The Sholes Key by Clarissa Draper

Sophia Evans is a cryptanalyst who is recruited into doing undercover work, work that turns her life upside down.

The Sholes Key by Clarissa Draper is a modern-day mystery that will keep you reading well into the night. Sophia Evans is presented with bizarre cryptograms that test her skills to the utmost. Vaguely familiar to her (she feels she's seen the series of numbers before, but can't remember where), deciphering these cryptograms is the key to stopping a serial killer, who has left them at the crime scene, perhaps daring the police to catch him. Knowing that the killer will strike again, believing that she is perhaps his next target, Sophia must work fast to save someone's life, perhaps her own. Aided by DI Theophilus Blackwell (a well-drawn character), Sophia begins solving the case. Little does she know, the key to doing so is very close at hand.

You can visit Clarissa Draper at her website Clarissa Draper.
You may purchase The Sholes Key at Amazon.com.

"Write Like The Masters" by William Cane (5) George Orwell, "1984"

In my continuing endeavor to learn more about what makes master writers masters, I've re-read 1984 by George Orwell, keeping in mind William Cane's discussion in Write Like the Masters.

First, let me say it now. 1984 is the most harrowing book I've ever read. Part of what makes it so harrowing is its plausibility. I so identified with Winston Smith that I felt his confusion and horror. I could very well see myself living in the insane world of Big Brother, Ingsoc, and doublespeak. So this supports Cane's discussion of Orwell's use of limited third person point of view being part of the power of this story.

Cane points out that Orwell uses penumbra, i.e., characterizing individuals through indirect and "more ambiguous suggestion" than through direct positive statements about individuals. In truth, penumbra pervades every character in the book. Smith (and the reader) can never be sure of whom to trust or believe.

According to Cane, Orwell uses a very simple plot. It is simple, but in a complex way. The complexity arises from the the subtext and gives the simple plot extra energy and meaning.

Cane says Orwell makes good use of repetition throughout the novel. The story constantly, in vaious ways, reiterates its themes--the ambiguity, the paradoxes of Oceanian society: War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength. What is so harrowing is that all of this is accomplished by making the past the present (or the present the past) in such a way that there is no past. This is accomplished by obliterating memory.

Cane stresses how Orwell makes the villain not only bad, but also good. Of course, what is good and bad has been turned upside down in Oceania. Who is the villain? It's Big Brother. It's your neighbor. It's your employer. It's your friend or family member. Perhaps it's even yourself, and what can be more harrowing than that?

"Living Half Free" by Haley Whitehall

It takes a skillful writer to step into the roles of another person's skin and culture. Haley Whitehall has done it well. She enters the antebellum life of a black slave and the society of the Cherokee Indians. What is refreshing about this is that Whitehall's story is free of stereotypes. Each character is an individual, unique in his or her own way. The humanity, and sometimes inhumanity, of her characters shines through.

Living Half Free is the tense and thoroughly engrossing story of Zacharia, a slave who passes for white and marries a Cherokee woman Lillian. But his slavery past haunts him, even in his marriage, influencing his every decision. But his top priority is to be free. Zacharia is a humble man who wants to do the right thing in a world where wrong often prevails over right. After adjusting to the complicated and bewildering white man's world, adjusting to the Cherokee world brings new challenges to his sense of dignity and self-worth. This struggle is complicated by his love for his wife (his future) and his love for his mother and sister (his past) and these two aspects of his life converge and clash, leading to a bittersweet ending.

Living Half Free is available through Amazon.com, as well as other sources. You can visit Haley's Whitehall's website at haleywhitehall.com.

"Write Like the Masters" by William Cane

For a different kind of writing advice book, try "Write Like the Masters" by William Cane.

Mr. Cane reveals some of the writing secrets of 21 great writers. Would you like to know what Stephen King did not write about in his book "On Writing?" Would you like to know what you can learn about writing from a dark writer like Kafka? How about Edgar Rice Burroughs, Margaret Mitchell, George Orwell, Charles Dickens? All of these writers were experts at certain aspects of writing, much of which can apply to almost any kind of writing. The very first writer Cane discusses, Honore De Balzac, immediately gave me ideas on how to improve my writing. There is something you can learn from virtually every one of the 21 writers he discusses. "Write Like the Masters" is a book that will open your mind to new and different techniques. You'll be pleased by what you learn.

"Write Like the Masters" is available on Amazon.com (see my slideshow).

"Imprisoned: Svetlana Garetova's Memoir" by Ann Carbine Best

Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe in fairy tales? If you don't, you might after reading Imprisoned: Svetlana Garetova's Memoir by Ann Carbine Best.

"Imprisoned" resonates with Best's well-sculptured prose that says more between the lines than many books say within their lines. But this story is not about Best, it's about Svetlana.

Svetlana's memoir engrosses you with the story of the brutality that strikes her unexpectedly, and how hope and promise turn into despair and futility. But it is Svetlana's response that turns despair and futility back into hope and promise. It's the story of a Russian immigrant escaping the Russian mafia and searching for a new home, but who finds a prison instead, and once again must escape from someone who might kill her. It is through her courage, and perhaps a few miracles as well, that she finds her freedom a second time.

While this is a story that disturbs, with it's honesty, it is also a story that shows that you can survive and find freedom and happiness after all.

Imprisoned: Svetlana Garetova's Memoir is available at both Smashwords and Amazon at the links below.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Imprisoned
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00689ORVK/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_ask_syFlC.0TKCAA6

"The Fourth Wish" by Elizabeth Varadan

The Fourth Wish, by Elizabeth Varandan, is a novel for teens that almost defies description. The theme of “real” magic versus “fake” magic takes the reader on a journey she doesn’t want to quit.

The main characters, Melanie and Arthur, spar throughout the story. One feels sure that they are made for each other despite their verbal jabs. But each grows in his or her own way.

Children, especially, believe in magic. The illusion of the tricks being real is hard to refute. But older kids know there’s a trick involved, if they can only figure it out. Melanie and Arthur each come up with their own conclusions. Melanie discovers that “magic” can be deceptive when she falls for a boy who turns out to be other than what Melanie thought. Arthur discovers that “magic” has a reality of its own when he realizes there is something about magic that is real.

At the center of the struggle is the mysterious Mrs. Seraphina. It is her magic that turns the children’s world upside down and leads them to discover that there is magic after all, and it’s in the most obvious place of all, if you only look.

The Fourth Wish is available in paperback and as an e-book through Amazon.com and Smashwords.com. While it’s a book for teens, adults can enjoy it, too.

"The Foreign Language of Friends" by Nadine Galinsky Feldman

What do you get when you put four very different women together in a conversational Spanish class? In The Foreign Language of Friends, by Nadine Galinsky Feldman, you get a journey into friendship and growth.

Each of the women are so different from each other as to be opposites, yet it is in their oppositeness that they're able to help each other in their times of need. Each woman faces a crisis and is only able to pull through it with the help of her new friends. Each person's crisis is like notes in a musical score--each contrasting with the other, yet working together as a beautiful piece of art.

The themes of the novel are varied, but also weave together nicely. They involve divorce, death, work, and loneliness. The one constant in all of the women's lives is loneliness--each in her own way is isolated and friendless. Finding themselves in their new, unlikely, friendship speaks volumes about who they are, about who we can all become.

The Foreign Language of Friends is told in a language that is polished and clear, leaving no doubt about the meaning of friendship.

The book is available at Amazon.com.

Scott Niven, author, TWILIGHT CANDLEFLIES

I just finished Scott Niven's collection of short stories TWILIGHT CANDLEFLIES. I was first drawn to the book by the beautiful cover. It reminds me of a German Expressionist painting. And the stories inside, being dystopian sci/fi, have that same expressionistic feel--that somewhat odd but engrossing aura.

All three stories end on a somewhat ironic note, which flows naturally from the stories' plots and themes. So, all three stories, while whole and complete in themselves, leave you wanting to know more, more about this dystopian world.

The story I'll discuss in more detail is a perfect example. The title itself, "This Is Not Your Mother's Earth," sets up the tone of irony. Is the title directed at the reader or at the story's subject matter? It works either way, but with totally different meanings.

And what about the main character? He's an eighteen-year-old man who's life is filled with irony. Has he been bred to be what he is? Is this the fate of all boys on this planet? And who's in control? Chaos is an intregal part of his theme. Is chaos in control? It's doubtful, but maybe.

This is clearly a world without love, yet love is at the center of this man's life. Unfortunately, he can't have what he loves. And his love is drowned out by the roar of falsity. And the notion of what's heroic is definitely a lie.

There is much that can be said about this story and the other two as well. The writing is excellent. Scott has taken great pains to master his craft. I don't read much sci/fi or dystopian literature, but I think the quality of his stories places them at a higher level of performance than the average literature in this genre. If you like this genre, you will be enthralled by Scott Niven's collection.

You can visit Scott Niven and learn more about him and his writings at http://www.scott-niven.com/.

"In the Mirror" by Ann Carbine Best

It's not very often a memoir is written that compares favorably to two of the best memoirs I've ever read: Lost In America by Sherwin Nuland and Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. Ann Carbine Best's In the Mirror shares the best qualities of each: honesty, candor, superior writing, shocking truths, and emotional depth that won't allow you to stop reading.

Best's prose reflects the shocks life continually deals her, shocks that would numb any person to her own feelings. Not one, not two, but three battles she has to fight, any one of which could defeat her. But her bravery, her Mormon faith, her willingess to love even those who seemingly do not love her, carries her to victory. Her stoicism in the face of adversity, her turbulent emotions held in check, permeate every sentence.

"I got home from work and found Larry talking on the phone. He looked startled when he saw me." So begins the bizarre saga of her marriage. The candor of her emotions is heartbreaking. The coldness of some of those she loves filters subtly through the narrative. Despite the odds against her, she never gives up. "I think I'm getting used to saying goodbye to people I love." Ann's life is one of constant deception, but she handles it with charity and forgiveness, and in the end she can say, "It was a beautiful day, the sky almost cloudless and so blue that I thought if I looked hard enough I might see my face reflected in it."

In the Mirror reflects Ann Best's life clearly--a bittersweet life you'll never forget.

In the Mirror is published by WiDo Publishers and is available on Amazon.com.

"Matanzas Bay" by Parker Francis

I'm not a big fan of murder mysteries, but being from northeast Florida, and having been to St. Augustine many times, and also having met the author a couple of times, I wanted to read his latest book, a self-published ebook, on my Kindle. With a few exceptions on Goodreads, I've never reviewed a book before. So this is a first for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by the novel Matanzas Bay by Parker Francis. The writing is crisp and engaging. Wit and humor show through a number of passages. For example, "...and he stared at me as though I was a cockroach crawling over his Christmas ham."  And, "...I couldn't remember the last time I'd been hit on by an eighty-year-old woman." And there is a witty exchange between the main character and his girl friend that involves the titles of some of Shakespeare's plays.

As far as the mystery element goes, I didn't know who the murderer was until near the end, and then I wasn't sure until it actually came out.

The plot is complex, intriguing, and plausible.

On the negative side there are a number of editorial errors, at least in my edition. On this point, I give the book a grade of 'B' (a few errors, but doesn't affect the story).

I wish the author had given more descriptions of St. Augustine. He mentions many of the famous historical sites and their historical significance. But he doesn't paint a picture for us. Except for the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and the Matanzas Bay National Monument, which figure prominently in the story, they are just landmarks in his book.

Overall, I would recommend this book to a mystery buff. On that level it works very well. The characters are well drawn, and their interrelationships are masterful. Francis Parker has a talent for telling a good story. I look forward to reading his next mystery.

Matanzas Bay is available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.