Saturday, April 21, 2012

Jude the Dude

Jude the Dude written and illustrated by Debra G. Watts •Published: 3/27/2012 •Format: Perfect Bound Softcover •Pages: 36 •Size: 8.5x8.5 •ISBN: 978-1-46916-958-3 How do you deal with bullies? Just leave it to Jude the Dude. Jude works in the Jukebox Soda Pop Shop with his family June, Julian, Julie and little brother Junior. He and his buddies get into some hot water with a gang of bullies and Jude needs to step in before things get too out of hand. See what happens when Jude the Dude takes control. In a society where bullying is reaching epidemic proportions, Debra Watts has given the younger generation an alternative to bullying. Her illustrations are bold and colorful with a whimsical undertone. Jude the Dude is an inspiration for children who are currently being bullied. Jude the Dude stands his ground and Judas Junk slowly calms down. Written in a 1950s lingo, this book will resonate with grandparents reading to their grandchildren. Sling words from the 1950s are listed at the back of the book. There is also a message to a bullied young person at the end of the book: 1.Refuse to be a victim!! 2.Believing the bully only empowers the bully, 3.Arguing with a bully is exactly what he or she wants, 4.The responsible and mature thing to do is tell an adult if you are being bullied. Debra G. Watts is a retired educator who lives just outside of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. She has authored a teaching guide entitled "Listening Guides to America's Greatest Musicals" through J. Weston Walch Publishers and has just recently published "CARter CAR and his Wild and CARazy Birthday" through Xlibris. She is currently a University Coordinator mentoring practicum and student teachers for the university of the Cumberlands.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Death By Bridle

Death by Bridle (A Josiah Reynolds Mystery) by Abigail Keam
• Perfect Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Worker Bee Press (March 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1467517356
• ISBN-13: 978-1467517355

Josiah is back on the trail of a murderer. Arthur Aaron Greene III is one of Kentucky s most prominent horse men but he is found hanging from the rafters in a horse barn with stones in his pockets and a bucket of water under his feet. The only witness is a nine year old boy who can’t seem to remember exactly what happened. Relentless in her pursuit of the killer, Josiah stumbles into decades of lies and deception that include her dear friend, Lady Elsmere. Josiah discovers that she must go back to 1962 if she is to find out the truth at all, while making the rounds of quirky characters that can only be found in the lush Bluegrass horse country. Fighting an unknown enemy in the glamorous world of Thoroughbreds, oak-cured bourbon, and antebellum mansions, Josiah struggles to uncover the truth in a land that keeps its secrets well.
Abigail Keam has once again given us a clever mystery for feisty, middle-aged character Josiah Reynolds. This quick read, although presenting a new mystery, also picks up on the storylines from her previous two novels, Death by a Honeybee and Death by Drowning.

I love Josiah because she is a real woman and reminds me of myself, with all her faults, aches and pains. She is a great role model for the “imperfect” women who love to read. The supporting cast of characters is well developed, each rich with his or her own eccentricities, from the flamboyant Franklin to the handsome Matt to the cranky Lady Elsmere.

Kentucky Author Abigail Keam is also an excellent beekeeper from the Bluegrass Region, having won sixteen honey awards at the Kentucky State Fair. In her spare time, she started writing books and is quickly becoming well-known outside of Kentucky.

Mrs. Keam has written a fun, exciting and humorous book. She throws in locally known areas like the Lexington Farmers’ Market and Al’s Bar. Ms. Keam writing is more like lyrical prose, leaving the readers wanting to know more of Josiah's life and clamoring for the next book.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Battle Scars Anthology

I am happy to announce, I have had a poem printed in the Battle Scars
Anthology
edited by Jerome Brooke

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 70 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B006WWGTIM

********

Isles - Astarte - Zylophone
Monograph
GoodSamaritan Press
2012
****
Eugenia Fain - Ron Koppelberger - Bobbi Rightmyer
Gordana Culibrk - Christina Murphy
Published by GoodSamaritan Press
Copyright 2012 GoodSamaritan Press



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Weaving A New Eden


Weaving a New Eden by Sherry Chandler

Paperback: 108 pages
Publisher: Wind Publications (March 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193613828X
ISBN-13: 978-1936138289

Sherry Chandler is a high caliber poet and author of two chapbooks: Dance the Black-Eyed Girl is #13 in the New Women’s Voices series from Finishing Line Press and My Will and Testament Is on the Desk is #4 in FootHills Publishing’s Poets on Peace Series. Weaving a New Eden is her first full-length book of poetry.

Weaving a New Eden takes us back to the beginnings of Kentucky, back to 1774 with Daniel and Rebecca Boone. I have lived my entire life in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, home of the first permanent settlement West of the Alleghany Mountains, founded by James Harrod, but visited by Daniel and Rebecca Boone and their family. The poems in this powerful book interrelate with the female heritage of Chandler and the frontier life faced by Rebecca Boone.

One of my favorite poems is “No More” because it reminds me of the death of my mother. Although my mother was 65 and Chandler’s was 91, the similarities of their deaths haunted me. Watching a parent, especially a mother, take a last breath is always hard, even if it comes at the end of a long illness. While many relatives may rush to claim treasures after the funeral, the last lines of this poem reverberated through me because it is similar to what I did when my own mother died:

“Last chance,”
he says,
“to claim what you want.”

I break a branch,
a blossom
from the hard winter pear.

“The Grandmother Acrostics” is a legacy of recollections from the women of Chandler’s past: Lettice, born ca 1774, who kept a Kentucky tavern; Lydia Simpson ca 1799, whose father kept a public house; Ambie W. True, October 1870, had seven children; Katherine B. Keith, September 1917, born weighing 14 pounds; and Chandler, February 1945, “dancing the figure of the Black-Eyed Girl.”

“Jemima Boone Speaks of Abduction, Boonesborough, July 1776” is a lyrical look at the torment Miss Boone at the hand of the Cherokees, Shawnees, who

“knew me for Boone’s child. We have done pretty well for Old Boone this time.”

“Rebecca Boone Speaks of Fidelity” starts out as,

“You should have staid home and got it yourself.”

What woman hasn’t thought this thought at one time in their lives?

At the end of this lovely book of historical poetry is a note section, letting the reader know about some of the research Chandler gathered in order to put this book together. This book is well-worth the read, especially, put not limited to, the women of Kentucky. History woven into poetry is a magical thing.


Sherry Chandler’s poem “Relics” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by qarrtsiluni in 2010. She won the Betty Gabehart Award from the Kentucky Women Writers Conference the Legacies Award from the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, the Kudzu poetry prize for 2006, and the Joy Bale Boone Prize for 2006. In 2005, she received a scholarship to attend the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, in 2007, she received a scholarship to attend the West Chester Poetry Conference where she studied with Molly Peacock, and in 2009 she received the Katherine Osborne Scholarship to attend the Wildacres Writers Workshop. She has received professional development funding (2005, 2009) and Professional Assistance Awards (1989, 2007, 2009) from the Kentucky Arts Council, and an Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women (2008).