Play These Games by Heather Swain

Play These Games: 101 Delightful Diversions Using Everyday Items.  Heather Swain. Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2012. 256 pp. ISBN #: 9780399537448.

What do you do on a rainy day or even on a nice day when you'd like some variety in your family or friend's gathering?  Heather Swain has put together 101 games that range from the simple to complex but which are guaranteed to involve everyone who want to have fun!

How about a goofy game of "Loony Balloons?"  All it takes is writing paper, pen or pencil, scissors, plenty of balloons, and the ability to write goofy directions on paper, like "Rub your belly and pat your head while singing the Star Spangled Banner," which will be inserted into the balloons. The game involves bouncing the balloons until they pop when one discovers secret directions to follow.  Silly but can liven up a party for sure or a boring afternoon.  Trivia questions can be substituted in place of silly directions for any age group.

Or perhaps you might like a game of "Money in the Bank" where one plays with buttons representing a nickel, dime or whatever value you choose. On the other hand, maybe you love puzzles and can create your own with craft sticks, messing up the sticks after drawing your picture on the sticks and then giving your players a set (or no definite) time to reassemble the puzzle pieces.

These games also involve beanbags, books, cardboard boxes, dress-ups, felt, foam boards, paper cups, digital camera and photo printer, ping-pong balls, and so many more items that are cheap and will provide hours of planning and fun.  The games range from easy to complex which obviously covers a broad age range.

This is a great book and one this reviewer intends to keep and use with my next day or evening with friends, family, and acquaintances.  Eating and drinking are great at a get-together but adding one of these games will provide a memorable time for all!  Unique and very nicely done, Heather Swain!

Undead by Frank Delaney

Undead. Frank Delaney. Rosetta Books. June 2012. 29 Pages. 160 KB. Sold at all major E-Book Retailers. 


From where, when, and why does a story emerge? This short essay is a glimpse into some answers to those questions in reference to Bram Stoker on the 100th Anniversary of his novel, Dracula. 


 Delaney begins by examining the language sources of the word "vampire" and then what it meant to writers and average people in different time periods as well as different countries and cities throughout the world, a fascinating purview that belies the simplistic associations most average readers ascribe to the focus of this topic that has fascinated readers for centuries! 


 We then get a glimpse into the "place" where the famous story occurred, a debunking of the Transylvania myth for sure and a revealing analysis as well. The reader is then introduced to various other ideas, such as the fact that Lord Byron had nothing to do with this story as so many believe but a friend of his. 


 This and other ideas lead us to the author himself, a simple man who was actually rather dull in his  job and appearance, far from the type of person we might envisage creating this fearful and haunting tale that has sparked other stories, novels, movies, etc. than any other story in literary history. Yet he was the friend of literary giants who admired his talent.  Who knew how famous Bram Stoker would become and why?


 While this might be a different stretch for readers familiar with Frank Delaney's bard-like fictional creations, it is still a worthy read for both the average lover of fiction, horror stories, science fiction, vampire lit, etc. - and for those who create fiction of any kind. Everything, I repeat, everything, one realizes when one finishes Undead, is grist for the mill of great fiction! 


 Fascinating topic and treatment, Frank Delaney! 

Pigsong by Frank Delaney

Storytellers: Pigsong, A Short Story. Frank Delaney. Meier Publisher. E-Book. 32 Pages. 244 KB. March 2012. Sold at all major e-book retailers.


Frank Delaney continues his Storyteller short story series with this tale that contains all of the elements of great storytelling that the author describes: "surprise...magic...notable, place-holding phrases...digression..homespun wisdom...hint of morality...and the suspension of belief and disbelief at one and the same time." Yes, it's all here in this very brief short story and what a story it is!


Yes, "once upon a time..." there was a very greedy and hard-hearted couple who wanted to get rich but knew they couldn't do it alone.  So they devise a scheme to obtain (something like that, ahem) the necessary help and create a horrific world for far too many people.  So far, nothing we haven't met in other tales, right? But now is where the magic begins! 


A young boy set to the task of taking care of pigs learns to truly listen to the song that will free him and make him a new man capable of so much more than one's limited imagination alone can dream!  No, no more here - you simply must read this wonderful story, written in impeccable and eloquent language, to fully appreciate the gift within it which will let your own heart listen and soar to new heights!


Frank Delaney has done it again - what a gem - a must read written by a true Bard!

The Hammer of God by Tom Avitabile

The Hammer of God. Tom Avitabile. The Fiction Studio. April 2012. 404 Pages. ISBN #: 9781936558384. 


Twenty-four small jars of cold cream are ready for shipment and it's a job well-done. So begins the innocuous journey that ends in a crushing accident and what seems to be deliberate end to this shipment, forever encapsulated in layers of concrete. Yet is that really the end? 


  The plot now shifts to a bunch of science geeks in the Bronx who do nothing that normal teenage kids do but are excused for their obsession with science and electronics because of their formidable intelligence. Although frequently separated by miles as they grow older, they remain bonded friends whose link may well one day save mankind! 


Again, another shift takes us to an opposite group of characters who believe the West is evil incarnate and who must be destroyed. Each member of this cast trains hard to ensure success in the ultimate question of total destruction. What does it involve and how will it be accomplished? 


A renowned scientist and his committee hold a secret about a global harmonic grid which other scientists and government person deem nonsense but which targets each member of the committee for assassination. Killed or otherwise,they disappear just when they are needed most. 


Meanwhile, the plot is thickening, with Bill Hiccock and his Quarterback Ops Group attempting to forecast and prevent a terrorist act or acts from killing thousands or millions of U. S. citizens. 


The Hammer of God is a tightly plotted, fear-filled and all-too-realistic thriller that is finely written, in fact the best this reviewer has read in a long time. It should be a best seller and will make the reader anxiously awaiting the third and final novel in this thriller trilogy! Great job, Tom Avitabile!!!

The Watchers by Jon Steele

The Watchers. Jon Steele. Blue Rider Press. May 2012. 592 pages. Available in Hardcover and E-Book. ISBN #: 9780399158742.

Marc Rochat is a disabled young man who takes care of the bells in Lausanne Cathedral. His mother who died long ago, told him he would save an angel of God. His only conversations are with the bells, the statues, and the dead in the Cathedral's crypt. Yes, he is a strange man with some obvious simple and harmless idiosyncrasies, hardly one who could save anyone. Yet there is something endearing about this pathetic, innocent creature who is dedicated to his job or mission as he sees it. Then his dreams and conversations begin to change as he becomes more of an observer of what is happening outside the Cathedral!

He sees two other characters in the story, Katherine Taylor and a man who looks like a spy. Katherine is oblivious to all, reveling in the life of a high paid "companion" and never realizing she is a slave subject to the whims of others. Her life will turn into a dramatic, spine-tingling horror, leaving her in an inhuman state one could never imagine.

Jay Harper is an International Olympic Committee employee, a simple man who loves the History Channel on TV but who also has uncanny private investigator skills that can be used by his employers. It seems that there is a secondary plot about a murdered Russian gentleman who was trying to contact Jay Harper to give him something of tremendous importance, which never happens.

All of a sudden the plot turns horrifically violent. Several characters die at the hands of an obviously sick, twisted killer. Up to here, everything makes sense and holds the reader. But then the hints connect to quotes from the banned Biblical Book of Enoch, references to the ancient Nephilim (giants briefly mentioned in the Genesis and Book of Enoch), and everything seems to flip into a speedy end where some will die, some will be left still unknowing, and one will have to be placed in protective custody.

The plot in The Watchers is credible to a point. The even pace of the first half of the novel turns frenetic in the second, with enough repetition to sink a ship and random thoughts as well as clues interspersed. It gets downright choppy. This story is good but loses steam because of the above problems, leaving the reader thrilled yet annoyed at the irrelevant twists and turns and lack of transition and smooth connection into this religious and/or evil development. Fascinating in some respects, not so in far too many other parts that need editing.

The House of Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

The House of Tyneford. Natasha Solomons. A Plume Book: The Penguin Group. December 2011. 368 pages. ISBN #: 9780452297647.

Elise Landau, a 19 year-old Viennese-born young lady, is forced to leave Austria due to the Nazi occupation.  A life of luxury, with a famous writer father and opera singer mother, is transformed into a world where Elise is now a servant in an upper class English country family.  Tyneford is a magical, fairy-tale land of beauty on land and the sea. Grievously homesick and missing the rest of her family, she waits for word from them while adapting to this new, difficult change in social status!

It turns out her sister and husband have made it to America but Julian and Anna have been unable to obtain a visa to leave Austria, but Elise doesn't know that. So at least Elise can hold onto hope while learning to adapt to the life of a maidservant. The novel fluctuates between her struggles to fit into this very different life and her finding peace as she gradually explores the beautiful land around her new home. Little by little, a normalcy develops until the son of her employer, Kit Rivers. They become friends who love the land and also love an occasional bout of unacceptable behavior that is quite harmless but shocks the daylights of both Mr. Rivers and Mr. Wrexham and Mrs. Ellsworth, the two who trained her in her hob duties. Wild and fun, these actions become the tie that draws them into a deeper closeness.

War changes everything and it's no different for Kit, Else, Mr. Rivers, the rest of the household staff, and the remaining fishers, farmers, and shepherds of Tyneford. The Germans begin to bomb Britain and the residents of Tyneford have their own secret defense force, helpless in a way to prevent the carnage of war but strong in a belief in their power to protect, a belief that ennobles all of Tyneford. Kit joins the military but quickly returns in a wounded state. Soon he will recover and leave, and from here the unbelievable happens. Relationships change in a way never anticipated by the reader and keep him or her rapidly turning pages to determine the possible, anticipated outcome. 

The House of Tyneford is a lovely book, soft and fierce in all the right places, and a tale that tells the wartime tale in so many different points of view, adding several subplots of care and love to warm the heart and elicit intrigue in all involved. Nicely done, Ms. Solomons!

When Dreams Come True by Cathy Maxwell

When Dreams Come True. Cathy Maxwell. Harper Collins Publishers: Avon Books. August 1998. 384 Pages. ISBN #: 9780380797097.

The Widow, with the help of several village woman, calls forth a spell to bring a future bride for their Cornish earl, a woman who will grant an heir to this noble family on whom everyone in the area depends. None who participate doubt the event will soon bring forth the promised bride!!!

Meanwhile, the "promised one" is in London hearing words meant to give her strength as she has been told she will embark on a trip to the Middle East to be one of many concubines to a rich Sultan. Eden's one and only friend says words that prove to be the core of this story, "I will pray that God gives you the courage to free yourself." So begins a journey for Eden in which she will draw on that courage to start a new life, one the reader is not sure she will initially survive.

Pierce, Lord Penhollow, has more people trying to arrange a wedding for him than he can stand. Yet he also wonders what would it be like to actually marry a woman for love? A friend warns him that's a dream that drastically changes after the "knot is tied," yet Pierce still dreams. Imagine his surprise on finding a shipwrecked woman whose first look at him with magical green eyes turns his life into a whirlwind of desire and dreams! It also inflames quite a few characters who had their own plans lined up for the Lord!

The plot continues with several challenges to Pierce and Eden's love because of the secret Eden holds to herself. But it turns out that there are many secrets waiting to be revealed and resolved in this well-told romance story. Every romance reader loves a passionate love story, but it's so much better when there is a tangible mystery story tied into it. When Dreams Come True is a tale with plenty of conflict, misunderstandings, and passion! Well done, Cathy Maxwell!