It's not very often that I have shared books of Testimonies on my site but have you ever read a book and thought WOW , I can relate to that and that person would be an interesting , i guess person to meet. That's what this post's book is all about. Review: No Way Out But Through - Graham Aitchison- June 2012 Have you ever read a book and thought while reading it , I can relate to this or I've been in that exact same boat or even a similar situation ? That's what I found while I read Graham's testimony No Way Out But Through.  No Way Out But Through is separated into three different parts - The before , during and after though of course they aren't labelled like that . We have Part One- "The Way Things Were". In this section we readers go on a journey all the way back to the early days of Graham's life. He talks about Addictions which is something that we all have encountered one way or another be it a physical addiction lik...

  Do you enjoy Stephen King's or Dean Koontz novels ? Wanting a quick read ? Review: The Puppet's Secret - Alex Samms - March 2012 Are you a fan of Stephen King's earlier works ? Books like Carrie, Misery , his short story anthologies like Everything's Eventual starring the book that was made into a film 1408 starring John Cusack. The Puppet's secret was a story that you could imagine would fit nicely in one of Stephen King's anthologies. To me it reminded me of the tale Misery in which the famous actor had an accident and the obsessed fan nursed him back to health and wouldn't let him leave.  In The Puppet's secret we meet wife and mother Angie and how the obsession of love can overwhelm and cause someone to go into a frenzied state almost to the point of wanting to kill someone. An innocent day at the beach and an unknown hot guy walking past is all it took . He had captured Angie's interest, she had no clue who he was - all she kn...

    Homecoming weekend : Always the biggest occassion at Universities in America. Homecoming Dance ,Homecoming King and Queen , Catch up with old friends before the big Homecoming Football game. Review: Homecoming Weekend - Curtis Bunn - September 2012 Being in New Zealand , we tend not to make a huge deal of things like Homecoming etc , to be honest I don't even know if we celebrate it. When I saw this book available for review, I thought hmm this could be fun as I had seen movies with the american college Homecomings e.g Gilmore Girls , read a number of books with the topic and have enjoyed the whole thought of a college or school reunion. Homecoming Weekend is set at Norfolk State University , an all black school in the novel. Homecoming Weekend for schools like this is more personal than big colleges and is a strictly no-spouse zone especially if that spouse didn't attend NSU. We meet a variety of characters from Jimmy , whose ready to have the time of...

Who hear remembers the creation Emily the Strange ? If , you loved her then Jodee Taylah's new book "Children of the In-Between" will be definitely one that you will want to add to your bookshelf. Review: Children of the In-Between - Jodee Taylah - April 2011 When I was younger , I always had a fascination with Emily the Strange . I thought the character was awesome but as the way my parents were , I was never allowed to really have anything with that kind of symbolism but as I got older they soon let me make my own decisions and by that stage I had slowly moved out of the Emily the Strange stage and into Vampires and the Supernatural/Paranormal. Children of the In-Between is a sophisticated picture book aimed at the teen audience as some of the images and words could scar younger children.  I loved the book as it holds an Edgar Allan Poe feel of The Raven and The Tell-tale heart.  Children of the In-Between is written in a diary format and as we learn ...

  Slowly making my way through the Stephanie Plum novels , I bring to you Book #10 "Ten Big Ones" and say to all , if you have not yet seen the movie "One for the Money" based on the first book in the Stephanie Plum series , it is so totally worth seeing. Review: Ten Big Ones - Book #10 Stephanie Plum Series - Janet Evanovich - June 2004 There is marriage in the making , apartment seeking and of course mischief in the new Stephanie Plum novel. Stephanie's sister Valerie is getting married to Albert Kloughn , the father of their new baby.  During a bond pick-up our two favourite gals Lula and Stephanie re-connect with Sally Sweet - the tranvestite from the early books. He is now working during the day as a School bus driver and since of course he is such a fashionista , Sally takes on the role as Valerie's Wedding Planner. What's a Stephanie Plum novel without a bit of car blowing up , trouble and the chemistry between Stephanie, Morelli an...

    This Makes Me Uncomfortable As I began writing in earnest two years ago, the inspiration to tell a story about an older woman who discovered her beloved husband’s infidelity after he died came from out of nowhere.   Pam of Babylon simply appeared in my consciousness and I wrote it as I thought of it.   Later, a quote by E.L. Doctorow would confirm my writing style was not unusual.   He said, “Writing is like driving a car in the dark.   You only see as far as the headlights go, but you can make the whole trip that way.”   Those words validated me. An encounter with an editor who did not like my story line made me doubt the wisdom of spending another second writing.   She asked me to do an outline before I began to write,which I found nearly impossible to do because of the way the book was coming to me as I went along. She referred to the story as triple-x rated because it contained a depiction of child abuse.   Child abuse t...

    Today's VBT# is author Suzanne Jenkins with a synopsis and an excerpt from the third book in her Pam of Babylon series "Dream Lover" here on The Phantom Paragrapher. Synopsis; Dream Lover - Book #3 Pam of Babylon Series - Suzanne Jenkins -April 2012 Kirkus Review says "A gritty, realistic portrait of the aftermath of deceit." We meet new lovers of Jack's; just the tip of the iceberg, it turns out. Slowly, the parade of women and one man who loved Jack make their way to the Long Island village of Babylon for an audience with his widow. No longer in denial, and stronger than she thought possible, Pam Smith is able to confront the horror of her marriage in its totality as she draws a new picture of the man she was married to. The new, more horrific discoveries she makes empowers her and she is able to maintain her strength and the grace and compassion she's known for. Truly a formidable woman, Pam conquers her worst demons, as Sandra ...