#BookReview - Ripley's Unlock the Weird!

Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Unlock The Weird! (Annual)

By: Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
Publisher: Ripley Publishing
Publication Date: September 2016
ISBN: 978-1609911652
Reviewed by: Ellen Feld
Review Date: August 1, 2016

Late summer means getting ready for 'Back to School' sales, apple pie and the annual edition of Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Reviewing this yearly book has become a bit of a tradition at Feathered Quill and while we may not look forward to 'Back to School' events, we certainly look forward to receiving our new Ripley's book each year.

This year's theme is "Unlock the Weird" and this book certainly does just that. From octupus wrestling to a 67 inch peacock made entirely out of neon drinking straws, this book has some very peculiar stories that will keep kids and adults turning the pages.

Like the other books in this annual series, Unlock the Weird begins by featuring a few pages about Robert Ripley. Ripley was initially known for his abilities as a cartoonist and as an amateur anthropologist; it was the combination of these two passions that led to the creation of his Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper and televison series that featured unusual facts about people, places, and things. In Unlock the Weird, the editors give us a peek at Ripley's Chinese junk, a ship named the "Mon Lei." Pictures and facts about the ship bring it to life that may just get kids to research the history of these interesting ships.

The "weird" facts, stories and photos are sectioned off into chapters that include Animals, Body, Pop Culture, Transport, Feats, Art, and Food. "Feats" was the one that grabbed me this year, with some very cool and fascinating factoids. You've no doubt heard about the "Scorpion King" but this book puts a whole new spin on the "Scorpion Queen"! Beyond the unusual, any reader of this book is guaranteed to learn many things. Did you know that an African Grey parrot was a "lead singer" for a death metal group? Have you ever wondered what happens to road markings if an intense heatwave should hit? There's an amazing photo of just that which will make you take a closer look. And talk about cool photos...the one of "Chameleon People" kept me staring at it for quite a while, trying to figure out where one person ended and the other began. Unlock The Weird is a fun and educational way to spend your time, whether you are an adult or child.

Quill says: Add Unlock The Weird! to your Ripley's collection. Another winner in the annual series that will keep you glued to the pages for hours.

#BookReview - In The Reins

In The Reins

By: Carly Kade
Publisher: Carly Kade Creative
Publication Date: December 2015
ISBN: 978-0996887908
Reviewed by: Ellen Feld
Review Date: August 1, 2016

While there is a treasure-trove of horse books for the teen audience, finding a good horse read for adults, where the horse action is realistic, the dialogue spot on and the romance is hot can be a difficult task. In The Reins was a book that satisfied all those requirements and was a good, all-around enjoyable read to boot.

Devon Brooke is a young woman who seems a bit lost. She's just broken up with her fiancé, a man she realized, almost at the last minute, she didn't truly love. She has also realized that city life is not for her and so she packs up her few belongings and hits the road. Devon doesn't know where she's going, but as she's driving, and thinking, she remembers how having a horse in her youth made her happy and fulfilled.

Devon heads south and eventually finds what she feels will be a good place to live. Along the way she finds a promising three-year-old mare, Faith, that she buys, and then starts the search for a boarding stable. She settles on Green Briar, a little piece of heaven owned by a sweet elderly woman by the name of Sophia Matilda Washington-Clark. While her name may imply a wealthy background (and it does), Sophia soon becomes one of Devon's closest friends and confidantes. Devon also meets JD at the farm, a ranch hand who is good looking and kind. While JD would be happy to start a romance with Devon, she thinks of him as a friend, not a romantic interest.

Devon and Faith quickly settle into life at Green Briar and all is going well until Devon meets McKennon Kelly, a part-owner of Green Briar. To say that McKennon is a hunk would be an understatement, but he's also mysterious and is a fantastic trainer too. McKennon has the ability to bring out the best in any horse, and while the last thing Devon wants is a relationship, the fact that McKennon might be able to help her with training Faith brings Devon to him. While Devon is drawn to McKennon, there's something in his background that is keeping him from sharing his own feelings, and keeps him running away, time after time. What is it and will it destroy any chance the two have at happiness?

Debut author Carly Kade has done a wonderful job of bringing the horse world to life in In The Reins. She aptly captures the essence of a training barn, with the highlights and frustrations of training a young horse. The descriptions of the beautiful fields, the smell of horses, and all that goes with life around the farm bring the story to life. Of course the relationship that develops between Devon and McKennon is the focal point of the story and the author developed this with believable dialogue and by incorporating the ups and downs that all relationships go through. There was always the mystery of McKennon's background and why he kept disappearing for weeks at a time to keep readers curious and turning the pages. In The Reins is a book that any adult horse lover is sure to enjoy.

Quill says: If you love horse stories and are looking for a book to draw you into its pages and not let go until that last page is read, check out In The Reins - you won't be disappointed.

#BookReview - Frankie Jones

Frankie Jones

By: J.R. Klein
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: June 2016
ISBN: 978-1532782462
Reviewed by: Anita Lock
Date: July 2016

J.R. Klein's thought-provoking debut zeroes in on a young man's search for happiness.

Frankie Jones is your atypical sort of guy. Frankie's life takes a drastic turn when by age nine he is sent to an orphanage soon after his mom's unforeseen death. Released from the orphanage by age sixteen, Frankie is fortunate to land a job in a diner, as well as meet Cecil, the diner's short-order cook. A deep relationship between Cecil and his wife Betty develops, and for the first time Frankie is certain that this is what family must feel like. Over the next many months, Frankie accrues enough cash to travel around the world. Leaving his cushioned environs, Frankie explores the seven continents for the next two years. By age eighteen, Frankie is already a well-rounded individual—having been shaped by street smarts, massive amounts of reading, learning a couple languages, as well as a multitude of worldly experiences. But upon his return to the states, Frankie learns that Cecil has died and his family, broken.

Restlessness seizes him and Frankie heads from Saint Louis to Chicago. Despite his lack of high school credentials, Frankie convinces a Northwestern University dean that he is college material. His journalism degree lands him a job at the Chicago Tribune. Restlessness seizes him again and Frankie makes his way to Boston working for the Boston Globe. It is there that he meets Mercedes Brewster, a woman whose background is diametrically opposed to Frankie's lackluster familial upbringing. Nonetheless, the two fall in love, but obviously not enough for Frankie to stay when restlessness creeps in once again and he heads off to San Diego—this time working for the San Diego Sun. Frankie develops a close relationship with Owen Brooks, one of his working buddies, and starts a new romance with another woman. Although there are memorable moments, Frankie can't help but reflect on his life, especially the unresolved conflict from the one true love of his life—Mercedes Brewster.

Klein presents a story that touches on many facets of the human condition. Keeping to a slow-moving pace, the overarching plot theme calls attention to a person's hopes and dreams for a better life and this constant yearning for greener grass. In the case of Klein's principle character, life hands Frankie a box of lemons. Yet somehow, someway Frankie manages to turn the bitter fruit into lemonade—at least it appears that way. Everything about Frankie's unfortunate familial beginnings statistically dictates that he should be poor, uneducated, and struggling to survive. Yet he defies that stereotype. What Frankie represents is the American poster child who believes that if he works hard enough, he will succeed—a common belief that is not only tightly woven into the concept of the American dream, but also inherent in every single person that calls the US their home.

There, however, is another side to Frankie, and yet another human issue that is difficult for people to face. Calling it the elephant in the room more specifically, this human condition fears the past laced with the ugliness of human error and a flurry of unresolved conflict. Those who choose to face these fears understand that going there creates peace, freedom, and ultimately a deep sense of happiness. Obviously, Frankie is not there and he gets challenged to do so in one form or another. Using Frankie as narrator, Klein's plot displays a man who does an immense amount of philosophizing, and rightfully so since Frankie is a relatively young man who still has many unanswered questions about life. Frankie is only one in a relatively small but highly defined cast. Klein sets his inimitable characters within a balanced mix of aptly clichéd and totally un-clichéd yet tense scenes that incorporates engaging dialogue sprinkled with romance—all of which slowly leads up to one surprise ending.

Quill says: A stunning debut, Frankie Jones is a must read by all.

Books In For Review

Check out the newest books to arrive for review!

Frankie Jones by J.R. Klein Frankie Jones is searching for something—something elusive. Abandoned as an infant by his father, orphaned after his mother died when he was a child, Frankie grows up tough, edgy, and street smart. The quintessential self-made man, he lives life to the fullest. Frankie becomes a journalist, hoping to be the next great American writer. While in Boston, he meets Mercedes Brewster. Refined, sophisticated, and from a prominent New England family, she is the complete opposite of Frankie. He can't help falling for her, but can he keep his wanderlust in check? Yet, it is the American Dream that Frankie seeks more than anything. Get the career. Get the success. And most importantly, get the girl. In California, Frankie becomes friends with Owen Brookes. Gutsy, brazen, and at times reckless, Owen is Frankie’s alter ego. It is Owen who challenges Frankie’s belief in the American Dream. Will either of them achieve what they want? What must they give up in pursuit? Some lessons you learn the hard way, but it is how you react in the face of adversity that ultimately matters. Frankie Jones is a rich tapestry of hope, love, friendship, and betrayal—a story of life itself.

The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver The Dead Tracks is the second in the David Raker series from Tim Weaver. A serial killer more terrifying than you could ever imagine...Seventeen-year-old Megan Carver was an unlikely runaway. A straight - a student from a happy home, she studied hard and rarely got into trouble. Six months on, she's never been found. Missing persons investigator David Raker knows what it's like to grieve. He knows the shadowy world of the lost too. So, when he's hired by Megan's parents to find out what happened, he recognizes their pain - but knows that the darkest secrets can be buried deep. And Megan's secrets could cost him his life. Because as Raker investigates her disappearance, he realizes everything is a lie. People close to her are dead. Others are too terrified to talk. And soon the conspiracy of silence leads Raker towards a forest on the edge of the city. A place with a horrifying history - which was once the hunting ground for a brutal, twisted serial killer. A place known as the Dead Tracks.

The Slow Waltz of Turtles by Katherine Pancol Fortysomething mother of two Joséphine Cortès is at a crossroads. She has just moved to a posh new apartment in Paris after the success of the historical novel she ghostwrote for her sister, Iris. Still struggling with her divorce--the result of her husband running off to Kenya to start a crocodile farm with his mistress--she is now entangled too in a messy lie orchestrated by her sister. And just when things seem they can't get any more complicated, people start turning up dead in her neighborhood. As Joséphine struggles to find her voice and her confidence amidst a messy web of relationships and a string of murders, she and those around her must learn to push on with determination, like headstrong little turtles learning to dance slowly in a world that's too violent and moving too fast.

Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard In his long-awaited memoir, Yvon Chouinard-legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, Inc.-shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth. From his youth as the son of a French Canadian blacksmith to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life-a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

Once We Were Sisters by Sheila Kohler When Sheila Kohler was thirty-seven, she received the heart-stopping news that her sister Maxine, only two years older, was killed when her husband drove them off a deserted road in Johannesburg. Stunned by the news, she immediately flew back to the country where she was born, determined to find answers and forced to reckon with his history of violence and the lingering effects of their most unusual childhood—one marked by death and the misguided love of their mother.

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park In In Order to Live, Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea—and to freedom.

Their Promised Land by Ian Buruma During the almost six years England was at war with Nazi Germany, Winifred and Bernard Schlesinger, Ian Buruma’s grandparents, and the film director John Schlesinger's parents, were, like so many others, thoroughly sundered from each other. Their only recourse was to write letters back and forth. And write they did, often every day. In a way they were just picking up where they left off in 1918, at the end of their first long separation because of the Great War that swept Bernard away to some of Europe’s bloodiest battlefields. The thousands of letters between them were part of an inheritance that ultimately came into the hands of their grandson, Ian Buruma. Now, in a labor of love that is also a powerful act of artistic creation, Ian Buruma has woven his own voice in with theirs to provide the context and counterpoint necessary to bring to life, not just a remarkable marriage, but a class, and an age.

Close Encounters of the Furred Kind by Tim Cox Close Encounters of the Furred Kind begins with a long, emotional goodbye to Norfolk, and continues with another amazing new lease on life for The Bear, the Benjamin Button of the cat world, among the bluebells and verdant hedgerows of Devon. Readers who became attached to The Bear's magical, owlish persona during his previous adventures will become more so here as he proves, once again, that he's a cat with endless secrets and significantly more than nine lives.

#BookReview - Palimpsest

Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word

By: Matthew Battles
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Publication Date: July 2016
ISBN: 978-0-393-35292-4
Reviewed by: Janice Ladendorf
Review Date: July 29, 2016

This book is a collection of literary essays on the written word. While it does not provide a complete or chronological history of this subject, the author has some brilliant insights in the evolution of writing. The essays are tied together by two themes. One is the author's interest in the mechanics and potential of writing. The second is the author's use of palimpsest as a metaphor used to explain the evolution of writing and link it to the function of the human brain.

A palimpsest is a writing surface used and re-used over a long period of time. Whether the original text is effaced or partially erased, traces of it can still be seen. Early parchment was made out of animal skins and it could be washed and reused, but the original text could not be completely removed. These skins were the first palimpsests.

Art had to come before writing and real animals are painted on the walls in Paleolithic cave art. The author classifies these paintings as natural, enigmas, or casual. He suggests the natural ones were drawn by hunters who had to know their prey really well and the casual ones by adolescent boys bragging to each other. One of the enigmas is shown and is defined as a palimpsest with bison, boar, and horse superimposed.

Pictograms and ideograms came after pictures. They are symbolic representations of real objects or activities. Each one carries meaning both individually or in combination. They are the basis for cuneiform. In Mesopotamia this form of writing was first used for counting herds of animals, but it soon became a tool used by the powerful to proclaim their laws, judgments, and successes. Our modern alphabet is a step beyond this stage. Instead of hundreds or thousands of conventional symbols, it utilizes twenty four letters which become meaningful only as they are combined.
Pictograms and ideograms were also the basis for Chinese writing. For thousands of years, this system was used extensively by the government bureaucrats to keep required records. To the elite, calligraphy became an art form. The structure of this system emphasized inter relationships, rather than causal ones. In the nineteenth century, this structure interested various Americans, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ezra Pound was the first to apply it to poetry. To increase literacy, the Communist government has simplified this form of writing, but they kept its essential structure.

In the medieval world, literacy tended to be limited to religious institutions and scribes produced many beautiful works of art. Printing created a revolution in the use of the written world. It greatly reduced copying errors, encouraged the spread of literacy, and introduced upper case letters. One illustration in the text shows two pages, one from a medieval manuscript and one from Gutenberg's printing press. Although the letter forms differ, the layout and decoration are similar.

Computers caused the next revolution because their capabilities reduced the time required for the formerly tedious task of producing and printing written materials. Computers can only understand command codes. Several pages of such a code are printed in the text. What they contain is a mixture of words and special symbols. The symbols function as abbreviated instructions.

The subtitle of this book is somewhat misleading. There are many books available on the history of writing, but this is not one of them. What it does contain is literary essays which attempt to go beyond simple history. As the title suggests, they show how every innovation in the art of writing stands on what has gone before and traces of earlier stages are always present in later ones. The human brain also learns in stages and the earliest ones can never be completely overwritten.

Quill says: Palimpsest does include some interesting information, but it is buried in text which is not an easy read. The writing style suggests it is best suited to a literary or academic audience.

Interview with Author Stacy Harshman @stacyharshman

Today, Feathered Quill reviewer Anita Lock is talking with Stacy Harshman, author of Crowning Glory: An Experiment in Self-Discovery Through Disguise

FQ: It is remarkable with your various insecurities at the time and therapy sessions getting nowhere that in a moment of desperation a long flowing red wig catapults your life in a different direction. What type of budget did you keep to pay for your experiment expenses and hired helper considering that you were not working back then?

HARSHMAN: Well, luckily, I had generous dividends from stock in companies my family had founded. My Dad helped me manage my money, but I remember thinking, “I’m not going to ask, he’ll say no and this project is too important for me.” So, I just went and used my credit card. Bonnie and I fretted, occasionally, about how much we were spending. But we said, “well, it’s in the name of social science and it’s cheaper than a mental ward!” ... and hoped it would all be ok. Luckily it was. My parents realized how important having this structure and project was for me, no matter how weird it was.

FQ: You share about your 1999/2000 psychotic break, eventual hospitalization, and hellish Chicago experience as you gained seventy pounds—a result of side effects from prescribed medication. What did you do to lose the accumulated weight gain and return to your normal size?

Author Stacy Harshen

HARSHMAN: I exercised, exercised and exercised! I also moved from Chicago and went to a language immersion program in Quebec City for the summer. I knew I had to make a radical change and be around people. There, I played soccer, went on kayak trips, jogged, and lived with a host family. The man was an amazing chef, so I ate well and healthy. It took me about three months after I left Chicago to feel somewhat attractive and healthy again. It took me about a year to lose the weight.

FQ: Just prior to your wig investments, you share your frustration with the ineffectiveness of your therapeutic sessions, even though your therapist rightly stated, "You're doing this because you need to learn something about yourself." What words of wisdom do you have for your audience, particularly those suffering from mental illness in one form or other and who are frustrated with their therapy?

HARSHMAN: I think therapy is important. I think it is very important to find someone who gets you and has a modality/way of working that is effective and safe for you. But it’s also hard to find someone or even get yourself organized enough to go to a session when you are depressed or in the middle of a manic episode.

I actually found my first therapist in New York City because the name of her therapy practice was very similar to my last name. I was manic and saw that as a “sign” and that she would save me. I can’t say that’s the best way to pick a therapist, but it gave me a place to start.

I’ve tried different therapists and different types of therapy. It can be extremely frustrating. I believe some of the therapy I’ve received actually worsened my condition. For example, my Jungian therapist invited all the voices I was hearing to come into the session with me and give them a platform. There could be a lot of value in that, but it wasn’t wise for me at the time.

Now, I’m with a therapist who specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). It is very skills based, focuses on keeping you in the moment, and gives you tools to deal compassionately with your mind and emotions.

I would also suggest to bring in a trusted friend or family member to help make the therapist decision with you.

FQ: As you came to love and accept yourself, what became of your depression, hallucinations, and panic attacks?

HARSHMAN: After I completed the experiment, I started to write the book with my assistant, Bonnie, who was my spy during the entire experiment. I had gotten so close with her during the experiment so by the time it was over I didn’t want to loose our bond and her company. She was an experienced writer and agreed to help me write the book. We worked together for many years. She was my coach, friend, and cheerleader… or as she put it, “occasional crazysitter.”

Writing the book together was kind of like another experiment. We worked every weekday together, writing at different coffee shops and any other interesting place we could find in the city where we could write. Our friendship and adventures grew.

Her friendship and the work we did together really steadied me. Having her company, help and friendship and creating/producing my writing was a base which allowed me to maintain and grow my other relationships, including the one with myself. I was so much happier and had so much more confidence. I dated but I didn’t have a boyfriend, instead I had a close group of friends that meant the world to me.

I didn’t cycle back into depression/mania, hallucinate or have panic attacks (anxiety, sure, but not crippling) during all of those years – I’d say six or seven in a row. I did have some blips on the map after that. One day, my mind just opened up, back into a psychotic place, very similar to one I had been writing about from my past. I became manic and had a mini psychotic episode. Then the anxiety/panic and depression came back full force. I had to wrestle with that, but Bonnie and I kept going through it all. She stuck by me and so did my friends and family. And I got back on track.

FQ: After the experiment did you continue with therapy and medication, or were you able to find other ways to create balance for yourself, such as through diet, exercise, the creative arts, and working with people?

HARSHMAN: I still have a therapist. I find having one necessary and helpful for me. Team-Stacy needs a support crew!

I have tried to go without medication and find my health and well-being through the creative arts, shamanism, meditation, yoga, Tantra, reiki, massage, past life therapy, and so many other modalities, including working with exorcists and energies from other planets and life-forms, but I always end up in trouble – very manic, very psychotic or very depressed. I don’t like labels and I wish I didn’t have to take medication, but I’ve learned my lesson, many times. I’ve accepted it.

I also want to help with the stigma, that I perceive, especially in spiritual circles, that if you are taking medication means that somehow you are not whole or spiritual enough or you are not meditating enough or yoga-ing enough or whatever enough. It’s just not true. I don’t think most of the spiritual or new age leaders that insist that one must be “happy” and chemically “pure” to be spiritual or enlightened know anything firsthand about depression or psychosis. I think those messages can be aggressive and hurtful and don’t reflect the true human experience that includes the full range of emotions.

FQ: At what point did your creative life begin to unfold—being an artist and launching Andarina Designs?

HARSHMAN: When Bonnie and I were trying to find an agent for the book, I bought an antique rug, on Ebay, of course. It didn’t work for my house, but it was really beautiful, so I re-sold it on Craigslist for more than I paid. That started my antique tribal rug business. It was so much fun for me. My customers loved it, and so did I. Having all that history and handmade beauty in my house made me happy. I felt like I was a rug match-maker.

One day, when I was in antique stores looking for rugs, I saw some vintage glass swizzle sticks, the kind you use in cocktails. The light was shining through them, and I thought, I want to make lighting out of these! And my lighting company was born. I tinkered around myself, coming up with all kinds of lighting ideas, learned how to work with glass and then brought in some professionals to help make my creations safe and workable! Bonnie worked with me on this project as well.

I called the company, “Andarina Designs” which means “little walker” in Spanish. I like the idea of honoring the child-like spirit that walks within me and sees beauty, gets excited and sparks all these ideas.

The book was kind of simmering in the background while we kept sending out queires to agents.

FQ: On your website, www.stacyharshman.com, you state, "Stacy is inspired by women all over the world, working in community partnerships to produce beautiful and sustainable work." Give examples of your community partnerships with women.

The author's featured collage painting from her
 "Hope. Power. Play." art show

HARSHMAN: I started interning with a female Shaman who worked with women (and men) around sex, sensuality and healing. I was introduced to and helped with women’s healing circles, sensual shamanic immersions and initiations. All of your senses are enlisted in this work and creativity is manifest everywhere. I began to open more to other women and their friendship and became more at home in my body and sexuality. My home was at the center of many of these gatherings.
This work inspired me to create a monthly Art Salon series at my home which provided a safe, fun and supportive space for women and men to share their creativity. The Salons have been running for over five years. Many collaborations and creations have come from them.

Another example, which was a very powerful experience for me was working with art, handi-crafts, hand made papers, jewelry and other products made by women all over the world in sustainable collectives. These collectives have the mission to give women meaningful work, employing their skills and artistry, generating income and thus empowering the women to be more independent.

I worked with an Eco - Sustainable goods store in my neighborhood and bought these beautiful, artisanal items. I took them home and made collages with them. What happened surprised me. Each piece of art, whether it be a ring or a paper elephant, spoke to me. I could feel the energy of the collective in the material, the textures and the colors. I began to have a conversation with the materials. The women became alive and “we” created the pieces together. It was an on-going dialogue, actual voices alive in my head, telling me stories and where they thought each piece belonged in the whole. When I was debating if a piece was done or not, one voice would always say, “Well, does it speak? If it does, it is done. If it doesn’t, it is not done.”

Then, once I had a collection of these “community collages,” I displayed them at the Eco Store. My first show was titled, “Hope. Power. Play.” I explained my unusual collective process as well. The collages were beautiful, they inspired people and found new homes.

FQ: Do you foresee yourself starting any new writing projects, and if so what are you envisioning?

HARSHMAN: I feel the writing urge coming back to me, which feels amazing. I’ve been focusing on painting, which I love, but writing is deeply satisfying, as well. It also soothes my brain. What inspires me right now is connection...finding unusual ways that we can connect with and help each other. For example, I’m thinking about doing an essay on my experience posting an ad on Craigslist for a Friends With Benefits. Of course, there were the standard disgusting replies, but there was also something deeper and sweeter in the desire for connection that came through. There’s a certain tenderness and vulnerability in there that I can’t find words for, yet, but I feel it.

I’m also thinking about making a creativity journal to go along with my book Crowning Glory!

To learn more about Crowning Glory: An Experiment in Self-Discovery Through Disguise please read the review at: Feathered Quill Book Reviews.

Books in for Review

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Double Talk: A Warren Kingsley Mystery by Sherban Young Warren Kingsley has retired from bodyguarding. (Or maybe he hasn't.) Leaving his violent past behind--or not--he enters the dog-eat-dog world of politics. (Or perhaps he doesn't.) One thing we can say for certain: the Warren we know and love is back and ready for anything. (Or as ready as he'll ever be.)

The Last Treasure by Erika Marks As students with a shared passion for shipwrecks, Liv, Sam, and Whit formed a close bond searching for the mysterious Patriot, a schooner that disappeared off the Carolina Coast in 1812 with Aaron Burr’s daughter Theodosia aboard. But as the elusive ship drew them together, love would bring them even closer—and ultimately tear them apart. It’s been nine years since Liv left Sam to be with Whit, and the once close-knit triowent their separate ways. Liv has given up her obsession with Theodosia Burr to focus on her career as a salvage diver and her passionate but troubled marriage to the reckless and hedonistic Whit. But when a diary of Theodosia’s is discovered in a collector’s estate, she is pulled back to the world of the Patriot, this time with startling new clues to what might have really happened. Diving back into the lost history of the Patriot could be just what Liv needs to find closure to a mystery that still haunts her. But when she and Whit reunite with Sam for one last salvage in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, buried romantic tensions begin to resurface, and once again Liv must choose between two men with very different hearts.

The Angels' Share by J.R. Ward In Charlemont, Kentucky, the Bradford family is the crème de la crème of high society—just like their exclusive brand of bourbon. And their complicated lives and vast estate are run by a discrete staff who inevitably become embroiled in their affairs. This is especially true now, when the apparent suicide of the family patriarch is starting to look more and more like murder...No one is above suspicion—especially the eldest Bradford son, Edward. The bad blood between him and his father is known far and wide, and he is aware that he could be named a suspect. As the investigation into the death intensifies, he keeps himself busy at the bottom of a bottle—as well as with his former horse trainer’s daughter. Meanwhile, the family’s financial future lies in the perfectly manicured hands of a business rival, a woman who wants Edward all to herself. Everything has consequences; everybody has secrets. And few can be trusted. Then, at the very brink of the family’s demise, someone thought lost to them forever returns to the fold. Maxwell Bradford has come home. But is he a savior...or the worst of all the sinners?

Write to Die by Charles Rosenberg Hollywood’s latest blockbuster is all set to premiere—until a faded superstar claims the script was stolen from her. To defend the studio, in steps the Harold Firm, one of Los Angeles’s top entertainment litigation firms and as much a part of the glamorous scene as the studios themselves. As a newly minted partner, it’s Rory Calburton’s case, and his career, to win or lose. But the seemingly tame civil trial turns lethal when Rory stumbles upon the strangled body of his client’s general counsel. And the ties that bind in Hollywood constrict even tighter when the founder of the Harold Firm is implicated in the murder. Rory is certain the plagiarism and murder cases are somehow connected, and with the help of new associate Sarah Gold—who’s just finished clerking for the chief justice—he’s determined to get answers. Will finding out who really wrote the script lead them to the mastermind of the real-life murder?

Ripley's Believe It or Not: Unlock the Weird Ripley’s Believe It or Not!® Unlock the Weird! 2017 is bursting with 100% ALL NEW facts, features, and photos from around the world—all verified to be 100% TRUE! From weird feats to bizarre food, strange animals, and more, this brand-new collection of Ripley’s stories and photos includes exclusive features not found anywhere else. Filled with thousands of unbelievably strange oddities to discover, children and adults alike will find a new favorite on every page.All true, 100% ALL NEW, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!® Unlock the Weird! 2017 will amaze and astound readers from the first to the last page. Hair-raising photographs, incredible stories, and the mind-blowing facts Ripley’s is famous for promise hours of entertainment for every Ripley fan! With thousands of stories—including submissions from readers around the world—you’ll discover something new each time you read it!

Shut Up and Do the Work by Stephanie Sinclair Shut Up and Do the Work is the ultimate guide for experienced entrepreneurs, new entrepreneurs and those with dreams and ambitions of entrepreneurship, who know without a doubt that they were born to do more, be more and have more, yet they can't seem to grab it. In this book, entrepreneur, business coach and speaker, Stephanie Synclair shares: • The secret formula that she, her clients and other self made millionaires have used to create massive success. • The steps to getting "unstuck" • The reasons why the "hustle" mentality alone does not work and what it should be combined with to see the results you desire. • Why regardless of how you were raised, your environment or current circumstances, you too, can create wealth And this is just the tip of the iceberg of what you will learn inside of Shut up and do the work. It is a transformational gift that will leave you transformed.

Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word by Matthew Battles Why does writing exist? What does it mean to those who write? Born from the interplay of natural and cultural history, the seemingly magical act of writing has continually expanded our consciousness. Portrayed in mythology as either a gift from heroes or a curse from the gods, it has been used as both an instrument of power and a channel of the divine; a means of social bonding and of individual self-definition. Now, as the revolution once wrought by the printed word gives way to the digital age, many fear that the art of writing, and the nuanced thinking nurtured by writing, are under threat. But writing itself, despite striving for permanence, is always in the midst of growth and transfiguration. Celebrating the impulse to record, invent, and make one's mark, Matthew Battles reenchants the written word for all those susceptible to the power and beauty of writing in all of its forms.

The Velvet Hours by Alyson Richman An elusive courtesan, Marthe de Florian cultivated a life of art and beauty, casting out all recollections of her impoverished childhood in the dark alleys of Montmartre. With Europe on the brink of war, she shares her story with her granddaughter Solange Beaugiron, using her prized possessions to reveal her innermost secrets. Most striking of all are a beautiful string of pearls and a magnificent portrait of Marthe painted by the Italian artist Giovanni Boldini. As Marthe’s tale unfolds, like velvet itself, stitched with its own shadow and light, it helps to guide Solange on her own path. Inspired by the true account of an abandoned Parisian apartment, Alyson Richman brings to life Solange, the young woman forced to leave her fabled grandmother’s legacy behind to save all that she loved.

Letters from Paris by Juliet Blackwell After surviving the accident that took her mother’s life, Claire Broussard has worked hard to escape her small Louisiana hometown. But these days she feels something is lacking. Abruptly leaving her lucrative job in Chicago, Claire returns home to care for her ailing grandmother. There, she unearths a beautiful piece of artwork that her great-grandfather sent home from Paris after World War II. At her grandmother’s urging, Claire travels to Paris to track down the century-old mask-making atelier where the object, known only as “L’Inconnue”—or The Unknown Woman—was created. Under the watchful eye of a surly mask-maker, Claire discovers a cache of letters that offers insight into the life of the Belle Epoque woman immortalized in the work of art. As Claire explores the unknown woman’s tragic fate, she begins to unravel deeply buried secrets in her own life.