February Ends Tomorrow!

 It's Leap Year, and so there is still one day left in February ... one day left to get a 50% discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma. To make sure you get this savings, go to this link:  Create Space   and use this discount code ND67VUCJ at the checkout.  This offer will be repeated during Multiple Sclerosis Week, the third week of March, 2012. But don't wait ~ you'll want to read it before then, so that you'll understand why we are walking for more research funding for MS!

I've been struggling with the software to create a scrolling slide show of my book covers. I have not yet succeeded in embedding it into the side bar of this site (though I am happy with the eye-pleasing sunsets that are holding the space for now.)  In the meantime, you can see the book covers:  See my books here

This week I'm reading a new book released last month. It is a novel, though not in the murder mystery genre that I've been featuring for the past few weeks. It is, though, a mystery of sorts. The question to be answered is why the federal and state governments would be charging a doctor with a felony ... I'm almost finished with the book, and I will write a review.  The author may then join us at this site and talk about why and how she wrote this story. Stay tuned. And here is the Amazon.com link to her novel: Target: Pain Doc . You can preview some of the pages of her book at that link.

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Two Wrongs by Morgan Mandel ... another great murder mystery!

Morgan Mandel has done it again - Two Wrongs is the third novel I've read by her, and each one has held my attention with twists and turns in the plot, interesting character development, and emotions that run the gamut from love to hate, admiration to revenge, fear and bravado.


Danny Calloway begins the story as a sixteen year old who finds his older sister's dead body in the alley way next to their family home. His recollection of the accused having threatened to kill his sister is what convinces the jury that Kevin Green is guilty. Green is sentenced to prison, but not to the death penalty, which infuriates Danny, believing that having taken a life, Green deserves to die.


Critical DNA evidence enters the case nine years after Green is imprisoned, leading to his release, and to Danny's anger escalating at what he sees as a miscarriage of justice. Green's anger matches Danny's, and the two men, having grown in very different environments, set out to kill each other in revenge for what they each view as grave injustice.


While Green has spent his formative years in prison learning hatred and mechanical skills that will help him find employment on re-entry to civilian life, Danny has spent his in college on a full basketball scholarship, working at becoming as strong as he can so that he will be able to find and end Green's life on the outside.


After the death of his parents, Danny marries, and Green sees his enemy succeeding in life and in love, and his hatred grows. When the two characters eventually encounter each other, more death has occurred, more lives have been impacted, and their animosity for each other has reached deadly proportion.


As with any Morgan Mandel mystery, to tell you here what happens could not do justice to the carefully constructed, multilayered tale she has crafted. You can obtain the book as an Amazon Kindle book here  for less than a cup of coffee!

Remember, if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

 

 

 

 

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A writer's quiet goodbye to two winter holidays...

 More light poetry to share with you ... poems I wrote at the end of the last year, and the beginning of the new. Enjoy!
 

Saying Goodbye to 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Reluctant to leave Christmas behind
Recalling moments of Christmases past
Requesting an extension of days
Recognizing the wish in the wind
Realizing the spirit will be
Resting in abundance
Relaxing, rejuvenating
Returning in time
Remembrance 

As the calendar changes and the pages come down

Candles in the windows
Chinese food consumed
New Years Eve is passing
Calendar has zoomed

Poetry left waiting
Memories exhumed
Soon it will be tax time
Writing is resumed

Auditors will enter
Open books are tombed
Calculating income
Figures will be groomed

Royalties are entered
Bankruptcy had loomed
Publishing a poem or two
Recognition bloomed


Spring is just around the corner! Enjoy, everyone.

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Remember, if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

Who Murdered Garson Talmadge?

 by David Bishop

 Amazon Kindle

David Bishop has written a masterful mystery, engaging his reader in conversation that offers both a story and an inside glimpse at how a former detective turned imprisoned murder turned skillful writer views life. Matthew Kile has come to grips with his own code of morality, and he lives comfortably within his own limits.

A continuing friendship with his former partner  Fidgery places Matt back on the job, albeit in a different role as a private investigator. Matt's luscious neighbor and friend is accused of murdering her wealthy, elderly husband, and Matt is her alibi, for they were together during the time that her husband was killed. 

Her husband, Garson Talmadge, former arms dealer in France linked speculatively with a partnership involving Saddam Hussein, has an adult son and daughter who, with Clarice, will share the millions left behind when Talmadge is killed. How much each will share creates considerable debate and provides a motive for the killing. 

David Bishop draws the reader into the life and mind of Matt Kile, whose thoughts ramble freely while considering the changing scene of violent crime and the people involved in the past and current decades. Meeting with ex-cons, business lawyers, criminal defenders here in the states, and then flying to France and encountering inquisitive FBI agents, French police officers, and thugs abroad add dimensions to this mystery and the character pursuing it. Kile's persona comes across as charming, knowledgeable, and somewhat vulnerable to his own passions, and to those whom he admires. 

Brief references to his former family life, with an ex-wife and  children, and his comfortable relationship with Fidgery's close family are poignant thoughts the reader is allowed to share with the character/writer. The mystery of who murdered Garson Talmadge takes a number of probable twists and turns, leaving most readers wondering until the end, and leaving all of us wondering what Matt Kile will ultimately learn about the people involved, and himself.

Five Stars for David Bishop's carefully plotted  and beautifully written mystery!

Remember, if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

Coffin Tales, Season of Death

by Madison Johns

This Kindle book contains two short stories, both focused on the Halloween tradition of telling spooky tales. 

In the first tale, two boys are wandering around their town, looking for the scariest Halloween carved pumpkins. They have done this for a few  years now, and both admit that they will eventually go out to the feared Johnson farm, where rumor has it that four young children disappeared there fifty years ago. 

They encounter old Mr. Johnson on his monthly shopping trip into town, and watch as he buys large quantities of seed corn. They are intrigued and then horrified when they follow and watch what his purpose is.

Who has the scariest Halloween decorations?

Halloween night, while trying to resist going, they know that they will find the scariest pumpkins out there at the farmhouse, and their goal is to photograph those. After some deliberation, they agree to go to see what horrible Jack O'Lanterns may have been carved this year.

They approach the house, and are invited in for cider and donuts...

The second short story is a legend of Hell Crow, involving Hitchcock-like crows that descend on a small town at harvest time in every year that sees a second full moon that month. Fifteen years have passed since the last arrival of the dreaded Hell Crow, and a young girl, who lost her grandfather to the crows' attacks, is now searching for her grandmother, who has gone missing.

She intends to build a scarecrow to ward off the crows in the abundant fields of corn ... a tradition her family has always observed. She debates whether to continue looking, asking townspeople and friends to help search, or to build the scarecrow first, before the sun sets.

  But she finds the town has turned against her, and seems to know something she doesn't. She returns to build the scarecrow herself ... and a stranger comes along and offers to help her place the creation in the fields, asking only one thing in return for the help...

This is a book to read on a dark night, with the wind howling and the tree branches swaying. Whether it is in the fall during harvest, or in the darkness of winter, or a stormy summer evening, it is not a book to read while you are alone!

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Remember, if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

Reading and Reviewing 23: A well written Sandy Reid mystery by Rod Hoisington

One Deadly Sister by Rod Hoisington

Who is she, and who is in the pool?

What a great story line! The twists and turns had me guessing right up to the point where the killer was identified. Sandy has a telephone call from her older brother who has been arrested and charged with murder in Florida. Initially she does not respond to his plea for help. But without too much delay, she does decide to leave her job in Philadelphia and bring her investigative skills to his small town. The cast of characters includes both old and new money, politics, and nepotism. There is a chase scene, a few deaths following the original murder, and some unfortunate nationalistic slurs against Cuban Floridians.

The woman on the cover is NOT the sister of the man accused of murder. I won't give away the ending by telling you more, but I do give this five stars. Beyond the intrigue of the mystery, it is a true pleasure to read a well written book on Kindle!

Rod's second mystery in the Sandy Reid series is titled The Price of Candy, and can be found at Amazon by clicking this link.


The third in the series, Such Wicked Friends,  is reviewed at the link below:

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Remember, if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

Another Guest Blog: Writer Madison Johns

This is my third invitation to "guest blog" on another writer's space ... and I am happy to do so! Each one is different: my first invitation, to join and introduce myself at Spunky Seniors, was just that. The second invitation, to Peace love and all that other hippie crap was an invitation to talk about my book, and so I did. This third invitation is one where I give an introduction and then an excerpt to the book, focusing on something that changed me dramatically. It's at the site of Writer Madison Johns, and I'm inviting you there to read!.

Here is a part of that blog entry:

I am a school teacher. Though I retired last year, I still can’t say I ‘was’ a school teacher. It defined me for the past thirty years – almost half my lifespan to date. I took it very seriously, and loved every year. My hair was long, and I most often wore it pulled back or twisted up. When, at forty, eyeglasses completed the look, friends teased me about being the stereotypical school teacher. As I liked being a teacher, that suited me just fine.
One year, I had a student skilled as a sketch artist, and she came to ask me after school if I would let her sketch me. I said yes, and as she worked, she told me that she was intrigued with my hair, twisted up and into a bun each day. She said, with the coloring of gray streaks amid brown with occasional reddish-blond strands, it reminded her of a cinnamon bun. I liked that description, and liked the sketch she finished. She liked it, too, and submitted it to the school’s monthly newspaper. I can’t put my hand on it now, but know I saved it for several years afterward, flattered that my schoolteacher stereotypical look had made an impression on a student.
The teacher across the hall from me just a few years ago was a young man, and we shared many conversations about government and politics, amazingly in sync with each other’s perspectives. People would expect that we would have disagreed, coming from different genders and generations; rather, we would share our views and have fun trying to impose today’s national challenges on our leaders from centuries before. It was my privilege to teach nineteenth century history, with all of the excitement about abolition and westward expansion, and we would discuss immigration and women’s rights today with equanimity. The little old lady with the bun in her hair and the tall handsome young man were a pair to see, heads together sharing historical pictures, and laughs that brought other heads up to see what was so funny.

To read the full guest blog entry, be sure to visit Madison's blog by clicking here. 

And Wow~ A Fourth Guest Blog Invitation!

This one is at a site called Inspirations  and it was an interview style, similar to Peace love and all that hippie crap!  Here are a few of my favorite questions and answers:

Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? Oh yes, I always learn something by writing the truth! I learn how I came to a decision, or who was in my way, or how I managed to go around an obstacle, or deal with an issue. Most of what I learn is that I am a strong person, that I have dealt with much in life so far, and that I can handle whatever is ahead.


Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers? Read, read, read. Pay attention to what you are reading. Listen to the flow of words in a sentence. Pay attention to punctuation and use it sparingly but accurately.


Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? Thank you for reading. Remember why I said I write: I have a message to share in each of my books. It is my message, and if you agree with it, or have an Aha moment, please tell me. And if you disagree with it, write for yourself my message and yours, and then share your results with others. With today's technology we can self-publish quickly and easily, but it will not do much for your self esteem if you don't edit carefully.


Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done ? I have done so many things already, before becoming a teacher, while being a teacher, but if I could start over as a young person, I wouldn't do anything differently. I've only begun publishing my writing, and I have so much more to write ... what I write today is different than what I might have written younger, but if I were writing younger, I wouldn't have all the memories to write about that I have.

Four guest blog spots ... I wonder if that qualifies as a Blog Tour?

Remember, if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

Peace, Love, and All That Other Hippie Crap Blog!

I'm excited to have been invited to another blog. Kathleen Walker shares my concerns with the treatments for immune disorders, and so she interviewed me about my career change from teacher to self-publishing writer, and specifically, about Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma. You can visit her blog and read the interview there. Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite:
Kathleen: Some meds work one day, and the next they do not. I continue to take the cocktail of shots and pills daily, but I understand you have changed your treatment plan.  Do you see any hope that the mystery of autoimmune diseases will be solved anytime in the near future?

Terry: I am reading of many other choices, explained by many other voices advocating for patient education and patient support rather than just diagnosis and prescriptions.  I am living a change right now, having stopped the medication that I believed was pushing me deeper into depression. My course of disease is said to be benign (for now) and unpredictable ahead. I am taking good care of myself in terms of nutrition, and almost as well in terms of exercise. I will follow the research and share what I learn at my blog. Many respectable researchers are now questioning the "faulty immune system" theory of multiple sclerosis, leaning instead towards viewing it as a metabolic issue, dietary in its base, and rapidly increasing in numbers due to the typical North American menu.

I am a history teacher (among other subjects) and I know that American medicine has come far, but it is important to remember, with humility, its beginnings. Leeches for bloodletting, amputation, and lack of effective hygiene were the cause of many deaths during the civil war. Keeping patients in dirty, closed quarters led to complications then untreatable. Elizabeth Blackwell and Dorothea Dix brought fresh air, sunshine, and clean sheets to hospital beds long before doctors and researchers could see and understand microscopic bacteria. "If we do not learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it," is often quoted. Medicine as a culture has to learn from the past. What we think is right today may be laughed at in the future. It is humbling to think that way, but it is honest.

My background is in education, not medicine. Injecting myself every night for four and a half years with a solution that burned and caused swelling, a solution that crossed my blood brain barrier and entered the central nervous system to act as a decoy and perhaps interrupt and capture some of the immune system's cells to keep them from harming the myelin around the nerves frightened me into a depression that required medical help to escape. Yet my doctors persisted in their belief that this was a good treatment for me. I didn't have the courage to speak up and tell them that I disagreed with their medical education. Many patients accept the doctor's education and training as a guarantee that it is right. People believed the doctors who applied leeches knew what they were doing. It is my belief that people can self-assess if given the freedom to do so. That is my purpose in publishing this book.

Remember, if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

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Reading and Reviewing, 22, two shorts - Rosanne Dingli and Dara England

Another short story from Rosanne Dingli:  Nosebleed

An artist, a woman, a rainy day ... this is the setting of the short story Nosebleed by Rosanne Dingli. She has set a tone of mystery with a tinge of vulnerability. But who is more vulnerable, and what sort of danger? 

Marie is invited in out of the rain by the village's eccentric artist, a man who remains aloof from his neighbors and is known only by his somewhat secretive art. Marie's curiosity compromises her responsible, dutiful nature, and she abandons her typical walk to meet a friend for dinner, and instead has a spontaneous and romantic dinner with the artist. 

The setting, the food, the wine, and the attentive conversation ultimately overrules her hesitation ... the hail storm returns and the night follows. Rather than give away the ending, I will stop here and recommend  that you read this novelette on a dark, stormy night, and relish Rosanne's exquisite storytelling talent. Five Stars for this one!

Lord Litchfield's Manor

Accomplished in Murder, by Dara England

This is a short story in a series of such that can be read in any order. This one takes place in 19th century England, a day's distance from London, in the dusky farmlands surrounding a small village. A family estate, occupied by partially titled family members, is the new home of a young woman married to the eldest son of the Lord Litchfield.  She and her husband, her father in law and brother in law live with a full staff in the once beloved but more recently neglected manor, with a family cemetery nearby.

The young bride, Celeste, writes a letter to her good friend, Drucilla, expressing her wish that her friend would come and visit her to help her feel safe in her new setting. Alarmed at what she perceives as fear in the note, Drucilla sets out with her aunt as an appropriate chaperone, aboard the next morning's train. After a tiring transport by rail and completed by country carts, she, her elderly aunt, and their servants and luggage arrive unexpected at the manor house, only to find that Celeste has died in the short few days between her letter and their arrival.

The bereaved Drucilla observes and measures the apparent grief or lack of among the household of men and servants, and comes to the conclusion that Celeste's death was not a tragic accident but a murder. But who was the murderer? And what was the motive? And what will be the result for this house and these men?

I gave this five stars, not only for the excellent setting so convincingly written, but for the twist in the ending. I recommend it to all age readers.

But if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

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Sharing my poetry, and the February Discount

  Poetry to Share, Vol. I

This collection of poems has been gathered from scraps of paper, notebook pages, and mellow memories of time spent with family and friends. "Rain Sketches" is a description of sitting with my mother at the window of her nursing home, watching the drizzling raindrops alter our reflections in the glass and bring to our eyes views of relatives past. "Namaste" is a counted syllable shape poem that honors the Indian saying, loosely translated by Mother Teresa as "I see God in every human being." Here is a partial sample from this collection:

If you sense a scent of balsam

With a hint of mince and clove

In this blanket I did knit a bit

Christmas Eve, by the tree

Window candles lit my lap

Needles clicking, while nearby

Robbie's Lego's snapped together

Under Grampy's watchful eye.

If you sense a scent of Nana's house

Her creams, or Grampy's soap

In this blanket I did knit a bit

In their kitchen, full of hope

That one day these little stitches

All would warm your baby's nights

Each one made with thoughts and wishes

That your futures will be bright.

 

 Poetry to Share, Vol. II

 Some poems for teachers, some for writers, one for a favorite folk artist, and some just for fun.This collection also contains the lyrics of a love song, begun in my second year of college and completed a year before my retirement. There is also a touch of spiritual gratitude and an answer to a young student's prayer. It is a sweet bouquet of nature, both human and floral. Here is a partial sample:

My yard is a haven for all things wild              

      What others call weeds I have loved since a child

...

 The dandelions grow as they did way back then 

Always waiting as fluff to be puffed once again

...

Whatever the wild green ground cover is called

It is rich and luxurious and need not be mowed

...

To think that some kill these young innocent plants

Unable to see the wind's grace in their dance

What others call weeds I rename as wildflowers

I sit and admire for hours and hours.

To read the rest of these poems, and many others in my collections, go to my author's page at this link

But if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.

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Another Review of Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, and one of a Short Story, too!

February Book Discount: Go to CreateSpace to enter the discount code ND67VUCJ and you will receive a 50% price discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma. This offer expires at the end of February, so don't wait too long to order your co py of my book!

Another Review of Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma

written by Keisha, a Facebook Friend, on February 6, 2012

Image via WikipediaThis book was very encouraging and at the same time it made me want to cry because I could not imagine living with so much pain. Then I read how blessed you are to have a wonderful supportive husband who stood behind you. I also enjoyed reading about your childhood. This truly was one of the best books I have ever read and I think I may read it again. I never understood MS and what people had to go through and how much their life changed once they are diagnosed with it. You are truly a phenomenal woman and I truly look forward to reading more from you. 

If you do not mind I would love to help promote your book on my Facebook page encouraging others to buy this book. I have been talking about your book to my family so much that I have them ordering your book. I love how your book flows and it kept me wanting to know what happened next.

I recommend anyone who has not read this book to buy it. I just finished reading it and it truly made me appreciated my life because of what this author has to deal with and how she proved how strong she had to be. She did not allow herself to be so easy defeated by her diagnosis . She truly inspires and encourages others to deal with any life changing illness. So I am asking everyone to show Mrs. Terry some love and support and order her book and I promise you will be amazed at how incredible this author is.

Thank you, Keisha!

Terry's Review of a Short Story: The Red Volkswagen 

author Rosanne Dingli

five stars

Rosanne Dingli has offered us a brief glimpse into the lives of two very different people, who meet under unusual circumstance.

 We don't learn their names until the end of the story, but we do learn a lot about them. Rosanne skillfully shows rather than tells bits and pieces of the characters' personalities via dream sequences and their behaviors.

The automobile itself is a quiet prop that facilitates some of the actions and interactions.
The ending is open, allowing the reader to speculate on what may or may not result of this chance (or perhaps not so chance) meeting.

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February Gift Discount, and a Rachel Abbot Novel

Multiple Sclerosis never stops

 This is a video of a multiple sclerosis  patient's brain scans taken each month in Germany. It shows the continuing damage to the brain. The overall size of the brain is affected by the damage as well.

Book Review: Only the Innocent, by Rachel Abbot

  Only the Innocent, by Rachel Abbot

Rachel Abbott has written an incredible story with many layers of mystery. The tale is of a young successful woman who captures the eye of a well known philanthropist and suddenly finds herself awaiting her wedding day with understandable anticipation. This cultured gentleman insists on handling all of the details for the ceremony and reception, which invites early disapproval from Laura's mother.

Seeing this as a step up in class, Laura struggles to accept her new husband's polite insistence on controlling every aspect of her life - something girls are now taught in school to recognize as a form of bullying. Laura is isolated from her family and former co-workers, a classic sign of an abusive relationship.(The material may not be age-appropriate for young adolescents, but may be very helpful for high school students' discussions.)

The vibrant beauty and personality of Laura gradually diminishes, the result of doubting her ability to make cultured choices. Her sadness is fed by his expressions of disappointment in her each time she attempts to assert her own styles and preferences.

The story takes a sharp turn from sadly struggling with lowered self esteem to fearful submission to a recognized danger, and a frightening assumption exposed as truth.

Rachel Abbot's story will leave you with haunting memories of characters unseen in the public eye, with empathy for the women who try to make the best of a marriage, and with recognition that everyone has a back story to their lives ... Her description of settings is masterful, her characters have depth, and the story line is a watercolor image of sadness leading to strength. I look forward to more of Rachel Abbot's writing. 

Rachel has recently begun a website about her book, where she has provided maps and still photos of Laura's journey through the book. Visit and enjoy at: Rachel's interactive travel site.

February Book Discount: Go to CreateSpace to enter the discount code ND67VUCJ and you will receive a 50% price discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma. This offer expires at the end of February, so don't wait too long to order your copy of my book!

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February Discount, a second Evan Katy review, and a new look for the blog!

JK Rowling: click image

As promised, a discount coupon is available for Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma at CreateSpace. 50% off!
Just go to Create Space,  Publisher's link: and at the checkout, enter this    Discount Code : ND67VUCJ
Then click the " apply discount" tab and you will see the reduced price.

A Bomb in February by Evan Katy

A Bomb in February is the second Samantha Rialto mystery in the new series by  Evan Katy. Samantha, barely recovered after the injuries sustained in the first book, is again at risk when her neighbor's house is incinerated and her own is damaged. Working with her old mentor, Turnbuckle, and her possible boyfriend, Ben, her best friend forever Maxie, and other characters from the first story, Samantha again experiences injury, kidnapping, explosions and confusion.


Will Ben, her former husband's former partner, be able to let go of his guilt for not realizing the abuse she sustained in her marriage? Will her ex-husband continue to pursue her forgiveness? Will her father, the retired chief of police, and her mother, distraught at her daughter's choice of companions and part time employment, offer her shelter without overruling her choices? And with all of this happening, will she be able to resume her career as a middle school music teacher, restoring the school's focus on learning beyond academics?

This book held my attention into the wee hours of the night. It is a mystery with many layers, driven by characters whose emotions are as complex as a Celtic knot. Evan Katy has created Samantha Rialto as a character who will last through many novels ahead, and I'm on board to read each one as it arrives.

Image via Wikipedia

A New Look:

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