In this collection of heartfelt poetry and short stories, the author touches on serious subjects—poverty, homelessness, aging, war, and more—with kindness and hope.
Category Archives: local authors
Lisa Black — That Darkness
Maggie Gardiner, forensic scientist with Cleveland police, sees a connection between three recent homicides. Jack Renner is a Cleveland police detective working on the same crimes. But Jack is also a killer—a vigilante. Some of the dead are his victims. This makes an interesting plot, with Maggie putting together clues and Jack trying to mislead her.
I enjoyed the book—the characters, the plot, the police work, and the different ending. It kept me reading into the wee small hours.
Alice Oldford — 10 Adventures and More in Lee and Collier Counties
Do you like the outdoors? Do you live in Southwest Florida? Would you like to learn some Florida history—see some of Florida’s flora and fauna? Buy this book and explore the trails and waterways described by the author.
A section on Florida spiders (with photos) is included in the book. The spiders are contributed by Janet Bunch who volunteers for Lee County Parks & Recreation, and leads guided nature walks at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve and various Conservation 20/20 parks.
If you are a nature-lover, this is a guide to the best places on Florida’s Gulf Coast—Lee and Collier counties. Enjoy.
James Campbell — My Korean War Stories
In December 1948, James Campbell, age 15, joined the U.S. Army. June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. Campbell, stationed in Japan, was among the first U.S. soldiers to join the conflict. The book is a collection of stories about a young soldier’s experience in the war.
His stories run the gamut of emotions—anger, heartbreak, apprehension, comradery, even humor. Campbell lets you see and feel the horrors of war through the eyes of a boy becoming a man.
This is not a book I would pick to read. I’m not into war stories. But I helped edit and format the book and of course had to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. James Campbell knows how to tell a story.
Irene “Susie” Smith — Angel of Tears
This story of a young girl, Summer, growing up in Detroit is a rewrite of an earlier novel. There are some added details and an epilogue. I enjoyed every minute of it, especially Summer’s connection with her neighbor, an old albino woman.
Irene’s characters are believable and likeable (except those who are not so nice). Her story flows and keeps you reading to the end. Her descriptions of Detroit in the fifties takes you back to another time.
The author writes from the heart. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry.
Charles Sobczak — The Year of the Bad Decision
Research, Research, Research… Sobczak must have spent years on research for this book. Even though it is fiction, it is loaded with facts about climate change. The novel is SF/speculative fiction and the year of the bad decision was 2043. The author says he may have compressed events a bit, but I’m not so sure he did. Sometimes I feel climate events are moving faster than anyone predicts.
The Center for Meteorological Controls has plans to send tiny nanomirrors into the atmosphere to mitigate global warming by reflecting sunlight to cool the earth. Dr. Warren Randolph has discovered a flaw in the design that could send the world into a short-term ice age and likely kill a large percentage of its ten billion people. Of course, he is ignored. He moves to a farm in a remote area of Montana and gathers his friends around him to try to live out the coming disaster.
It’s a good story along with much information about our planet and the consequences of climate change.
Bragging Rights
I don’t usually post about myself and my writing, but I won an award. The Janus Code by J.C. Ferguson (that’s me, Judy Loose) is the winner of the Florida Authors & Publishers Association 2014 President’s Award Gold Medal for Adult Fiction: Action/Suspense. It’s exciting to win a prestigious award—first place. Wow! It’s probably silly to be so pleased, but it does feel good to have professional writers and publishers approve of my work.
This is also a credit to the Gulf Coast Writers Association. They have three winners this year. In addition to my award, Alice Oldford won a gold medal in the Home and Garden category for her book, Recipes and Life and Patti Brassard Jefferson won a silver medal in the Children’s Picture Book category for Stu’s Big Party.
Thanks for listening to me sound off.
More about writing reviews…
I am in the process of publishing reviews on this blog that I’ve previously posted on Amazon. I’m linking them to this post.
Post to Post Links II error: No term found with slug "florida-authors"are authors I know from our large group of writers at Gulf Coast Writers Association and/or Fort Myers Writers Meetup or I have met them at book signings. I’ve read these books and liked them. (I’ve purchased other books at these book signings that I wasn’t so crazy about and haven’t reviewed them.)
I’ll add more to this post later.
Tom Nelson – My Story and I’m Sticking To It!
Small town Anywhere, USA.
Tom Nelson writes refreshing true stories about his hometown Fennimore – the people, the places, the adventures. He writes with humor and heart. For anyone who grew up in a small town (or even a small community in a big city), Fennimore feels like home. He paints a delightful picture that takes the reader back in time and brings back memories.
Lori Flying Fish – A is for Aruba
Art in a book
The author/artist produced a beautiful ABC book about Aruba. You can see the time and effort applied to this book. Every page is a hand-painted water color. Having visited Aruba, I feel at home with this book. This would be a great tool to capture children’s imaginations about a different place.
I wouldn’t normally read or review a children’s book, but I helped the author format and publish this book.