Book Review: Occasional Soulmates by Kevin Brennan

~ John W. Howell

Another good review on Occasional Soulmates

S.K. Nicholls's avatarS.K. Nicholls

I heard a great deal about Kevin Brennan’s writing talent, but had not read one of his books, yet. He offered ARCs to a few bloggers and I picked one up. I am telling you, I have really been missing something. This guy can write and write well! I am not such a fan of chicklit or romance, but this novel goes much deeper than that.

You can pick up Yesterday Road right now for the sale price of 99 cents. And while your at it, be sure to grab this one. You won’t be disappointed, I’m sure! You can get Occasional Soulmates in digital or paperback.

Book Review: Occasional Soulmates by Kevin Brennan

Dr. Sarah Phelan is creeping up on forty. Divorced and having given up on the .com method of securing a relationship, serendipity brings her a seemingly flawless specimen of a man, Dylan Cakebread. (Okay, nearly flawless.)…

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Occasional Soulmates by Kevin Brennan – Available Today – Review

~ John W. Howell ~ 10 Comments

 

 

Kevin Brennan’s new book Occasional Soulmates launches today and I was very pleased to read this wonderful book. Here is my review (I know, I know I usually don’t do reviews on my blog, but this one is too good to pass up. You can get it  HERE.

Occasional Soulmates  by Kevin Brennan is the second book by this author I have read. The first is Yesterday Road a literary journey of a lifetime which I thoroughly enjoyed. Occasional Soulmates is also a literary masterpiece which I enjoyed even more. This is a story of Sarah a thirty-nine-year-old emergency room doctor who having been divorced is somewhat skeptical of entering another relationship. It is not because of being hurt or disillusioned about the first, but more about the idea of involvement and complications in her life. Her best friend and coach Jules has enough caution about relationships to sink any that could come along. On top of her personal life, Sarah has a mother who is continually pushing her to resume a relationship with her well off sister. The sister made a mistake in Sarah’s mind that she can not forgive or forget. Such a situation keeps Sarah from re-establishing the broken relationship. When the reader meets Ella, the sister there is no doubt Sarah is totally within her rights in not wanting to have anything to do with her.

The last two characters who play a major role in the story are Dylan and Steve. Dylan is an architect and because of his handsomeness and British wit, Sarah falls for him like a ton of bricks. Of course, in the ensuing relationship Jules is a metaphorical representative of the Greek chorus in the classic tragedies continually warning Sarah of the pitfalls of love. Steve is Dylan’s brother and is forced to play a role of truth teller as far as his brother’s activities are concerned. He continually puts his foot in his mouth by giving away family secrets that Dylan wants to be kept quiet.

As I said in the opening paragraph, I enjoyed this book very much. The first item which pleased me to no end is the author chose the first person narrative. This is a personal favorite point of view since it allows the reader to be part of the action from a front-row seat. The narrator has taken the reader into confidence and is sharing personal thoughts about the action. Mr. Brennan has an excellent command of the writer’s craft and handles this point of view deftly and with great skill. The second item is the way the story is constructed. There is a tongue in cheek reference to a relationship novel that the reader comes to believe Sarah is writing. We do come to the point that the reference is more or less rhetorical, but does provide a tight framework for the unfolding story. The third item is the way in which Mr. Brennan writes. He has a magical quality of taking a very few words and exploding those minimal choices into magnificent descriptions. He never slows the plot with tedious overwriting and seems to be almost clairvoyant to the point when the reader wants to move on. The fourth item is the use of dialog the way it should be used. He has few tags to identify who is talking and the miraculous thing is the reader has no question of who said what to whom. The fifth is the fact that Mr. Brennan decided to take on the task of telling the story as a female narrator. I admire his bravery and believe (although I’m not a female) he got it right. It could be he knows some females who could give him advice or he is a god which I suspect.

I liked a lot of other things about Occasional Soulmates   including; character development, scene construction and the final resolution of the conflict Mr. Brennan so richly developed.

This is a book which everyone who wants to enjoy a well told and masterfully constructed contemporary literary tale should pick up. For anyone who wants to be a writer, this book can provide a premier example of how to do it right.

Top Ten Thing Not to Do When having a Garage Sale

~ John W. Howell ~ 25 Comments

 

 

Top Ten Things Not to Do When Having a garage Sale.

This list was inspired by a recent weekend of visiting a number of garage sales in the search of nautical artifacts that were supposed to be available in different locations.

10 If you have a garage sale, do not stock the inventory with all junk. If you do, at best you will look like you are down and out. At worst, you won’t make many sales since everyone has enough junk that looks and smells like yours at home.If you have a garage sale, do not advertise items that you don’t intend to sell. If you do, at best you can tell the folks the item is already sold.

9 If you have a garage sale, do not advertise items that you don’t intend to sell. If you do, at best you can tell the folks the item is already sold. At worst, you may have some early birds who will know the item isn’t sold and will have to deal with the subsequent mob who will convince you to go get the item in question or face walking the plank.

8 If you have a garage sale, do not put a child in charge of collecting money. If you do, at best your child will feel the impatience of the line that has formed since making change is not your child’s life skill. At worst, you may get a pirate who will be tempted to empty the cash box and steal the child to collect money at other garage sales to continue the cycle forever.

7 If you have a garage sale, do not sit in a big overstuffed chair eating chicken. If you do, at best some of your buyers will be disgusted and leave. At worst, you might lose your chicken to the highest bidder and have no say so in the matter.

6 If you have a garage sale, do not offer for sale any clothing that has not been washed. If you do, at best you will end up with the same inventory which you started out the day. At worst, you will be forced to discount the clothes to the point where some pirate will talk you into paying to remove the stuff.

5 If you have a garage sale, do not offer any eight track stereo tapes for sale. If you do, at best your age will automatically be transparent to all attendees over the age of forty. At worst, you will actually get a buyer who will insist on playing the choices before buying and you won’t have a player which this person has in the car and will loan you while staying and listening in your house for the next week since he has nowhere else to go.

4 If you have a garage sale, do not think the Ty Beanie babies are still thought of as rare finds. If you do, at best they will be priced unreasonably and you‘ll still have them at the end of the sale. At worst, you may actually find someone who is in the dark as much as you and who will buy all of them only to return tomorrow with a can of gas and a demand for their money back.

3 If you have a garage sale, do not smoke cigarettes or let one bob on your lip as you are doing a deal. If you do, At best many will realize all your items will smell like they have been in a forest fire and leave. At worst, one of your ashes will fall into your precious amber collection and produce a conflagration to rival the eruption of Vesuvius.If you have a garage sale, do not offer alcoholic beverages to those attending. If you do, at best you may have

2 If you have a garage sale, do not offer alcoholic beverages to those attending. If you do, at best you may have way more attendee than buyers. At worst, you may have a party which gets out of hand and makes your neighbors so upset that the next morning you find over ten for sale signs on your front lawn.

1 If you have a garage sale do not forget to post signs on where you are located. If you do forget at best you may miss some interested buyers. At worst your buyers will finally find you with only the thought of revenge in their heart which does not make for a happy customer.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt- Average

~ John W. Howell ~ 13 Comments

 

Today’s prompt as determined by Linda Hill is AVERAGE. If you would like to read more about the Stream of Consciousness Saturday yo can go here: http://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-september-2014/ The following is my interpretation of the prompt. It is a story titled “So?”

So by John W. Howell Copyright 2014

“Hey, Frank what yew up to?”

“You a poet?”

“HUH? Wadda ya mean?”

“You, to. You sound like you been in a coffee shop too long.”

“I still don’t get it.”

“That’s cause you are average.”

“Average? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I am putting out some high-value subtle bits of humor and you aren’t getting it cause you are not a high-level intellect. Just average.”

“Oh, I see what you mean.”

“I’m glad. Makes it easier to get along with me.’

“So Frank since I’m only average I have a request.”

“What’s that?”

“Pay me the thousand bucks you owe me. NOW!”

 

TGIF JohnKu Friday

~ John W. Howell ~ 24 Comments

Friday again. Not sure, but I think this has been one fast week. If seems just yesterday that I did the last Friday post but here it is a whole week later. Makes me wonder where the time goes. I find now my time is pretty well-marked by the number of words written. Of course, doing a blog also give some perspective of how fast the time goes by. I usually do the three regular blog posts which act as mileposts for the week. Monday is the Top Ten Things Not to do, Wednesday is the hump day story and Friday is the JohnKu (a term coined by Words4jp). I do throw in a Tuesday and Thursday blog if there is something going on like a blog tour or maybe some information I want to share. On Saturday, I tie into the Stream of Consciousness prompt. As I sit writing it now occurs to me that in essence I am blogging six days a week. Damn, no wonder the time flies. I gotta think about this for a minute. In the meantime, here is the JohnKu for  this week. It is titled Having Fun, I hope you like it.

 

Having Fun by John W. Howell ©2014

Struggle hard Writing,

Many words pumped every day. . .

Just may not be work.

Legends of Windemere Campaign on Thunderclap

~ John W. Howell ~ 7 Comments

Here is a way to help expand the message of Windemere

Charles Yallowitz's avatarLegends of Windemere

Help Support Legends of Windemere on Thunderclap! Deadline is OCTOBER 4th!

Please lend a hand and help me reach 100 supporters by the deadline.  It’s a great way for anyone who wants to campaign for anything to get a blast of support, but it only works if I reach or surpass my goal of 100.

If you have Facebook, Twitter, and/or Tumblr then CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW!

CLICK HERE! CLICK HERE!

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Wednesday Story Day – AKA Hump Day

~ John W. Howell ~ 24 Comments

Wednesday story day is here already. Seems like a good thing to have the week more or less zoom by, but we need to remember that life is about the journey, not the destination. Would be a good idea to remind ourselves to live in the moment and make each and every minute count. This week’s story is about making every minute count and of course our boy Frank will be the prime example of not following this advice. The story is titled Moment and I hope you like it.

Moment by John W. Howell ©2014

“So Frank. How can you just lie there watching Tv all day.”

“I find the television to be a source of great knowledge.”

“Oh, sure Frank. Like what knowledge?”

“Well for one I get the latest news.”

“The news in ten second sound bites.”

“Okay, how about the information on shows like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.”

“Give me a break Frank. Those pieces of information are useless.”

“What if I get on one of those shows. What then?”

“You think they will ask the same questions?”

“I guess I never thought of it before.”

‘So why don’t you get up and do something worthwhile.?”

“I think you are right. I’m going to get up and go out.”

“Now that’s better. Look at you. On your feet.”

“I admit it feels strange.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“Thought I would go to Wal-Mart.”

“Okay, that’s a start. What’s at Wal-Mart?”

“A whole big wall of TVs. See you later.”

To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis -A Review

~ John W. Howell ~ 22 Comments

andra

 

Just so we are clear, I don’t usually do reviews. I leave it up to the experts like Ionia Martin and Rosie Amber since they know what they are doing. I finished Andra Watkins book and was so impressed with the content I just couldn’t stop myself. I gave the book five stars and would have added a sixth if I could and yes, I decided to let you all know what I think. (dangerous I know)

I stayed up late night before last to finish Andrea’s wonderful book To Live Forever: An afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis. The reason I stayed up late is I could not put the book down for the last 20%. The book is so good the reader is compelled to continue as resolutely as possible to the end to see what happens. Of course, once finished then must deal with the remorse which comes with the realization the adventure is over.

The story is of Meriwether Lewis (yes, the explorer from the early eighteen hundreds) finding himself in the 1970’s with a job to do and if he does it well he may be released from his hellish position which is described in the book as Nowhere. Although to the casual observer who has not read this book this may seem a stretch. Let me assure you the author has done the ample research necessary to not only pull this juxtaposition of history off, but to make it perfectly logical and a story worth telling. The backstory is rich with the sense the author has experienced some out worldly inspiration to bring the kind of detail to the tale. After reading several chapters, the reader can discount any divine intervention and rely on the fact that the author does indeed know exactly what she is doing and has researched the facts thoroughly.

The narrative takes a unique two separate character first person point of view posture which lets the reader know exactly what the two main characters are feeling and thinking without getting into some kind of clumsy third-party voice that is unrealistic. The story is told in the present tense which is the best to involve the reader in the action and raise the tension level significantly. Not all authors can pull off this complex arrangement, Ms. Watkins does so flawlessly.

A final note. I would like to make about the story. The story itself is action packed and moves along at a pace that is very pleasing. Very little time is wasted on unnecessary prose so the reader is not held hostage to a writer’s own personal quirks on what is thought to be good writing. Trust that this is excellent writing and has all the elements of adventure, love, compassion, anger and compelling protagonists which can’t help, but become endearing to the reader. This book is for anyone who likes a good story well told.

You can find it here:

Top Things Not to Do While Working Outside

~ John W. Howell ~ 34 Comments

 

It’s that time of the year again when certain outdoor chores have to be done in preparation for the coming change of seasons. The weather is finally turning a little cooler so the projects put off because of the heat can now be done. This list has been inspired by all the times I have not paid attention to the Top Ten Things Not to do While Doing Outdoor Work and is the 63rd edition

The Top Ten Things Not to Do While Working Outdoors

10 If you need to fix or waterproof your outdoor deck, do not start the work after noon. If you do, at best you will have to work past dinner. At worst, you will quit the project only to find yourself doing the work in the snow.

9 If you need to go up on a ladder for anything, do not ask your spouse to spot you at the bottom of the ladder. At best, you may drop a tool which will be regrettable. At worst, your spouse may find themselves breaking your fall which will be unforgivable.

8 If you need to use a power tool, do not forget the safety glasses. If you do, at best you may get some debris in your eye. At worst, you might just get an exciting ride to the emergency room for significant eye repair.

7 If you need to use a chainsaw, do not try to saw off anything over your head. If you do, at best you may not be able to avoid a falling limb. At worst, you may find yourself trying to avoid a swinging chainsaw running at full speed.

6 If you need to paint anything, do not think a spray gun is the way to go if you have no experience. If you do, at best you may find the job harder than you expected. At worst, you may have covered the trees, shrubs and your car with the beautiful coral shade you are using.

5 If you decide to rent any kind of machinery to do your work, do not fail to read the directions. If you do forget or decide to ignore them, at best you may cause the machine to break down. At worst, you may find you and your machine in the living room when you actually intended to work on the driveway.

4 If you need to use any kind of grease on your project, do not fail to take off your shoes before entering the house. If you do forget, at best you might only have one small piece on your shoe. At worst, you will have walked all the way through the snow-white living room before you notice your tracks and hear the sound of a gun being cocked.

3 If you intend to fix any of the plumbing, do not forget to turn off the water. If you do forget at best you will get a face full and be drenched before you go and turn it off. At worst, you will wish you had built an ark before beginning the work and are now watching your belongings wash down the street.

2 If your project includes electrical work, do not forget to turn off the electricity to the item you are working on. If you do forget, at best you will cause some sparks and then go turn it off. At worst you will cause an arc of electricity with will melt the  tool you are using and permanently clear your sinus while providing you with a full body hair removal treatment.

1 If you decide to dig in the yard to plant those big trees, do not forget to call the utilities to find out where all the lines are buried. If you do forget, at best you may accidentally cut your neighbor’s cable and they are a work at home IRS agent. At worst, you may cut more important lines and assume you survive you will be fighting the outage charges for the rest of your life.