There's more to purchasing wood than just browsing two-by-fours at your local Home Depot. If you're serious about only buying the best, here are five things to keep in mind as you go shopping for wood and wood products.


1. Buy From the Right Company
Some companies grow, cut, treat and sell their own wood. Others might purchase and inspect wood from third-party vendors before passing on the best stuff to their customers. There's no right or wrong answer when it comes to where you buy your wood, so look at all of your options before settling for one brand in particular.


2. Consider Sizes and Shapes
Lengths and widths are only the beginning. For example, you might also need a particular thickness or weight capacity in your wood, especially if you're building something that people will stand on. If you're unsure of the exact dimensions or specifications that your project requires, call a timber company and ask.


3. Look for Special Features

Pressure treated wood will last longer than its untreated cousins. So will wood that's been waterproofed or coated with a moisture-resistant finish. You can also find wood that's been sanded, shined and otherwise beautified for use in furniture-building. If any of these things are important to you, set aside a little extra in your budget to accommodate them.

Little Brown & Company; 448 pages; $28; Amazon

For anybody who follows this blog regularly, it should be no surprise to find me reviewing a James Patterson novel.

Yes, I like reading mysteries, and yes, Mr. Patterson happens to be one of my favorite authors. Of course that hasn't always been the case, as I started reading his books around 2003 or 2004 after my grandmother gave me a few Patterson titles to read. I would buy each new title, read it, and then pass it on to her. After my grandmother's death in 2009, I've continued to buy every new Patterson title, well, the ones that I don't receive a review copy for on here.

This week I finished reading The Black Book by James Patterson & David Ellis. Despite being disappointed with Never Never (read my review here), my expectations for this one were high, mostly due to the fact that I had heard good things about the novel before I even started reading page one.

The Black Book starts off with a bizarre crime scene involving one male and two female victims. The male is the only one to survive the crime, and he happens to be Detective Billy Harney, the son of Chicago's chief of detectives, and the twin brother to Hatti, who is also a cop.

The novel flips back and forth from the past to present. In the past, Billy and his adrenaline-junkie partner, Detective Kate Fenton, are investigating a murder that leads them to an exclusive Chicago brothel that caters to rich and powerful. Their only lead to the killer might be inside a black book containing all the brothel's clients, but of course the book is missing.

In the present, as Billy recovers from his wounds, he tries to piece together the final hours that lead to the death of two women (I'm not naming names here as I don't want to give away too many spoilers!), but proving his innocence isn't going to be easy as he can't remember what actually happened that fatal night.

Now available from New Concepts Publishing is the paranormal romance fantasy Dark Angel, book one of The Fallen Chronicles, by Amanda Jones.




When did you become interested in storytelling?

I’ve always enjoyed writing – I was the weird kid in school that enjoyed essay assignments! Dark Angel is my first full length novel, but I’ve tried my hand at screenplays and short stories (which will remain hidden in the dark recesses of my hard drive!).

What was your first book/story published?

Dark Angel is my first published book – it had a long and winding path, but has finally arrived!

What inspired you to write Dark Angel?

I’ve always enjoyed the idea of good vs. evil and what makes the bad guy bad – so naturally the biggest, baddest fallen angel of all seemed like a good jumping off point. 😀

What character in Dark Angel is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

That’s a really great question…and a tough one to answer! I don’t think I can pinpoint one specific character because there are pieces of me in all of them…I’m bookish like Sergei, and stubborn like Luc. I’ve also searched for who I am like Katya and been the joker like Bataryal. It’s fun when people who know you well read one of your books and come across a line that’s “so you.”😀

What is your favorite part in Dark Angel?

Putnam; 320 pages; $27.00; Amazon

Available today in bookstores from Putnam is Robert B. Parker's Little White Lies written by Ace Atkins, which marks the 45th title in the popular Spenser series. (Well, the 46th if you can't 2009's Chasing the Bear: A Young Spenser Novel.)

Created by the late Robert B. Parker, the Spenser novels centers on a Boston private detective named Spenser, who's first name is never mentioned in the books. The first novel in the series, The Godwulf Manuscript, was published in 1973, and quickly became popular with mystery readers. Many sequels followed, as well as a short-lived television series called Spenser: For Hire (1985 - 1988) starring Robert Urish as Spenser. A spin-off television series, A Man Called Hawk, aired for only 13 episodes. Four made-for-TV sequel movies aired during the 1990s. The novels Small Vices, Thin Air, and Walking Shadow were later adapted into made-for-TV movies on A&E starring Joe Mantegna as Spenser.

After Robert B. Parker's death in 2010, journalist/writer Ace Atkins was picked to continue writing the Spenser novels. Little White Lies marks the 6th Spenser novel written by Mr. Atkins. The other Spenser titles written by him are: Lullaby, Wonderland, Cheap Shot, Kickback and Slow Burn.

Spenser's newest case in Little White Lies has him helping Connie Kelly, a woman who gave a three hundred thousand dollars investment to her online boyfriend, Mr. Brooke Welles. Of course right after she gave Welles the money, he broke all ties with her and disappeared without a trace. After confiding with her shrink, Dr. Susan Silverman, Connie contacted Spenser to investigate Welles.

Available now from Kensington Publishing/ Lyrical Press is the paranormal romance series Night Blood by Melody Johnson.




When did you become interested in storytelling?

Storytelling has been a lifelong passion, especially when devising something fantastic to spin my way out of trouble—which was never successful—but I considered myself a “real” writer my junior year in high school when I took Creative Writing with Miss Doyle and wrote my first short story. I finished my first, full-length manuscript my senior year in college, and it wasn’t until then that I really considered myself an author.

What was your first book/story published?

The first book I ever published was actually my third full-length novel I’d ever written, and it was The City Beneath, Night Blood #1, in April 2015.

What inspired you to write the Night Blood Series?

I’ve always been a huge fan of the vampire genre, especially the darker classics, like Anne Rice, and her contemporaries, like Laurell K. Hamilton’s early Anita Blake novels. I wanted to bring something fresh to the table, in a world parallel to our own. So many vampire novels are either based on vampires already being “out of the closet” or a secret that the main character agrees to protect. I wanted to create a world in which the main character was desperate to expose their existence; Cassidy’s struggle to protect her loved ones, protect herself and act with honor and truth has been a delicate journey I’ve very much enjoyed weaving.

What character in Eternal Reign is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Meredith resembles me in many ways: I prefer to separate myself from life in books and behind a computer the way she does behind a camera and with her computer software. We’re both passionate about out work, quick to forgive, and we cherish our friendships. I often feel like life is nothing but running on a hamster wheel; the faster I run, the harder I work, the more tired I become, no matter that I haven’t actually moved. I don’t think vampires are erasing my memory and making me start from scratch, like Meredith, but beside that minor detail, we certainly have a lot in common.

Now available from Magothy Publishing is the supernatural thriller The Ghosts of My Lai by JC Braswell.




When did you become interested in storytelling?

I’ve always been interested in storytelling. Even at a young age I was pretty active in storytelling, especially making up fables for my parents when I tried to get out of trouble.

As far as trying to be professional, I would say about a decade ago. I started with a book titled Autumn of Man. Absolutely loved it. It snowballed from there.

What was your first book/story published?

It was a short story called The Lighthouse on Mermaid Row. The story eventually ended up being the foundation for five more short stories that formed my first novel, The Lighthouse Keeper. Mermaid Row was actually submitted to be part of an anthology for Scarlet Galleon’s Fearful Fathoms, but it wasn’t quite horrific enough. I decided to go ahead and release it.

What inspired you to write The Ghosts of My Lai?

It was after a conversation with a late friend of mine. He was a Vietnam veteran. One day we started talking in the gym. I’m not sure exactly how we got on the subject, but he broached the subject of his time in the service. Something really changed in his demeanor. There was a void there, a loss that only a soldier who has experienced war can understand. I wanted to explore that in writing.

I want to make clear that My Lai is not a book about war. Far from it. It’s about fear, survival, the line between man/animal, and redemption.

What character in The Ghosts of My Lai is the most/least like you, and in what ways?