Book Review: Driving the Saudis: by JAYNE AMELIA LARSON

Title: Driving the Saudis
Author: Jayne Amelia Larson
Category: Autobiography/Memoir
Pub. Date: 10/16/2012
Publisher: Free Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
ISBN#: 1451640013

Synopsis:  
Actress, producer, and occasional chauffeur Jayne Amelia Larson offers a funny and insightful memoir about the time she spent as a driver for members of the Saudi royal family visiting Beverly Hills, detailing her invitation inside one of the world’s most closely guarded monarchies.

When the Saudi royal family vacationed in Los Angeles, they hired Jayne Amelia Larson, an actress struggling to make ends meet, to be their personal chauffeur. She’d heard stories of the Saudis’ outrageously generous gratuities and figured that several weeks at their beck and call might be worth her time. But when the family arrived via their private jet with an entourage of forty and millions of dollars in cash, Jayne Amelia realized she might be getting into more than she bargained for.

For weeks, Larson observed the family’s opulent lifestyle: they occupied four luxury hotels, enjoyed day in and day out shopping binges, and servants catered 24/7 to Princess Zaahira and her entourage. From the thirteen-year-old princess who slapped down $100 dollar bills at a supermarket and didn’t bother to wait for her change to the nanny who ran away in the airport the moment she was handed her passport, the stories Larson shares are bizarre, poignant, and illustrative of the profound contradictions and complications that only such massive wealth can create.

Driving the Saudis, based on the author’s successful one-woman stage show, is a vivid portrait of the Saudi royals as few ever get to see them. As funny as it is insightful, this is a true-to-life fable for our times. But at its heart, it’s a story about the corruption that infinite wealth creates, and about what we all do for money.  

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Book Review: ANOTHER SECOND CHANCE by TROY LEWIS

Title: ANOTHER SECOND CHANCE

Author: Troy Lewis

Category: True Story/Christian

Pub. Date:12/06/2011

Publisher: Writing Career Coach Press

Format: Paperback

Pages: 220

ISBN#: 0983360774

Synopsis:   

Another Second Chance
…God’s Story
How a stranger's kidney saved my life
...and my brothers too!
An inspiring true story that will renew your belief in miracles!
"Whoever says miracles don't happen hasn't met the Lewis brothers.." -Jessica Harthorn, WWMT News Channel 3 West Michigan
“Troy Lewis hit a grand slam with “Another Second Chance…God’s Story” His honest telling of our miracle working God that touched him will be a delight to all!
-Lori Young, Anchored to the Rock Owner, Fremont, OH
“As I lay on deaths door step, Hope showed up in a miraculous way” –Troy Lewis
Troy played Jesus Christ in a local passion drama for 9 years, successfully coached girls fastpitch softball for 7 years. He is married to a lovely lady and a father of 2 beautiful girls, and resides in Fremont, OH.
But in January of 2010, after being blindsided with the news of kidney failure, he would come to the realization that life as he knew it was over…
Troy would begin a race against time and odds that are nothing short of amazing! He would face struggles at every turn, detours that didn’t make sense, and roadblocks that tested his faith. Just when things looked absolutely hopeless, Hope showed up in a miraculous way!
He thought it was a brother’s love that would save him, but it was a Father’s love that saved them both. A thousand miles away a stranger felt a call to courageously give with nothing expected in return, not knowing that he had the rarest of kidneys.
Troy couldn’t have imagined what God had in store for all who were part of this story and Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it. He humbly encourages everyone reading this book that no matter what we are facing in life; we can all experience the revelation of what God has in store for our lives.
This book will speak to anyone facing challenges larger than themselves, whether it’s job loss, financial ruin, family pain, or your own battle with illness. Miracles still happen and there is always “Another Second Chance”.

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Book Review: Willow Pond by Carol Tibaldi

Title: WILLOW POND
Author: Carol Tibaldi
Category: Historical History
Pub. Date: 12/12/2012
Publisher: Self Published
Format: E-Book
Pages: 318
ISBN#:  9781468111729

Synopsis:  
The Roaring Twenties crumble into the Great Depression, but Virginia Kingsley, New York's toughest and most successful speakeasy owner, is doing just fine. Now that the world is falling apart, bootlegging is a flourishing business, and she's queen of that castle.

Then her infant nephew is kidnapped. Her niece, Laura, and Laura's philandering movie star husband, are devastated. The police have few leads, and speculation and rumors abound in the media circus that follows the celebrity abduction.

Only one reporter, Erich Muller, seems to care enough about the child's welfare and the parents' feelings to report the case responsibly. Over the course of the investigation, Erich Muller and Laura fall in love, but their relationship is doomed to failure since he suspects her beloved aunt Virginia is behind the kidnapping. Laura, jaded when it comes to men, sides with Virginia.

But Virginia has figured out the truth, and she can't tell anyone for fear of losing her niece's affections and having the police ransack her life. So she pursues her own investigation, shaking down, threatening, and killing one petty crook after another during her search.

Little Todd's absence shapes everyone's lives. When he is finally found, the discovery will bring disaster for some and revelation for others.

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Book Review: THE SELF HEALTH REVOLUTION by J. Michael Zenn

Title: THE SELF HEALTH REVOLUTION
Author: J. Michael Zenn
Pub. Date: 11/27/2012
Publisher: Free Press
Format: E-Book
Pages: 192
ISBN#: 1476704007

Synopsis:  
Newly revised and updated, this electrifying guide has been praised by doctors, health experts, and readers who have taken their own self-health challenge. Describing himself as “an ordinary guy who discovered an extraordinary secret,” which he now feels compelled to share with everyone, J. Michael Zenn completely changed his own life when he began a quest to get healthy. With some simple but profound improvements to his diet and everyday habits, Zenn lost fifty pounds and six inches off his waist and—within just a few months—felt and looked younger than he had in two decades. So he quit his job and spent a year reading 200 books and interviewing experts in order to write about the powerful message he calls “the self-health revolution.” In this inspiring book, Zenn reveals:

• The hidden ingredient in our food that makes us fat

• The Tsunami of Diabesity (obesity + diabetes) that threatens our health, our health-care system, and our economy

• Three simple things you can do to get fit and stay thin

• A forgotten remedy that can get rid of your aches and pains

• One thing you can do now to help extend your life

• The little-known reason most people feel tired and run down

• How unhappiness and stress can take years off your life

• The Number 3 killer that nobody wants to talk about

• A cure that your doctor may not know about or can’t tell you

Now you can join the revolution of self-health throughout America. Take the 10-day challenge. You’ll lose weight, keep it off, feel better, and have more energy than you thought possible.

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Book Review: SOMETHING BLUE by DIANNE CHRISTNER

Title: SOMETHING BLUE
Author: DIANNE CHRISTNER
Category: Christian Fiction
Pub. Date: 08/01/2012
Publisher: Barbour Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
ISBN#: 1616262338
Series: Plain City Bridesmaids

Synopsis:  
Life is going well for Megan. She’s always wanted to marry a missionary and now she’s working with Chance, a charming and daring missionary pilot. Then Micah Zimmerman moves into her parent’s home as a pastoral candidate for their Conservative Mennonite church—and he doesn’t look anything like the gawky young man who had a crush on her in college. As Megan struggles with her own personal identity and faith, she begins to see the true difference between Chance and Micah. Will her insight come too late, or is there still time to find the hero of her dreams?

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Book Review: dog-ma the zen of slobber by Barbara Boswell Brunner

Title: dog-ma the zen of slobber

Author: Barbara Boswell Brunner

Pub. Date: August 1, 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Format: E-Book

Pages: 326

ISBN#: 9781478106586

Synopsis:

Barbara's vivid and dramatic stories, told with a wicked sense of humor, will make you laugh out loud. She definitely gets what living with rescued dogs (nine of them!) is all about.
When Barbara meets her future husband, Ray, it is love-and dog-at first sight. Over the course of thirty-two years, seventeen relocations and nine dogs, their mutual love of dogs guides them on their unconventional path. The love that Barbara and Ray get in return is literally lifesaving, with one dog attacking a lethal intruder and another discovering Barbara’s cancer. Her own survival story underscores the story of how her dogs become survivors themselves.
Each new dog adds its own dynamic to the family, sometimes upending it. From Turbo (whose Spock-like ears may have provided super powers), Barbara learns about the will to live; Lexington demonstrates incredible patience and an inexplicable love of golf; Madison teaches that laughter is truly the best medicine and that the whole “nine lives thing” is not reserved just for cats; Morgan should be sainted for tolerating Izzy, who is as cute as she is bad.
Barbara is certain that somewhere in doggie heaven there is a poster that says “If you are sick, injured or in need of really expensive medical care, FIND THESE HUMANS!”

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Blog Tour: Dog-Ma: The Zen of Slobber Guest Post

Today I have a great tour to share with you all.  The author of Dog-Ma: The Zen of Slobber, has sent me a great guest post on Covers.  I hope you enjoy! Later today I will be posting my review of this book as well, so make sure you stick around to check out what I think of this book. 

Getting The Elusive Book Cover Blurb

When I got to the point in the life of my book  that I was starting to think about a cover I knew I needed blurbs to help make the sale. Blurbs provide enticement for the casual book browser to pick up the book and look at it more closely. Blurbs from celebrities are very helpful. When a prospective reader sees a name they recognize, they may think “I like this person, so I will probably like the book they are endorsing”. It can give the reader a sense of “celebrity six degrees of separation”.

I have a few minor celebrity friends and they were first on my hit lit for blurbs; a film producer, a marketing genius and a celebrity chef. All were dog lovers and I thought each would be a shoe in for a blurb.  How much time could it take, I thought? Read a couple of chapters, write something appropriately insightful and sign it. Simple?

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