Book Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Books

The Undiscovered CountryThe Undiscovered Country
by Mike Nemeth

Take a man who has just gotten out of prison, serving time for a crime he did not commit, and present him with life and death decisions for his ailing mother who arguably has not been getting the best of care. Throw in his estranged brother and sister who have disturbing secrets, and a hospital more interested in protecting its reputation than providing care. What do you have? Randle Marks  determined to preserve his mother’s dignity and save her life – perhaps at the expense of her wellbeing – and determined to find out why his deceased father hated him.

Randle Marks is a man with a lot of baggage.

It doesn’t help that Elaine Marks has kept a lot from him, yet insists she has taken care of everything. Randle doesn’t trust what she says. After all, she’s been having conversations with Jesus, who has let her know He is coming for her. She even knows the day.

At times, Marks comes across as somewhat self-serving in the decisions he makes. Through everything he remains focused on abiding by his mother’s wishes after she passes.

The tension builds as he investigates the hospital, questions the care his mother gets when she is transferred to a rehabilitation center, and discovers all the ways she has been taken advantage of by his siblings and the health care system. And then there are all the things she keeps to herself.

I like the way Nemeth shows Randle navigating the unfamiliar territory of broken family relationships and the undiscovered country of health care in the modern age. He has a lot more going on than his mother’s situation, but I’ll leave that for the reader to discover.

Nemeth is a retired businessman living in suburban Atlanta with his wife, Angie and their rescue dog, Sophie. He said in his Amazon profile, “I’m a football fan and a golfer. Now my job is to write domestic thrillers that are candy-coated medicine for our social ills.” He is the author of Defiled, which introduces readers to Randle Marks, a rebellious scientist who runs afoul of blind Lady Justice.

My rating: Thumbs up

Please Follow, Like, Comment and Share this post. Your feedback is important. Thanks for reading One Roof Publishing, sharon@oneroofpublish.com.

In all times

Posted in essay, Inspiration

pexels-photo-236164.jpegCan all your worries add a single moment to your life? Matthew 6:27 NIV

Jesus wept, but he laughed, too. He went to parties. Visited with family. Saw the humor in the mundane. Welcomed friends. Understood the value of storytelling as an art form. Engaged his audience. Jesus’ life was filled with people of all kinds. Was he a worrier? I  think not. What did he say about the birds of the air and flowers of the fields? (Matthew 2:26) Faith is a builder; worry is a destroyer. Have faith.

 

Secrets

Posted in Books1 Comment

Secrets

Giving, loving, laughter
flip like a tarnished token
when resentment and
shattered trust are awoken.

Secrets of silence,
of words not spoken,
lie in veiled whispers,
promises broken.

Choose, you ask, hungering for
words best not spoken.
Have you someone new?
Am I a mere thought, a forgotten token?

This secret passion for truth
in your breast now awoken?
Too late, too late!
The present is withering; it’s broken.

Please Follow, Like, Comment and Share this post. Your feedback is important. Thanks for reading One Roof Publishing. Contact Sharon by e-mail at sharon@oneroofpublish.com.

 

 

 

 

 

School for Psychics

Posted in Book Reviews

School for PsychicsI enjoyed School for Psychics, by K.C. Archer. It moves right along and has an intriguing premise.

Having said that, despite references to the ages of the characters as being twenty-somethings, it reads more like the adventures of middle grade teens. Yes, one character is a former policeman. Yes, Teddy Cannon, the main character, has a gambling addiction and been banned from Las Vegas casinos. Nevertheless, I couldn’t get past the idea these adults behaved more like teenagers.

And then I got it. What made them unique, also set them apart. These men and women never quite fit in. Acting out or pulling in were coping mechanisms as they grew up, which perhaps inhibited bonding with others or stifled social development.

The School for Psychics is a chance to fit in, to be among peers, to learn how to trust. Easier said than done. Most of the first-year candidates for the school have been in denial or clueless about their gifts. Some consider their talents a curse. How will each student navigate learning to use skills previously ignored or hidden? Can they let go of fear and suspicion and learn to trust instructors and other students?

Successful students who graduate, will become agents in a special department of the government. But there is a problem. Someone else is out there, a group with a different agenda, and they want to recruit the School for Psychics’ best students.

This is the first book in a series that promises lots of action, perhaps a little romance, and an exploration of what it means to be caught between a rock and hard place. Teddy’s going to find out.

My rating: Thumbs up

About the Book:
Series: School for Psychics (Book 1)
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 3, 2018)
Language: English

Please Follow, Like, Comment and Share this post. Your feedback is important. Thanks for reading One Roof Publishing. Contact Sharon by e-mail at sharon@oneroofpublish.com.

 

 

 

 

SPRING

Posted in Books

Tulip

Sweet is the touch of spring,
Pleasant, arriving cool and green,
Redolent with aromas of turned dirt,
Invading senses, bringing smiles.
New growth, blue skies, longer days,
Gentle breezes softly sigh.

Stirring memory of times gone by,
Purest recall of other moments
Running free, laughing loud,
Infecting life with the virus of joy,
Never aware this interlude,
Good as it is, will soon be gone.

Silence now is precious.
Peace, quiet, broken by bird song
Ringing bell-like across the glade.
I am content in this time of life
Needing only to know I am loved,
Granting me wings and wisdom.

Please Follow, Like, Comment and Share this post. Your feedback is important. Thanks for reading One Roof Publishing. Contact Sharon by e-mail at sharon@oneroofpublish.com.

Easter Sunday

Posted in essay, Inspiration

Easter Morning

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5 (NIV)

We have a long way to go if we want to “prove” God loves us. There is no formula for belief. It is based on trust and faith. It is understanding the Cross was not the easy way; it was the only way. It got the attention of early believers, and continues to do so. Our minister pointed out in a recent sermon that we learn from the painful Holy Week journey of Christ. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done,” he prayed (Luke 22:42 NIV). Jesus knew what he was getting into, but he did it anyway. For me. For you. This is not a message meant to bring us down, but to remind us that sometimes what we want most in life lies on the other side of pain, of discipline, of doing the hard thing. Resurrection Day is joy-filled and cause for celebration, but don’t forget what it took to get there. Love beyond reason, faith beyond fact. God never said, “Believe in me and everything in your life will be perfect.” He did say, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV).

I am a seeker, not a saint; a believer not a proselytizer. Your thoughtful comments are welcome.

Works in progress

Posted in fiction, Short Fiction

The writer

Caro Miller didn’t want anyone to question her mental health, which her mother would, if she learned her independent, successful daughter had spent the last two years with an anti-establishment, passive-aggressive creative writer, a never-published author whose piles of drivel crowded shelves, drawers and several boxes. He printed everything out, but never threw anything away.

Did she keep him around because she was afraid of being lonely, of not being loved? This thing with Wick Parker was not love. A man who loved a woman didn’t use her, tell her lies. Didn’t bring “assistants” in to type his precious works in progress. “Word processors,” Wick said. “Frees up my thinking, makes my writing more spontaneous.”

Caro had believed him, until now.

What got her attention was the skimpy panties she found under the sofa. Wick’s bizarre explanation? “Caro, love, I had to run out to the store. Maybe something weird happened when I was out.”

“Like what, Wick, some stranger came in and banged your assistant while you were gone?”

The expression of hurt on his face almost got to her. “Don’t you trust me?”

His cajoling whine was too much. Suddenly she was so angry she could hardly speak. How in hell had she allowed a culture of deceit to thrive in her home? The bitter taste of regret sickened her.

Wick, clueless as usual, went down to the pool.

Caro pulled a drawer out of the dresser. She staggered under its weight as she headed to the balcony overlooking the pool, four stories below. Wick was flirting with some girl. A light wind sent the papers she tossed over the side into a swirling spiral. The pages wafted down like leaves, falling off trees. Caro went back to get another drawer, this one full of Wick’s clothes.

This is a writing exercise from Crafty Writer in which you create a 16-line poem and a 300-word short story about something unusual seen or heard during the course of a day using 20 words based on what you heard or saw. A friend said he’d come across a link where you could see photos of people shopping in Walmart stores. It was a test of my mettle to get through the assignment (you can read the poem here). What do you think? The 20 words are: bizzare, expression, weird, mental, health, taste, mind, creative, speak, aggressive, passive, man, woman, attention, lonely, afraid, anti-establishment, angry, clueless and culture.

Review: Gate 76

Posted in Books

Gate 76Gate 76, by Andrew Diamond, is about loss and redemption. The characters are stark, and for the most part – it seems – soulless. But are they? Gate 76 explores the dark side of life with a man who finds no good in the world. He’s seen it all. Lived it all, and he is not impressed. Well-meaning do-gooders who don’t have a clue, really push his hot button.

He most certainly doesn’t see his own goodness, the spark of caring that sets him apart from his brutal upbringing. Ex-boxer Freddy Ferguson has been betrayed too many times by people who should have been looking out for him.

And then he sees a woman in line at an airport, ready to board a plane. She appears to be under duress. He keeps watching. Something isn’t right. It’s her eyes, maybe, wide with fear, yet determined. She’s terrified, he can sense it.

That’s the beginning of a heart-pumping tale involving the bombing of an airplane, political corruption, prostitution, drugs and dirty lawmen.

In his role as a PI, Freddy is tasked with sorting through the passenger list of the downed plane, looking for clues, but he can’t get the woman out of his mind. She wasn’t on the plane that exploded, he knows that, but where did she go? Why was she afraid? Freddy doesn’t believe in much of anything not even justice. He does believe in following his instincts and doing the right thing, even when it may lead to his destruction.

Andrew Diamond’s novel Impala won the 24th Annual Writer’s Digest Award for genre fiction and the Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for mystery. Amazon.com editors picked it as a best mystery/thriller of the month upon its release in September, 2016, and IndieReader chose it as one of the best indie novels of the year.

About the book
Title: Gate 76
Author: Andrew Diamond
Publisher: Stolen Time Press
Release Date: June 1, 2018
Language: English

My rating: Thumbs Up x 4

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Holy week prayer

Posted in essay

pexels-photo-208315.jpegCome, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Psalm 95:6

Great God of all, the beginning and the infinite, you who sent yourself into the world as a wee babe who grew up and traveled the world as a man, misunderstood by many, feared by the establishment, teacher of astounding wisdom, and bearer of transgressions and sins, we worship you and give you thanks. Holy week is lost in the secular whirlwind of the Easter bunny and chocolate, marshmallow treats, giant Easter baskets, and pretty dresses. The reality of Holy week is bleak and grim. When we stand at the foot of the cross and look up, we cannot comprehend the depth of Your suffering on our behalf. We simply cannot. We do know the cross was not the end of hope; it was the beginning of redemption. Only by the resurrection can we see how amazing you are, your grace washing out from that cruel cross and lifting all on the sea of your love. It is through that grace we can understand just a fraction of why you took this path. Just a fraction. And it is enough. Up from the grave he arose, a mighty triumph o’er his foes. (Robert Lowry, Christ Arose).

5 Awesome Reasons to try Sparkpeople.com

Posted in Health

belly-body-clothes-diet-53528.jpegWhat is Sparkpeople.com? It’s not just another weight loss program; it’s a FREE weight loss program that emphasizes healthy lifestyle, above all else. It has fitness tools, nutrition and fitness tracking, support through online resources, and a broad array of fitness videos with instructions on how to safely do the exercises in your home.

The site’s promo copy points out countless activities you can do to get healthy and reach your goals. Among those activities are:

  • Lose weight
  • Live a healthy lifestyle even if you don’t want to lose weight
  • Guides to nutrition, fitness, and motivation
  • Health and wellness information about conditions, treatments, and health news
  • SparkPeople experts
  • Recipes

Awesome Reason #1: It’s FREE: This is not a hook to get you started on a 10-day free trial with a fee kicking in after that. It is 100 percent FREE. Every resource is available to anyone who signs up. That isn’t to say there aren’t items available for sale, including a fee for direct coaching if you think you need it. You aren’t required to buy anything, however. Sign on and have immediate access to tools you can use.

Awesome Reason #2: You have access to SparkPeople newsletters with links to helpful articles. Do you want to know more about living a healthy lifestyle, weight loss, exercise, diabetes, high blood pressure, allergies, and other wellness concerns? SparkPeople will have articles to answer your questions.

Awesome Reason #3: Goal setting. You can’t know where you’ve been until you know where you are going. How many times have you said, “I’m going to lose 25 pounds by my cousin’s wedding, or my class reunion (or whatever special date or time is out there).” That kind of thinking leads to yo-yo dieting. SparkPeople’s strategy is to spark participants to embed lifelong changes designed to ensure good health. By setting realistic goals. Set yourself up for success.

Awesome Reason #4: How many times have you read that keeping a “food journal” or an “exercise journal” is crucial to weight loss success? Have you tried that? Writing down every single thing you eat throughout the day? Writing down your physical activity? I’ve tried. I just can’t do it. SparkPeople has trackers. All you need do is search for a food or activity, select the measure and add it to your tracker. Not everything is there, so you may need to add something now and then, but it is, for the most part, easy to do. (I say “for the most part,” because there is a learning curve, but you can do it.)

Awesome Reason #5: This site has terrific articles and videos about health related subjects. And I cannot overstate this – it is all FREE. Select from nutrition, fitness, motivation, health and wellness, weight loss, instant motivation, Spark recipes, and more. You will find multiple articles on the subjects of interest to you.

There is more to the site. Explore. See if it will work for you.

One thing I don’t like about the site is the very reason it is free; it is loaded with ads, and the pop-ups are annoying. But I reiterate the site is free to you. SparkPeople developers learned early on that if you have a good idea you can make “passive” money by offering something everyone wants, and then charging advertisers to offset the cost of delivering that content to readers.

SparkPeople hit the mother lode. It gets more than 100 million page views a month and has more than 15 million registered users. That’s a lot of potential buyers for advertisers. The ads are sometimes annoying, but not to the point of detracting from the mission of SparkPeople.com: to provide tools for a healthy lifestyle, a service people want and are in need of… and it is FREE to the consumer. You can’t beat that.

You have the option of upgrading to premium ($4.99 a month), to avoid ads and receive additional benefits.

Note: I am not compensated in any way by SparkPeople.