The Amplified Light

Alice Brooks

Xlibris, 334 pages, (paperback) $19.99, 9781436378277
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

In The Amplified Light, English teacher, marriage counselor, and devout Christian Alice Brooks has created a daily devotional drawn exclusively from the Amplified Bible. Completed in 1965, the Amplified Bible sought to show the depth and texture of the language of scripture by “using synonyms and definitions [that] both explain and expand the meaning of […]

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The Bosses Club: The Conspiracy that Caused the Johnstown Flood, Destroying the Iron and Steel Capital of America

Richard A. Gregory

Xlibris, 399 pages, (paperback) $19.99, 9781456860271
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

We’re all connected to history, but we’re not all as connected to the evolution of the iron and steel industry — and the most infamous location where that occurred — as is Richard A. Gregory. Descended from ironworkers, Gregory has used his ancestors as the main characters in his book, in order to depict this […]

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I Am…I Said

Harold "Hal" A. Corzine

Xlibris, 456 pages, (paperback) $23.99, 9781450050272
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

During his 33 years of federal service as an expert in meteorology, Harold “Hal” A. Corzine traveled far and wide sharing his deep knowledge on observing and forecasting the weather. Yet because of his busy schedule, his three children grew up knowing little about his own childhood, work and life experiences. This autobiography fills that […]

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My Blue Heaven

K. Hunter

Xlibris, 154 pages, (paperback) $19.99, 9781456839178
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

Sasha White is back in control of her life. The protagonist of K. Hunter’s novel My Blue Heaven has walked out of an abusive relationship. She’s moving up fast in the law firm where she works. She’s hitting the gym, dropping weight, and showing off her toned body in stylish clothes. So the new man […]

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A Long Way from Clearwater

Dale McMillan

Xlibris, 622 pages, (paperback) $23.99, 9781456837365
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

Racial barriers and poverty versus wealth set the stage for this book of Christian fiction, which opens in 1927 in Clearwater, Miss. George Simmons and his wife, Chassity, run a successful plantation and cotton gin while employing generations of black domestic help, which are treated like dear family, much to the chagrin of many other […]

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WTF Moment

Bolaji Tijani-Qudus

Xlibris, 217 pages, (paperback) $19.99, 9781462865437
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

A bad divorce can be debilitating and disheartening. In WTF Moment, Bolaji Tijani-Qudus details the fallout of a particularly brutal breakup, following his character’s struggles as he faces separation, divorce and an eventual emotional recovery.

The story starts as Devin Lewis, a personal trainer and startup business owner, walks out of the posh San Francisco […]

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After the Cleanse 2012

Russell Four Eagles

Xlibris, 340 pages, (paperback) $19.99, 9781450074483
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

In After the Cleanse 2012, Russell Four Eagles’ narrative alternates between two future timelines–one far off, one very near. The first portrays a young man (Bear Paw, later renamed Gifted) coming of age in a future society based on Native American traditions. The other depicts the lives of people who survived worldwide flooding in 2012. […]

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Finance Matters! Exploring Your Assets and Securing Your Future

Leann Voss, IYR, LLC

Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC, 83 pages, $9.99, 9781616633264
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

As millions of American families continue to struggle in this economy, now more than ever, it seems prudent – and perhaps even mandatory– that the next generation be well educated on the basic principles of personal finance and money management.

Author Leann Voss, who, along with her husband, runs an Oklahoma company to promote financial […]

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Stranger in Dixie

James Fearn

Xlibris, 294 pages, (paperback) $29.99, 9781456883034
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

James Fearn has taken his great-grandfather as his subject for this fictionalized biography, a man who certainly seems to deserve the attention, as he lived an extraordinary and adventurous life on three continents.

John Fearn Francis was raised in the English Midlands in the mid 19th century. Despite his family’s wealth, he had an ingrained […]

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Mischievous Mary Margaret

Gloria Ritchie

Xlibris, 34 pages, (paperback) $21.99, 9781441583130
(Reviewed: September, 2011)

Mischievous Mary Margaret is an amusing picture book about a little girl who likes to play pranks and pick on others until finally she becomes the one who needs help.

Mary Margaret is so mean that the neighborhood kids refuse to play with her. Even her brother isn’t immune to her pranks. Noticing a wad […]

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