Kindle Book Review: "Cry Dance" Winner of the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Awards

“What if there is no death?” That is the question asked on the cover of “Cry Dance,” a novel by Helen Bonner.

It’s a deep question, and indeed, this is a deep book. It is a love story, but it is also much, much more. It is a tale of life, death, and life beyond death.

The story begins with Lorinda, the heroine, facing murder accusations. All the evidences point to her, but she says she did not do it. Of course. That’s what they all say.

But in Lorinda’s case, that’s all she would say. She wouldn’t explain how it happened that she had a knife in her hand and the dead man in the same room. Why did she stay in the room with him? Why did she bathe him? Why were there flowers around his face? Was she in love with him? But he was not her boyfriend, and she was definitely in love with her boyfriend. Did he try to attack her? Was it self-defense? What really happened that night? She would not say. They would not understand, she kept thinking to herself.

Personally, that intro alone was enough to hook me. I had to find out what happened.

Reading the book felt like running downstairs to meet your date – it was easy and exciting, and the ending was as wonderful as the beginning.

“Cry Dance” is the winner of the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Award in the General Fiction category.

Amazon is Buying Goodreads, "Kindle" Mentioned Almost Same Number of Times as "Books" in the Official Press Release

Goodreads CEO / co-founder Otis Chandler.   

Amazon announced that it plans to buy the San Francisco based Goodreads, the vertical social network for book lovers for an undisclosed price. Goodreads is a social network where members share reviews, ratings and reading list with their friends and participate in book and author related discussions. Goodreads also has a recommendation tool based on what the member has read in the past. 

Seattle based Amazon.com started as an online book seller in 1995. While it has has successfully diversified from selling books   into selling a diverse set of products ranging from DVDs, CDs, electronics, toys/ games  to apparel and accessories,  sporting goods  and even esoteric categories such as industrial and scientific supplies, people still strongly associate the brand with books.  The  brand affiliation of the Amazon brand with books was made stronger by cutting edge innovations such as "Search Inside the book" and the Kindle series of e-Book Reading devices. 

The Chief "Goodreader",  Otis Chandler posted an announcement in the goodreads feedback group starting with "Today is a very big day for all of us at Goodreads. As you may have seen on our blog, we are joining the Amazon family. Our blog post has the official press release and some more background on this, but I wanted to post here for two reasons" 

He then went on to say that Goodreads has always appreciate the feedback from its members  and assured the members that there were no plans to change the Goodreads experience and Goodreads will continue to be the wonderful community "we all cherish". He also referred to Amazon acquisition as "partnership" claiming that it will help Goodreads focus on making it in an even better place for readers. 

However, despite his assurances, the reaction from the members ranged from under-enthusiastic to negative.  The concerns raised by the goodread community members included questions about ownership of reviews - the member claimed that Reviews posted on Goodreads are owned by the members, whereas reviews posted at Amazon become Amazon's property. Also, there were concerns about Amazon reproducing the reviews on its website, the issues about the integrity of the book database, linking of Amazon accounts to goodread accounts, etc. A one sentence post by someone named "Nikki" summarizes  these concerns well "I have so many concerns about this I don't know where to start." 

The official press release from Amazon included a quote from  Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content  at Amazon that mentioned how Amazon and Goodreads have a shared passion for "reinventing reading”, elaborating that while Goodreads has helped in the way book lovers discuss discover and discuss books, Amazon Kindle has expanded reading around the world. He also mentioned how both platforms have helped independent authors reach readers and make a better living.  

Interestingly, the official press release from Amazon mentioned the word "Kindle" 10 times, almost the same number of times it mentioned the word "books" (mentioned 13 times). 

Kindle e-Fiction Allows the Reality Behind Secret Military Missions to be Revealed to General Public

“It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense."  Mark Twain

When it comes to the behind the scenes undercover operations of our military’s secret missions the reality is—we may not know the whole truth.  This could be for safety and security reasons, but could it also be to mask internal injustices?  We have hear it said time and time again, you don’t really know until you have walked a mile in someone else’s shoes.  Too often we get so focused on the outcome of newsworthy military event, but it is rare that we are given or even ask for an accurate understanding of the chain of events that lead to the event.

This is why fictional moves like Argo and Zero Dark Thirty have had such monumental success.  The general public, who has not walked in a military operatives highly exalted shoes, has no bearing on the outlaying circumstances that leads to the specialized missions that we hear so few details of, not to mention the ones we know exist in an undercover state. 

Some viewers protest that movies like Argo and Zero Dark Thirty are exaggerated and too “Hollywood”, while others say they are a realistic portrayal of the secret operations that exist within our military forces.  Whichever view point you take, movies of this nature show that it is possible to have many sides to the same story and how easy it is to conveniently leave the details out when reporting to the general public.

If you find the secret lives of the inner circle behind covert military operations compelling, you may enjoy the latest fictional work, The Eagle’s Plume by author Gerard de Marigny.  Gerard is no stranger when it comes to creating captivating pieces about the world of secret military operations as he previously produced the #1 Amazon-Bestselling Counter-terrorism & Geopolitical CRIS DE NIRO Thriller series.

His latest work The Eagle’s Plume is a thriller about an ex Delta Force operative Scipio, who accepts a position in Afghanistan as a US military consultant.  His job entails advising the military on security protocols in some of the most dangerous parts of the world.  To his surprise he uncovers a well hidden conspiracy masked as a terrorist attack.  The clock is ticking and things are snowballing while Scipio figures out what move to make next. This inexpensive thriller is available for download at all Kindle stores, including the Kindle store at United States, United Kingdom and Canada. 

New Kindle Romance Series "Private Emotions" To be Released by Young New British Author

Elize Amornette, a young new author from United Kingdom, plans to release her sensual romance series “Private Emotions” on Amazon Kindle next month. The eBook edition of her series will be available at Kindle stores at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and other regional Amazon site on May 16th. 

The first book in the series, called “Appointments”, explores the sensual awakening of the young Emily Harris, the main character of the series. When Emily meets her best friend for coffee, she had no idea it would spark a chain of events that would lead her to the one and only Ethan Sterling. Emily’s trust in Ethan finally gives her the opportunity to explore her sensual self. 

"My writing has been my constant companion throughout the years and it continues to be my best friend,” Said Elize Amornette, author of the “Private Emotions” series. “I believe my readers will find the escapism of the romantic interlude provided by "Private Emotions" to be exciting, adventurous and calming all at the same time, like I did while writing it."  

Read the complete announcement here.

Kindle Book Review: "The Obsidian Pebble" Winner of the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Awards

“The Obsidian Pebble,” by Rhys A. Jones, is the Sharp Writ Book Awards 2012 winner in the Young Adult category. It is the story of Oz Chambers, a boy who one day discovers that the house he and his mother are living in is haunted. Far from being intimidated, Oz is fascinated by the house and grows determined to discover its secrets.

But Oz is not the only one who is interested in the house’s mysteries, and once the secret is uncovered, Oz’s world is completely changed.

This book is a prime example of how spooky tales for children should look like. The characters are scary but the story is humorous and fun. Jones is a masterful storyteller who is able to make his characters come to life while he pulls his reader right into the story. It’s a story you can read to your kids and enjoy yourself.

DESPERATE MEASURES

“Desperate Measures,” by Cindy Huefner Cromer, is the winner of the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Awards for the Mystery/Thriller category.

In this fast-moving thriller, protagonist Caitlin Martel is the recipient of a cryptic message that she initially dismisses as a misdirected threat. But when she finds her house vandalized and a blood-inked message left in her kitchen, she quickly realizes that the threat was not misdirected after all. She really is a target.

She then remembers a secret that her father revealed to her nearly two decades ago. But the secret was incomplete. Now the secret is exploding piece by piece as the threat to Caitlin’s life slowly catches up with her.

The plot twists and turns, keeping you at the edge of your seat trying to discover who the real villain is. And just when you thought you’ve got it all figured out, the next page will prove you wrong, until the climactic ending uncovers a strange alliance between two mortal foes.

The only thing certain in this book is that you’ll keep turning the pages, glued to your seat until the very end. It’s definitely one of the scariest, most thrilling stories we’ve read in 2012.

this book won the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Award in the Mystery/ Thriller category.

(Review by Beatrice Adams)

REALLY ENOUGH: A TRUE STORY OF TYRANNY, COURAGE AND COMEDY

“Really Enough,” by Margaret Zhao and Kathleen Martens, is a riveting memoir about Zhao’s childhood in mainland China, during the Chinese revolution.

In this brilliant autobiography, we witness the story of an innocent young girl whose familial wealth and scholarly ancestry makes her and her family “Enemies of the State” and a target for persecution from Mao Zedong’s followers.

Instead of submitting to the powers that be, the spirited young Zhao struggles against shocking oppression and poverty to preserve her family’s honorable legacy, follow her own dreams, and on top of all that, fight for her forbidden romance with a “foreign devil.” Through it all, she preserves her humor, courage, and hope – a seemingly impossible feat.

This is a story that will make the reader laugh, cry, shudder, and sigh. And when you close the cover, you will find yourself a more compassionate, more grateful, more hopeful person, thanks to the amazing true tale that you had just read.

the book won the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Award in the memoir category.