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Friday, February 21, 2014

An interview with Chuck Gleason author of Collision Course

RM: First of all, we at Readers’ Muse thank you for consenting to answer our questions, sir!
I really liked reading your book, and found certain characters relatable and the story enjoyable. The story was really gentle and refreshing.
CG: I am so glad you liked it.  Something fun to read is exactly what I was aiming for.
If you can be so kind to answer a few of these questions:
RM: Could you tell us a little about yourself? We want to get to know the man who penned the words better. What prompts you to write?
CG: I was born and raised in Chicago.  My dad died (cancer) when I was eight.  My lonesomeness created a huge emptiness in my life.  When I began dating Janet, (she was 15, I was just 16) I found the person who filled up my lonesomeness.  We became very close in high school.  Joy of joy, she talked her parents into allowing her to attend Denison University where I was one year ahead of her.  Our three years at Denison were filled with love and togetherness.  We married the fall after I graduated 9/30/50 which means we have been married 63 years!  We’re still very much in love.
For my first 18 years I was employed by The Borden Company.  They transferred us to several cities including East Lansing, Michigan and Detroit.  We have two children a girl, Leslie, then a boy, Tom.
When I turned 39 I realized the low salary I was being paid would not allow me to send my children to college.  So, I quit my job and went into the life insurance business.  This was a very spooky thing to do because it was straight commission selling.  If I sold nothing, there was no pay check.  Leslie was only 3 years away from college.  Fortunately, I was very successful selling life insurance.
I became a member of the Million Dollar Round Table which is the top 5% of life insurance salespeople from all over the world.  I was asked to speak before this prestigious group on 9 different occasions.  The audiences were as large as 5,000.   This led to other speeches in 29 different states plus 7 foreign countries.
When the kids left for college, Janet joined me, assuming much of my office work.  We developed a two market business plan and made it work for us.  We lived on a lake in Michigan in the summer and on Sanibel Island in Florida in the winter.  We made office space in each of our homes so we had a two second commute to work.  We lived that incredible life style for 25 years.
In 2003 we realized we needed to move closer to one of our children.  As you age, this becomes important.  We sold our Florida and Michigan homes and moved to a mountain location in north Georgia.  This is a wonderful place to live. 
We have three grandchildren and one great grandchild.  Our entire life has been very blessed.
When a person retires they have to do something.  I like to play golf, but some foot problems forced me to give up the game.  When that happened, I decided to write.
I hope I haven’t given you too much information.  When your 85 years old, your life history is, by necessity, rather long.
RM: We do know that all books reflect the lives of their authors on some level. But since this book is too relatable and life like, how much of it is based on your real life?
CG: Collision Course is set at Denison University which is where we went to college. Consequently, the college portion of the book background is based on our life.  However, Janet and I had smooth sailing.  I put in all the ‘collisions’ to make the book more interesting. 
Keli’s frustration with literary agents reflects my own struggles.  I would love to give the speech Keli made in the book to a writers convention.  I think the main idea for the book came out of my frustration with the problems of becoming published.   You have to realize I wrote 6 books and each book was rejected over 200 times.  Which means I had 1200 rejections.  Is that some kind of a record?
RM: You have beautifully brought out the struggles of a new writer. Why was Keli made a writer, that too such a dedicated one?
CG: I think I just answered that question in the above paragraph.   Except I want to add that we ruled out self-publishing.  It seemed to us self-publishing is nothing but an ego trip.  If someone didn’t believe in our book enough to publish it, we would not be published.
RM: From a layman reader’s point of view, the character of Keli seems so driven and sometimes a tad selfish. How is this justified?
CG: If you ever sold life insurance you would understand the need to be driven and immune to rejection.
RM: The Dragon Lady is described as a formidable character. But she is described as loving and caring before getting onto business. Does this imply that work changed her nature?
CG: Yes.  Many of my friends in the Million Dollar Round Table became overly obsessed with their work to the detriment of their families.  My speeches always touched on the need to keep your family life in proper prospective.
RM: The story emphasises on the need to find one’s true love and stick with it. What is your personal view of its practicality in today’s busy world?
CG: I don’t think anyone can be a success alone.  You need a loving companion to help you over the rough spots.   Take a minute to look back on your life?  Do you wish you’d spent more time at the office?  Family is what’s important, not business.  Success is not a destination, it’s a journey.  A person needs to work hard, to be dedicated and to constantly have balance in your life between business goals and family life.
RM: According to you, what are main hassles faced while writing a book? (Please share your personal experiences with us!)
CG: For me, the writing was easy.  The words just seem to flow.  Editing is arduous and difficult.  Getting published is almost impossible.
RM: What do you think is the most important thing in writing a book, the writing, editing or publishing?
CG: The writing has to be most important, but getting published is the difficult part.
RM: What is your ideal writing position? (Calm and alone or in the midst of hustle and bustle?)
CG: Early in the day in my office with the door closed.
RM: Could you give a few tips to budding writers?
CG: Don’t give up.  My grandson asked me, “Are you having fun writing?”  When I replied “Yes,” he wisely said, “Isn’t that what life is all about?”
RM: Thank you very much for taking time to answer our questions, sir! And thank you for writing such a great book and such a beautiful dedication page! Your answers are as interesting as your book!


Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Collision Course by Chuck Gleason : A Review

BOOK TITLE: Collision Course
ISBN: 978-1612962085
AUTHOR: Chuck Gleason
GENRE: Fiction-Romance
NUMBER OF PAGES: 252
FORMAT: E-Book
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK:
This review is part of a tour and we got digital copies for review. We thank the organiser and the author.
SUMMARY:
Collision Course is a warm loving story about two college kids, Lincoln Comstock and Keli Holloway, who get off on a rocky road to romance.  In their creative writing course, Lincoln trashes Keli’s first offering before the entire class, just to get her attention.  Keli is very sensitive about her creative efforts.  As a consequence, Lincoln has started his romance by shooting himself in the foot.
Lincoln’s persistence pays off eventually as Keli agrees to be friends, just not romantic friends.   In their junior year, the friendship endures the student body presidential election in which Keli and Lincoln are actually pitted against each other.  After the election Keli finally agrees to go to the Christmas formal as Lincoln’s date.
Just as the friendship is turning into love, obstacles get in the way. Can their love withstand a  last collision?
Filled with excitement and love, Collision Course is a happy story that will leave readers smiling.
REVIEW:
          How strong can a college romance be? How far will the love go? What happens when a guy decides he needs no woman other than the chosen one? Collision course is just a mixture of answers to all these questions. Read this book with the idea of how it would sound if your grandfather told you about his college romance?
          The book is a love story with a happy ending. But it tries to create tension in between by the lot of ‘collisions’ between the two leads. Starting day one, the collisions range from joking comments to sarcasm turning sour to parents wreaking havoc, the couple faces it all. Thankfully, the guy’s persistence wins the girl over. End of Story. What is the story, you ask me?
          Well, much like a set of scenes make a big movie, the individual incidents make the book. Though the fights are clichéd, the characters are relatable. This book would surely give you tips on how to handle your girl/ guy, the classic way. There is nothing else to say about the plot and the book. It is as simple as that!
WHAT I LIKED: The story made up of individual incidents.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: There could be more spice in the story.
VERDICT: Read this book to know what your grandpa’s advice would be for your love life!
RATING: 4/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


          Have we discovered a literary Grandpa Moses?
          Author Chuck Gleason is eighty four years young and writing love stories at a prodigious rate.  He started dating Janet in 1945 when they were just fifteen.  They married in 1950 and are still in love sixty three years later!
          Chuck achieved business success selling life insurance. With Janet’s help, they developed a two market selling life style.  They lived on a Michigan lake in the summer and a Florida island in the winter. Their commute to work was only two seconds. They enjoyed this enviable life style for over twenty five years!
          Chuck’s speech, ‘Are You Running Your Business or is Your Business Running You?’ has been delivered in twenty seven states and seven foreign countries.
          They have two children, three grandchildren and one great grandchild.
          “If you marry your best friend you’ll have a wonderful life.”
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback, Digital
PRICE: Rs. 493 for kindle edition.


Friday, February 14, 2014

Done With Men by Suchi Kalra: A Review



BOOK TITLE: Done With Men
ISBN: 9781927826324
AUTHOR: Suchi Singh Kalra
GENRE: Fiction/ Romance
NUMBER OF PAGES: 159
FORMAT: Digital
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK:
SUMMARY:
          Travel journo, Kairavi Krishna (Kay) has had it with men. After a series of disasters (losers, philanderers, leeches, mama's boys and possessive psychos), she is all too tempted to walk out on the prospect of ever finding love. Accompanied by her best friend and flat-mate Baani, she sets off for Goa, hoping to get away from her miserable love life and vowing to stay clear of the male species.

          Goa however, has a host of surprises in store for her. Ricky, her pesky ex-boyfriend, is busy painting the town red with his hot new girlfriend. Now what is poor Kay to do other than overdose on vodka, smoke pot, get an outrageous tattoo and fall off the hotel balcony? She wakes up in the hospital to the tender ministrations of Dr.Vivian D'Mello--young, suave and handsome as hell. Will Kay stick to her guns or will she fall for his ridiculously sexy charms? And what's up with the mixed signals he's giving out?
REVIEW:
          Done with men – is any woman actually ‘done’ with men? How can women be totally ‘done’ with love, romance, and the ‘oh-so-essential-driving-force-of-the-whole-world’ concept of being in love? This book tells you exactly about that. A travel editor for a magazine gets a chance to do a special travelogue on Goa, the land  of parties, booze and casual flings. Fresh from a series of breakups that do nothing to help her psyched mental state, Kairavi Krishna, a tamilian (yes, you read it right!) lands in the magic land of Goa. The story from there is fairly simple. She meets her ex in a resort cooing with someone else, decides to take revenge on him with a drunken one night stand, and finds herself in the hospital the next morning. There she meets a Greek Adonis doctor, who seems cold, aloof and distant. The major part of the story lies in the lead falling for her doctor and whether or not he reciprocates.
          The whole book can be told as a one liner. But the talent of the writer lies in prolonging the story to an interesting, respectable 150 pages. Yes, it is a short read. Yes, you know somehow that it is all going to end well. Yes, the stories, even the characters are predictable, repetitive and of course typecast. But hey! Too much starch never made a cloth wearable. This is the comfortable sweaters and track pants compared to your stiff office suits. You know that somehow, in this book all the characters ever mentioned will get a ‘screen space’ in the story. From the person of the ONS to the nurse who cures Ms. Krishna.
          The plot is simple, straightforward, and predictable. But the author has written it in such a relatable first person narrative that you don’t want to put the book down. Right from the clumsy heroine who suspects her perfect man always to the rock solid BFF who stands by her no matter what, the story has nothing new to offer. It is a pleasant read, though. The characters are nowhere near spectacular and are plain and clear. This is a perfect book to curl up with on a sunny day when you’re too tired to go out. And if you have enough patience for a love story, this is a onetime read, to be read at a go.
WHAT I LIKED: The story, the way it has been written, and the thoroughly decent plotline
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: The stereotypical elements of the genre.
VERDICT: Short, mood-lifting read. Go for it when you want to read something neither too heavy nor too light. And definitely not when you are ‘done with men’.
RATING: 4.3/5 (the writing was awesome. It is tangy, sweet, sour, salty and of course, a laugh every page. If you understand humour and sarcasm)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
          Shuchi Singh Kalra is a writer, editor and blogger based in India. She has been writing since 2005, and her bylines have appeared in over 25 publications, across 5 countries. Her short stories have found a place in anthologies such as Love Across Borders and New Asian Writing's upcoming collection (to be published in 2014).
          Shuchi is also the owner of Pixie Dust Writing Studio, a writing and editing firm that services a global clientele, and the Indian Freelance Writers Blog. Done With Men is her first book.

Pay her a visit at 
www.shuchikalra.com or join her Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/shuchisinghkalra).
Twitter handle: @shuchikalra
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Digital.
PRICE: Rs. 175





Book Blitz : Forever Doomed by Mary Ann Kempher

It's not wise to wander the cruise ship Forever alone at night. You might not live to see daylight.

Detective Jack Harney agrees to do an old Army buddy a favor. Curt Noble had some personal business to attend to, he didn’t say what. What he did say was he needed someone to temporarily take over his duties as head of security on the struggling cruise ship Forever. Jack hesitates, but he owes Curt his life so agrees. He’s told the worst mischief he can expect to encounter will be the occasional shoplifter, or drunk. Instead, one week into the cruise, a beautiful red head and a member of the crew are ruthlessly murdered. Are the two murders connected? It’s up to Jack to find out. He must find the killer before the ship returns to Tampa’s port, or worse, before another dead body is found. This won't be easy. The ship is old, it's security systems outdated, and clues are few, or so it seems at first

 It’s not just a sense of obligation that motivates Jack to agree to Curt's request;

Jack moved thousands of miles, started over, and still can't get Amy O'Brian out of his heart or mind. When she shows up on the ship, as part of a large wedding party, Jack must fight to stay focused. To make matters worse, Amy isn't his only distraction; a sexy and mysterious woman has made it her mission to seduce Jack.

As the body count rises, and time slips away, Jack has to ask himself, “Did someone commit the perfect crime?”

 

 

forever doomed

maryann kempher 

 

goodreads

 

purchase links

amazon us | amazon uk | barnes & Noble | kobo

 

excerpt

Jack watched Marni leave, torn. Did he think she’d killed Pam? No, but she was keeping something from him, something to do with Pam’s murder. He looked down at his arm, seeing her small hand. His heart was still beating hard. It had taken real effort to hide his feelings when she’d touched him. After a few minutes, he started walking, and was soon standing outside Marni’s cabin door. He hesitated. He told himself he was just going there to talk to her, to try to make her tell him what he sensed she was holding back. But that was a lie. He reached up and knocked. She opened the door wearing a towel.

“I was about to take a shower,” she said.

Jack didn’t respond. He walked into her room, shoving the door shut behind him. He took hold of her towel and pulled her tightly against his body, his mouth covering hers, his tongue searching for hers, his hands yanking the towel off and tossing it to the floor. He easily picked up Marni and carried her to the bed. She pulled his shirt up over his head, her hands running themselves through his thick chest hair. She reached for his belt buckle, undoing it slowly, her eyes watching his. Then she pulled his pants down and gasped.

Oh my.

 

about the author

MaryAnn Kempher loves to write mystery with a dash of romance. She spent her teen years spent living in Reno NV where her first book, Mocha, Moonlight, and Murder is set. The setting for her second book, Forever Doomed, was inspired by her love of the ocean. Her writing influences include favorite authors Agatha Christie, Jane Austen and Janet Evanovich. Her guilty pleasures include any and all sweets, including a good cup of Mocha. She is married with two children.

contact maryann

facebook | website | twitter | goodreads

 

previous books

 

goodreads

Instead of feeding her late-night appetite, a midnight food run nearly gets 28-year-old Katherine O’Brian killed. She’s the only person to see the man who brutally murdered a local woman, and the killer is hell-bent on making sure she doesn’t talk.

Scott Mitchell left a broken engagement behind when he moved to Reno, and the last thing he needs is more melodrama. But when he and Katherine are paired for a college project, that’s what he gets. It can be very distracting when someone is out to kill your lab partner. Together, they try to figure out what the police haven’t been able to—the identity of the murderer. Passion flares, but with Katherine’s life in danger, romance seems like more than a bad idea.

Scott and Katherine will face jealousy, misunderstandings, lust, and rivals, not to mention attempted murder—and all before their first real date

 

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In Conversation With : James Zerdnt - Writer of "The Korean Word for Butterfly"

Dear Mr. Zerndt,

First of all, I really enjoyed reading your book. It was quite a different experience for me given that I haven’t read a book about Korea.
 Next, thanks a lot for accepting to do the interview.

Diving into the questions!

    Jan @ RM:   Korea is not a country which has been talked about much when compared to other war ridden countries like Syria or Sri Lanka. What really prompted you to base your story on that country?

James : I taught English in South Korea back in 2002.  A lot of the book is based on experiences I had while working there.

Jan @ RM: The names of your protagonists are rather simple. Any particular reasoning for this?

James : I was tired of reading books where the characters were given names like Frog or Hand or Beatrix Whistle as if giving a character a bizarre name makes them interesting. I wanted to create complex characters with simple names. I wanted their actions to make them interesting.

  Jan @ RM:    The characterisation at first seemed so similar to me, in sense they all had a common “sad” element but as the story progressed I was able to understand various dimensions to them. Did you really plan it that way or did it just happen?

James : I planned very little with this book. As it started to unfold, I started to see the parallels between Billie and Yun-ji. That aspect of the story I intentionally manipulated, but many of the other threads in the story just sort of fell in place as it evolved.

  Jan @ RM:    Abortion – A thoroughly sensitive issue – Did you have second thoughts about writing about it? Did you think it might backfire in spite of running a disclaimer?

James :I have no regrets in writing about this subject. I have great compassion for those who go through it, and I wanted to express that through the characters in the book. I never expected it to sell, and the disclaimer is just there to warn people about the content.

   Jan @ RM:    We are from India; our audience isn’t really exposed to books about Korea or abortion. Of course, the latter is a big taboo out here.  Would you hesitate to market your books in our country? Did you have a specific audience in mind while writing this book?

James : I would not hesitate to market the book anywhere based on the subject matter. If abortion is taboo, all the more reason people (men, particularly) should try to understand those that undergo the procedure.

And, no, I didn’t have any specific audience in mind when writing the book. I try not to think of those types of things when working on something. It’s all about the story. Financially, this may not a very wise thing to do, but I am rewarded in other ways.

   Jan @ RM:    How has the progression from writing short stories to a full length novel been?

James :My first novel, The Cloud Seeders, was a bit more difficult for me as it called for a lot of world building.  I’d never attempted anything like that before, so it was tough. If you change one aspect in the first chapter, it has to be consistent throughout the remainder of the book. A time-consuming and maddening thing at times.

As for The Korean Word For Butterfly, I wrote the first draft of this novel about nine years ago. I wasn’t happy with it and had pretty much given up on it. It was written from the POV of a character in the book, Joe, that we hear very little from in the new version. But as soon as I figured out that Moon and Yun-ji had to be in the book, the re-write went fairly quickly.
Now some quick fun questions
·        Coffee or Wine?
 Coffee or whiskey.
·        What’s the worst piece of advice that you have been given?
“You’re too old to do that.”
·        If you could steal one thing except money without being caught...it would be...?
The President’s wedding ring.  Just for kicks.
·        Tap Dancing or Waltz?
Um, waltz.  If I knew how.
·        If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?
Arby’s.

Once again, thank you!




Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Monkey Talk : A Short Story by Lucas Earle Review

BOOK TITLE: Monkey talk
ASIN: B00DSVUIT6
AUTHOR: T Lucas Earle
GENRE: Fiction
NUMBER OF PAGES: 15
FORMAT: Digital
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone/ Short Story
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: The author sent us a copy for review. We thank him for it!
SUMMARY:
          Monkey Talk is loosely based on the Chinese myth, the Monkey King, a timeless story about who belongs, and who doesn’t. In a future in which Chimps can give lectures on cybernetics, Mr. Towry is a Chimp with an attitude. Unfortunately, the rules are still “No shirt, no shoes, no service.”
REVIEW:
          Monkey Talk - What happens when a scientifically advanced monkey can talk? Can the monkey give guest lecturers? What happens when the monkey has near human emotions and feels irritation, sadness, and happiness and… love? What does happen when the monkey has a rare disease that makes it rage and destruct its surroundings? And the biggest question… How can the answer for all this lie in a 17 page short story? Read more to find out. The Monkey Talk is astonishingly unique, has simple language and can manage to both confuse you as well as leave a sweet after taste. And to be still more mysterious, the story gives an additional twist in between and right at the end!
VERDICT: Short, sensible, and honestly, how many good short stories can you see these days?
RATING: 4/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
T. Lucas Earle is a writer and filmmaker. T. Lucas has a degree in Film Production from Emerson College, and currently works as a script reader in LA. His stories have been published in Electric Spec and The Colored Lens. T. Lucas also writes two blogs and reviews television pilots for Blogcritics. His dark comedy, Abduction, was premiered in the 2013 LA Shorts Film Fest.
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle
PRICE: Rs. 58 for Kindle edition


Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The Bracelet by C.A. Deslauriers : A Review



BOOK TITLE: The Bracelet
ISBN: 9780989803915
AUTHOR: C. A. Deslauriers
GENRE: Contemporary romance - Fiction
NUMBER OF PAGES: 276 for Paperback
FORMAT: Paperback
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: The author sent us both copies for review, with a personalised message.
SUMMARY:
          From debut author, C.A. Deslauriers comes a stirring romance novel of a woman’s life, conquering the wounds of abuse, and rising above life’s struggles. This novel will bring you on a journey of survival and redemption. True love’s thread is woven throughout the novel and the emotions of this story will touch your heart and soul, moving you from warmth, through pain, sorrow, and then to joy. If you believe in a real-life “happily ever after” and the bond that links soul mates; then you will feel the emotion in the story of “The Bracelet”.
          Christine Fischer’s life had been poisoned with deep sorrow from memories of childhood abuse. This is her story of that life and, her strength to overcome her pain and survive. Three men shared a part of that struggle. One rescued her, one almost destroyed her and the third, Jay West, loved her through all the pain and sorrow. The bracelet he gave her symbolized her life and their love. The words engraved on the heart reflected more than just the sexual bond they shared, but how that bond lifted her desire for life from lukewarm to one on fire. This is the story of true love’s fire, which ultimately transformed Christine’s sorrow into joy. That love joined Christine and Jay as soul mates for eternity. Their bond was forever sealed by the bracelet she wore and the words engraved on the heart that hung from it.
REVIEW:
          This book was sent to both of us from the author personally for an honest review. I have to begin my thanking her. The best thing I liked in the book was the author’s signature and a personal message that said, ‘Life is seldom a straight line…’ written in the first title page, in lasting shiny metallic silver ink. *sigh* (and no, I have not already started sighing cause it’s a romance novel)
          Nothing could have drawn me into the book better. The book had another novelty. It was actually a person’s flashback narrative. Yes, the whole book (except for few pages at the ending) is actually a type of ‘I have crossed all these paths in my life’ flashback of Christine Fischer. Christine is now a bestselling author, and her book is selling like hotcakes. But Christine herself lacks warmth in her life and her mind keeps going back to the area where she was happy once. Jay West, the man who loved her through her pain and sorrow and the man who gave her a hot feel in her blood, is now not with her. For the how and why, I’ll let you read the book.
          For fans of romance, and the whole ‘love gives you all feeling and keeps you going’ theorists, this book is a must have on your shelves and this will be a dog eared copy which you will run to when you so much as get scratched by a stray cat on the street. For comfort, of course! And there are plenty of graphic scenes to put fodder for those who want a much – err- descriptive and physical exhibition of love. It is for those of you who want to read a book tucked in your love seat with a cup of cocoa and cocooned in a blanket.
          But fair warning to those free thinking radical women who don’t like or want your heroines to be Bella Swans, this Christine Fischer is one woman who is pining to get back to hot from her lukewarm state. You can’t blame her. If you hate the women who think love is the only emotion a woman can feel and love is the only way to bring people out of their pain and sorrow, you won’t sympathise with Christine. Learn what to expect before you pick this up. And for those of you (who am I kidding? Us… I meant those of ‘us’) who want a woman to be empowered and feel successful and enjoy love as a part of your life and not as a whole, this book gives other ideas that might, just some times, make you want to stop reading.
          The story of abuse and recovery is, of course, great. But the book does falter in one theme. The title and the description and of course, the book cover lead you to believe this will be a different story. The emphasis on ‘lead you’. For someone who stoically avoided reading the much ‘critically acclaimed and far more successful than Harry Potter’ Fifty shades of Grey series, (Hey, don’t stop reading. That is what the general statisticians say. Though I think there might be something fishy going on) this book is a slightly tangy reminder of that. You might call this a watered down version of that. (Or so learned people say!) If that is the case, I can only shudder to think what the concentrated version would be. In general, women who depend on men to straighten out their own lives are a big turn off to me personally and by reflection, I can’t actually sympathise with the lead in this book.
          One other thing that could have been better is the jumpy narrative of the flashback. Only a few disjointed scenes were woven into a narrative but when you look at them from a scientific perspective, there are things called as ‘memory flashes’ where the human mind is capable of replaying the scenes and memories it deems are most important and memorable. Oh wait. I am not talking about over thinking in bed at night. But one major disadvantage is that these flashes are most often perspective visions of the ‘Seer’. You only get one view. And if it is green coloured, blame your eyes. *I have to put down my pen – err- stop tapping the keys- here*
          If you want to know what is the meaning of the bracelet in the cover page, or if you actually want to know what happens to Christine (promise me that you won’t say ‘oh I knew this is what will happen) and if you really like the ‘I am so in love that I can’t actually stand on my own legs both physically and figuratively’ type of books, go for this one. This book can either be the best for you, or leave an aftertaste. This totally depends on your perspective of what love is.
          *True to the flashback mode of writing, this review is intentionally written in the order the points came to the mind of the reviewer. You can understand nothing in the start but if you read it till the end, you can get the general picture.*
WHAT I LIKED: The story’s flow and the beautiful Gibran quotes at the start of every chapter.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: The all too dependent woman protagonist and the whole emphasis on love as the central force.
VERDICT: This book is a make or break. Romance lovers go for it, whereas fans of other genres think twice.
RATING: 3/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
          Ms. Deslauriers enjoys living in the sunshine of the Gulf coast of Florida. She has written poetry most of her life and now enjoys writing the novels that have been waiting to jump from her mind to paper at last. Her passions include gardening, orchid growing, reading, writing and “arithmetic” – actually taxes and accounting. She enjoys swimming and long walks with her retired greyhound racer.
          Her first name is Clarice – although the name often is connected with “Silence of the Lambs”, it was used many years earlier in the Christmas movie “Rudolph”. The name “Clarice” was used for the character of Rudolph’s girlfriend. It is a French name, and comes from a combination of the name Claire and Alice.
Her last name, although very romantic sounding, is a common French name which is pronounced without sounding the “s” – “Dah-lor-E-A”.
          She has fostered and adopted several greyhound racers and is now sharing her home with “Malwa Champ”, who is presently 8 years old and enjoying his retirement from racing in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. He enjoys resting by the swimming pool.

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback, digital, Kindle.
PRICE: Rs.188 for eBook