch up for me, as I have a pile of books sitting on my desk that have been read, but are in dire need of reviews. I read The Tutor's Daughter back in December, but I got sidetracked; therefore I had to reread the book this month to refresh my memory.

In the style of Jane Eyre, The Tutor's Daughter find Emma Smallwood helping her father run a boarding school for boys called The Smallwood Academy ever since her mother passed away two years earlier, but the academy is collapsing because of the lack of students. To make matters worse, her father suffers from melancholic.

A few years prior to the Academy's fallout, two of the Weston's sons attended the school. Emma writes to the Weston family asking them if they are in need of a tutor for their children. The Weston reply back and before long Emma and her father head to the cliff-top manor in Cornwall to tutor the two youngest Weston children.

No, I didn't forget to have this written and scheduled for this morning. Actually, the internet connection was extremely slow last night, so I decided to write this today. Plus, I was busy watching The Walking Dead and Witches of East End last night.

The slow internet is a reason why I didn't get a few review posts scheduled over the weekend, so I'm going to be busy today and the rest of the week getting these reviews finished.

I know what "Thanksgiving" is, but it is the one holiday I would rather avoid at all cost. If you are like me, you probably have a few relatives that you don't want to see, let alone like them. Normally, it is just my parents, my grandmother, my uncle and me for Thanksgiving, which I still dread as I'm not a fan of turkey, cranberry, stuffing or anything with pumpkin in it, I would rather watch Home For The Holidays and go to the stores for the pre-Black Friday sales.