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The Long Goodbye

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This struck me with such emotion that I was no good for writing the rest of the day. A bit unfortunate since I was writing to a deadline. The original post https://katmyrman.com/2019/04/18/adipose-complex-napowrimo-18/comment-page-1/#comment-31252

Kat Myrman is always good so when she excels, there is a power you don’t want to stand in the way of. As my mind reflected on her words, I was led to this

Sure, it is a book trailer, but it seemed to complement what I was reading in the following:

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Book and Short Story Reviews

Mapping the Future

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Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

The Cartographer’s Apprentice by Jim Webster is a collection of four short stories that according to one reviewer serves as an introduction to the writings of Jim Webster. I stumbled across another of his works, Deep Water and Other Stories, got completely lost in the first thirty pages, and decided to find out more about this author and his stories. There are many novels in which an author gets praise for effective and complete world building. Jim Webster is the equal of any writer I’ve read. The world building element all by itself is on a level with Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and the fantasy novels of J. K. Rowling. The storytelling can become confusing for readers either not familiar with or unwilling to follow British English. This is writing that requires a reader to pay attention. Readers will not be sanctioned for the inattentiveness, but neither will they receive the full rewards of this excellent writing.

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Twittering Tales

Should I Supersize That

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There is no place like home as our caped hero found out on his return from his all planet tour. It had been years since he had been back. Even at the speed of light, things take time. Things had changed and he missed the comfort of a full-body wrap-around phone booth. Lois Superwoman was now a member of the Crusader team and they were back from their honeymoon to defend the American Way. First, he had to check in to see what was needed. Several elements of the American Way had changed. He wanted to meet the Boss but even that had changed. Springsteen never had orange hair.

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Book and Short Story Reviews

What a Circus!

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Image by Joshua_Willson from Pixabay

In Tents by Andy Kaiser is a look at Con Men (Con Persons?), Charlatans, circus performers, monsters, and the supernatural. All this for USD 3.99 or free through Kindle Unlimited. It is a very strange story which I believed could have been written from a cloud of hallucinogens. It is interesting in that it has strange and weird creatures. Ariel is beautiful except when she morphs into various forms of Alligator Woman. There is Half-a Man which is a rather self-describing name. Think of a person standing and a line is drawn from the middle of the head south in a 180- degree direction. Remove one-half and you have (fill in the blank). Penny is the owner of the rather strange circus which prides itself on being a family. She only looks perpetually pregnant because her stomach is the largest and most prominent part of her body. Another name appropriate character is Archie. He runs a game or concession at the circus. By shooting arrows and hitting the bullseye three times in a row, players can receive their heart’s desire. Archie will make sure the competitor’s most wanted object is in stock. Outsiders are not welcome to join the circus; new members must be invited. There is only one entity that does the inviting.

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Book and Short Story Reviews

Drugs and Rock & Roll

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Image by Alexander Antropov from Pixabay

Arc of a Shooting Star by Simon Northouse is Book One of a Shooting Star Series. The series name is a pleasant play on words for the Shooting Tsars, a successful music group from a decade earlier. The band was wildly successful artistically but far less successful financially due to a cleverly written contract that disguised legalized robbery. The group disbanded after a five-year run because of a contract dispute that went to the courts. The band lost the court case and there were huge financial settlements the group members had to pay. The taxman never sleeps. After five years on the road, many of the group members were tired of being around each other; each group member went his own way. Some got jobs, there was one convert to Christianity, one went on the dole, and Will, singer and glue of the team, assumed the life of a country gentleman.

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Book and Short Story Reviews

Ultimate Injustice to the Reader

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Image by sammisreachers from Pixabay

Ultimate Justice by M A Comley is a mystery novel that presented a mystery to me that was one not intended by the author.  This title is listed as Book 6 in the Justice Series. The mystery for me was how a series could survive with five previous titles of writing such as this. As bad as this novel was, I was determined to read through to the end to find out if there was something magical that would make me want to read anything else written by this author. There are twenty-five chapters and I got to chapter sixteen before I took a break and went to Amazon to see if I could determine how such writing could survive and sell in the marketplace. I did not want to read any reviews before writing mine, but I wanted to get a feel for the number of stars this and other novels in the series had collected.

 

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Book and Short Story Reviews

Meme Madness

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Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay

Know What I Meme? by Marc Richard answered a lot of my questions about what a meme is. “Meme” is a trendy word. It is used by lots of folks and I don’t care because I am a contrarian as far as trends go. I know one when I see it and I refused to look the “word?” up. I could never vocalize the sound, so I made up my own pronunciation. If others around me pronounced the four-letter slippery character in a way different from me, I felt sorry for their ignorance. It was easy for me to capture the moral high ground if I simply bombarded others with questions about what, exactly, this abomination was. And how does one pronounce it? Since I never found anyone who could give me a clear explanation, I maintained that my ignorance was superior to their ignorance. And then along came Marc Richard to give me many examples ending with the question, Know What I Meme? I felt sheepish as I answered in the affirmative. (I lied).

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Book and Short Story Reviews

Talk to the Doll

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Image by Scott Webb from Pixabay

Tupelo Gypsy by Vito Zuppardo is Book One in a planned Voodoo Lucy Series. Since this was published in 2018, I can’t complain that there are few books in the series. I look forward to reading more from the author in this series. I was surprised to finish 166 pages so quickly, but the story entertained me so much that the time flew by for this single session read.

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Book and Short Story Reviews

On the Road Again

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Not Eligible for Rehire by Glenn McGoldrick is a very short read to be read over a very small cup of (instant) coffee. At only 19 pages, the reading should be finished before the instant coffee crystals dissolve. McGoldrick’s specialty is writing short stories that describe life’s daily struggles in a very comfortable and familiar way. A reader can walk away and say, ”Yeah, I would have done that.,” or a variation on the answer that might include a 180 degree opposite reaction. In all the McGoldrick short stories I have read, whether stand-alone or as part of a collection, this has been the case. Readers identify easily with the characters and their situations. This story was sent to me and others by an email alert that assured me it was a free offer. The story was offered at USD 0.00 (purchase, not KU) by Amazon. If you haven’t read anything by McGoldrick, this is a good introduction. After reading this, I am sure readers will read several more of his five Amazon star short stories.

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Book and Short Story Reviews

Don’t Go Into the Diner

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Image by Björn Schrempp from Pixabay

Haveaheart’s Trap by Michael Allan Scott is a 12-page story published in 2019 with the aim of showcasing the author’s writing talent. It is available for free as an author’s promotion from his website or email offers or it can be purchased from Amazon for USD 0.99 which turns it into a verified purchase. I believe that makes a difference as far as reviews are concerned.

Havaheart's Trap

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