Look of Love Reviewed 19 out of 20

Review: Scott and Penny are both members of a fire department and most of the story involved their related activities. Scott is a survivor of a tumultuous divorce and Penny is recovering from the death of her husband. If readers have ever dealt with either of these situations, they will feel the pain and emotions that these two have to overcome in the development of their own love. Ms. Indra describes their feelings with such description that I could believe I was sharing them. I feel like I really know Scott and Penny

Even the relationships of secondary characters, like Scott's dad and his lady, were dealt with in such detail, that they were more than just people to add more detail to the main story. Their lives and families added much more interest to the main plot.

I really liked this story. Part of it made me stop and think about different aspects of life.

Read and enjoy this one. Overall, this story gave me happy thoughts about life and love. It gave me many things to think about.

Read all: Seriously Reviewed: The Look of Love by Rosemary Indra

Buy @: www.roguephoenixpress.com

Firefighters

My book the Look of Love is the second in my Forest Ridge Series. The stories revolve around a volunteer fire department, the fire fighters and their families.

In the United States 71% of all firefighters are volunteers and 29% are paid full time firefighters. Firefighters are both men and women working side by side. The National Fire Protection Association requires all volunteer firefighters to be trained and certified. Most volunteer fire departments comply with the N.F.P.A. by training on a weekly basis. The average volunteer firefighter spends 9 hours a week responding to fire department calls and training. Some of the reasons for the dedication of the firefighters are pride, giving back to the community, the love of excitement, the camaraderie of being on a well trained team and making a difference in the community.

Most firefighters I have known show pride in a job well done whether it was extinguishing a house fire or cutting a trapped passenger out of a vehicle at the scene of an auto accident. There is a real sense of excitement to jump on a fire engine and race to a fire call with the lights flashing and the siren roaring.

The adrenaline rush is real and very addicting. You must trust the firefighter who stands along side you because that firefighter literally has you life in their hands.

Some of the training required by the N.F.P.A. is first aid and CPR. Before a firefighter is allowed to put on an air pack called “Self Contained Breathing Apparatus” they must be trained on the correct usage which involves many hours of classroom and practical training. To be allowed to enter a burning building you must be certified as an “Entry Firefighter. Depending on the fire department the training could be 30 to 50 hours. There are countless hours of drills in the correct use of hoses, ladders, power tools and fire hand tools. The firefighters risk their lives and give countless hours back to the community without receiving any payment.

I have seen first hand the hard work of these heroes and I dedicated one of my books to them.

A.W. Lambert

It’s true to say that if I had been asked to write a compendium of short stories I would have declined. The reason being that to write a single short story, a good short story, much to many people’s surprise, is very difficult indeed. To take on writing twenty five? Well, like I said I would have declined the offer. But a short story; a couple of thousand words, if you consider yourself an author, how difficult can it be?

I can only speak for myself, of course, and I’m sure there are those of you, those whose forte is the short story genre, who might disagree, but I find it very difficult. And in my case it’s because of the strict discipline required. Sure, I’ve had a number of novels published, each running from ninety to a hundred thousand words, and at the beginning of each I have, without exception, relished the challenge ahead. The beginning, the middle and end, to me anyway, seem to roll naturally into place and there’s always time and space to breathe.

Not so the short story; this is a completely different animal. Sure there’s still the beginning, the middle and the end, but now, taking that two thousand word short story again, they have to be fitted into something like a fiftieth of that space. The freedom and natural breathing space of a hundred thousand words is no more and it takes a different mindset, a different way of thinking, of putting things together, to make a good job of it. And to me it always engendered a feeling of panic. Stupid? I agree, but fewer words seemed like less time and with less time I needed to be much more tightly focussed, more disciplined. I have to be honest; with regard to my writing I do not do tight discipline very well.

So then, how did I come to put together twenty five short stories? Well I have to confess it took me almost twenty years and it was never my intention to amalgamate the stories into a compendium anyway. It was just that, like so many others, when I started writing seriously, a full length novel seemed a daunting, even unachievable prospect. Short stories had to be easier, right?

Keen as mustard, I enrolled on a creative writing course with The Writers Bureau and subscribed to as many writing papers and magazines as I could. In doing so I was faced with any number of short story competitions. Now, the beauty of such competitions is that you are invariably given a theme or topic, maybe even just the first or last line to get you underway, together with a specific word count. So you don’t start with that frightening blank page, there is at least something to give you a lead in. But even then I struggled and it was only because I loved the writing process so much, was utterly determined to succeed at some level that I doggedly pushed on.

Over the years I submitted many stories, at first without success, finding it almost impossible to condense anything meaningful into what I saw as a ridiculously few words. But slowly it came and I began to achieve short listings and finally some notable successes. I also found that I was able to use the same technique in newspaper and magazine articles, both of which also demanded specific word counts.

That difficult time, the learning process, I believe contributed greatly to the skills required for creative writing, even promoting the confidence to tackle those hundred thousand words. However, short story writing isn’t for everyone and however much I believe I benefitted from it in those early days, it isn’t for me.

So how did ‘Take a Break’ come about? It was just after the publication of my thriller ‘Shadows’ - also published by Rogue Phoenix - when I was indeed taking a break before starting my next novel. I was clearing out old files when I came across some forty or more short stories written over the years. Intrigued, I sat and re-read one. And then another. And then.... Well, a month or so later, after being totally engrossed in a number of restructures and rewrites, I found myself with twenty five stories that I thought might just be worth something. An enquiry and not very hopeful submission to Christine at Rogue and I have to admit to my surprise ‘Take a Break’ came into being.

The truth is, full length thrillers is my passion and though you should never say never, I can’t see myself indulging in short story writing again. I find it too difficult, not as rewarding and certainly not as comfortable as full length work. As I said before, I like room to breathe.

Thinking back some years, however, I do remember something said by one of my tutors. It was that whatever you write never, ever, dispose of it. In my case that was very good advice.

Buy at: htpp://www.roguephoenixpress.com

3 cups for Bones

BONES
K. J. DAHLEN
ISBN: 9781936403141
January 2011
Rogue Phoenix Press
http://www.roguephoenixpress.com
Ebook
$3.99
130 Pages
Mystery/Crime
Rating: 3 Cups

Max Reardon, Sherriff of Marlboro, Wisconsin, unexpectedly finds a serial killer lurking in his small town. As the investigation proceeds, it quickly becomes clear that some people will go to any lengths to discredit Max and shut-down his inquiries.

Joey Harrington and Max are good friends. She is the daughter of his former FBI partner and friend, Jack. Joey is a skilled forensic anthropologist, and Max needs her expertise to identify the victims of the serial killer from the bones that have been found.

Max begins unraveling the mystery and piecing the various clues together, but there are forces opposed to his efforts. The tension builds as attempts are made to sabotage the evidence and his investigation. Then the personal attacks begin, and no one close to Max is safe.

The story grabbed me immediately. The events unfold relentlessly as Max investigates the murders and uncovers a conspiracy of silence. The sentences used to convey the mystery are short and generally unadorned with much descriptive detail. The narration is straight-forward and sharp, as it slices like a razor into the recesses of the reader’s imagination. I especially enjoy the relationships between Max and his co-workers and friends. His respect for their talents and overriding concern for their well-being is admirable and should be emulated; he is an extraordinary role model. Overall, I think the story is well-told, but there are a few occasions when I found myself questioning why a particular action was either made or left undone, as it seemed to me to be somewhat pat or slightly off-kilter. All-in-all, this is an enjoyable mystery that kept my interest from beginning to end.

Buy now at: http://www.roguephoenixpress.com

Laurie
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More