BOOK OF THE MONTH
Books are selected every two months. ____________________________________________  Linda Alexander's "UNTIL NEXT TIME"  Second in the Corbett Trilogy: FBI Agent Donald Corbbitt, respected by his peers for his uncanny ability to take timely action, responds to a series of terrorist attacks. With only an hour remaining, the U.S. government learns of a nuclear threat planned for the Fourth of July. Corbbitt's ingenuity saves millions of people and widespread destruction. The President retaliates with military action against state-sponsored terrorism and world-shaking policy reforms. The Bureau pulls Corbbitt and his fiancée, Jocelyn Hafner, from vacation to investigate a Presidential assassination attempt. Corbbitt learns that the country faces an ultra-stealth weapons system that penetrates all security barriers. Subsequent attacks on helpless military and civilian installations instill fear across the country as powerless citizens sense that there is no escape from the infusion of evil that demonstrates its ability to strike anywhere at anytime. Political pressure increases and Corbbitt races against time when he discovers hundreds may die in the next attack. NOVEMBER  "CROSSHAIRS" by Russ Heitz Life in Klinkton County -- a large, mountainous and sparsely populated area of north-central Pennsylvania -- has always revolved around deer hunting, trout fishing, four-wheel-drive pickups, and the Grizzly Snowmobile factory. It is a place where scope-mounted hunting rifles are as plentiful as trees, and shooting accidents are as common as rattlesnakes. But this year, something new has been added -- Klinkton County’s first serial killer. Some of the victims include a kerosene route salesman from Allentown, a political organizer from Philadelphia, and a local arts and crafts worker. The person who must stop this killer is newly-elected Sheriff Jesse Eichenlaub. In addition to his own secret demons from the past, however, Jesse already has three strikes against him. He doesn’t like guns. He has no law enforcement experience at all. And the man he defeated in the election is now his boss. The central questions that Sheriff Jesse immediately faces are -- who is the shooter? What connects the victims? And how will he cope with the expanding chaos that suddenly surrounds him. OCTOBER 
"HAVANA CONFIDENTIAL" by David Pereda Suspense, romance and political intrigue drive this action-packed story. Caught in an incredible conspiracy while on a visit to Cuba, Dr. Raymond Peters must perform plastic surgery on Fidel Castro and his childhood friend, Pepe Orozco. Then the esteemed Miami surgeon must switch the Cuban dictator and his friend's respective identities and escape before he loses his life. No BOMs were selected for July, August, and September. ____________________________________________ JUNE 
"SEX, LIES AND COSMETIC SURGERY" by Lois W. Stern A wonderful blending of memoir, journalism and research, it's all about women's hidden motivations and secret expectations, post-surgery sexuality, amorous feelings toward their plastic surgeons, ambivalences, misperceptions and more. But most importantly, it's about how Cosmetic Surgery impacts women's lives. "Lois Stern breaks new ground with her must read, impressively honest treatment of the relationship between cosmetic surgery and sexuality. Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery belongs in the waiting room of every plastic surgeon's office, readily available to any woman considering plastic surgery." MAY 
"INFUSION OF EVIL" by David S. Rosenberg FBI Agent Donald Corbbitt, respected by his peers for his uncanny ability to take timely action, responds to a series of terrorist attacks. With only an hour remaining, the U.S. government learns of a nuclear threat planned for the Fourth of July. Corbbitt’s ingenuity saves millions of people and prevents widespread destruction. The President retaliates with military action against state-sponsored terrorism and world-shaking policy reforms. Then the Bureau pulls Corbbitt and his fiancée, Jocelyn Hafner, from a much-needed vacation to investigate a presidential assassination attempt. Corbbitt learns that the country faces an ultra-stealth weapons system that easily penetrates security barriers. Subsequent attacks on helpless military and civilian installations instill fear across the country as powerless citizens sense that there is no escape from the infusion of evil that demonstrates its ability to strike anywhere at anytime. Political pressure increases and Corbbitt races against time when he discovers hundreds may die in the next attack. www.drosenbergsbooks.com ____________________________________________ 
"ADAM'S RIB" by Cyndia Depre Attorney Jack Lindsey has mixed feelings about Carlisle, Illinois', newest resident. When he discovers Amanda was recently acquitted of murdering her husband, he thinks that is the cause of his unease. Is Mandy a killer? Mandy. He never has nicknames for people, so why does he think of her as Mandy? Why does he think of her at all? She's not his type. Still, the killing has piqued his interest. He wants to learn more, even if that means frequent contact with Amanda. Jack delves into the murder and trial. His actions set off a shattering string of events, putting his and Amanda's lives in danger and resulting in the death of another. Jack is forced to question his strict beliefs. www.cyndiadepre.com ____________________________________________ 
"LOVE IS EGGSHAPED" by Mark Wirtz A light-hearted collection of illustrated shorts, quotes, and notes about love and relationships is at once humorous and profoundly thought provoking. Wirtz follows the cycle of romance and mating from being alone, to searching, finding, and bonding, to the often inevitable corner stones of conflict and breakup, ultimately concluding with the achievable state of lasting and gratifying union. Beyond drawing on the vast reservoir of his own experiences, observations, and studies, Wirtz, during the writing of his book, sought the council and input of one of the country’s most distinguished and respected psychiatrists, a specialist in addiction medicine, George Bifano D.O. ____________________________________________ FEBRUARY   
"THE DEMISE OF BOBBY MAC" by Barbara Leachman After the death of his mother Rob McGruder is driven from his home at a young age by his abusive father. As a young man he spends two years in prison, and when he returns to Tulsa he is plagued by the criminals he worked with in the past to break the law again. His fear of going back to jail drives him to find a better life. But his quest for a new life leads him to commit a crime against an innocent young woman, Paige Lewis, and her family. Paige, the daughter of a black Christian pastor and white mother is a psychology major at Tulsa University and is house and cat sitting for her brother and sister-in-law while they are in Europe. "WE DON'T SAY GOODBYE" by Anne Elwick (Caryn Bruer) This is a touching story of a woman who gives her love completely and unselfishly. Judith falls in love with Riley as a teenager. Along with her best friend Kate, they become known among their schoolmates as The Three Musketeers because they are inseparable. While in college Judith takes a summer job that keeps her in Sacramento while Riley and Kate return to their homes in Santa Barbara. Riley and Kate have a "one-night-thing", and Kate becomes pregnant. The choices the three of them make to resolve that crisis will shape the rest of their lives. You will find common ground with the characters as circumstances evolve. The love, the laughter, the tears ... all the joys and tragedies that affect them from year to year ... have occured in the lives of most of us at one time or another. The choices they make, and the outcome will leave you asking yourself whether you could love someone that much. An immature mistake in judgment tore them apart over thirty years ago and now they have one last chance to be together. As they travel to Reno so Judith can gain her freedom to marry the man she has loved almost all of her life, a tragic accident separates them once again. "BORN WOLF DIE WOLF" by E. Don Harpe A fictionalized account of the Harpe brothers, William Micajah Harpe and Joshua Wiley Harpe, two men who lived in Tennessee and Kentucky in the late 1700's, and have been called America's first serial killers. Their murderous rampage through the untamed territories of Kentucky and Tennessee in 1798 and 1799 has never been equaled. They were called Big Harpe and Little Harpe, and to this day remain two of the most bloodthirsty killers this country has ever seen. Their story was recounted many times in the first 30 or so years following their deaths, but as they were simply too evil for the ordinary citizen of the 1800’s, attention fell away after the second generation of victims families were gone. “Marthy, hand me my rifle and bar the door. Get the children under the bed and don’t open up for anyone, the Harpe’s are coming” This was too often heard in the settlements in Kentucky and Tennessee in 1799. Frontier men were not prone to be afraid of anyone or anything, animal or human, but the news that the Harpe brothers may be headed in their direction struck terror into the bravest heart, and caused even the most valiant of men to arm themselves and hide their families. THE HARPES ARE COMING!! ____________________________________________ JANUARY  "CALLING THE DEAD" by Marilyn Meredith One of our judges commented that it was like J.A. Jance and Tony Hillerman co-authored this book. "Calling the Dead" is Ms. Meredith's latest in the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series (Mundania Press). Tempe Crabtree, a Native American is the resident deputy of Bear Creek, a mountain community in the Southern Sierra. Married to a preacher, Tempe often uses Indian spiritualism (which upsets her husband) to help her when trying to solve a crime. In addition to being a prolific writer, Marilyn was an instructor for Writer’s Digest School for ten years, served as an instructor at the Maui Writer’s Retreat and many other writers’ conferences. She and her husband of more than fifty years make their home in a foothill community much like Bear Creek where Deputy Tempe Crabtree lives. Other Marilyn Meredith books available: Fringe Benefits; Wishing Makes it So; Cup of Demons; Crabtree, Tule River Patriarchs; Wing Beat; Final Respects; Bad Tidings; Deeds of Darkness; Deadly Trail; Guilt by Association; The Choice; Intervention; Kachima Spirit; Deadly Omen; The Astral Girl; Two Ways West; Unequally Yoked; Final Respects Ms. Meredith has been invited to be a workshop leader at the WOW Writers' Conference in Phoenix AZ - October 2008. On her website you'll see state-of-the-art use of video ads for her books. _____________________________________________ AUGUST  "ONCE YER DEAD, ASPERIN DON'T HELP NONE" by Ray Meyers Ray has written a terrific mystery spiced with a dash of down-home humor. Leigh Chase is an attractive, dedicated and highly regarded newspaper reporter. She is assigned to disclose reasons why certain authorities are dragging their feet on the reparation of an aged, crumbling dam - a dam that presents a real and imposing danger. During her investigation, Leigh is surreptitiously given an envelope containing a threat, ordering her to drop the investigation and leave well-enough alone. Threats don’t dissuade her; they increase her determination to find the truths about the work delays on the dam, and now the mystery behind the threat. Through her instinctive reporter’s nature, she meets some interesting people living under a cloak of secrecy. An encounter reveals the truth and a creates a most intriguing personal dilemma. Should she expose a saga hidden behind closed doors for more than four decades? Or should she, in all kindness, leave it as it is? Political arm-twisting and feminine persuasion has its advantages. Or does it? _____________________________________________  "MASTER CHEAT" by Jack Miller Jack Miller's latest novel takes us into a world of gambling cheats. He begins with a man sitting in a jail cell,isolated and alone. A master cheat, caught, tried and convicted, but he has been sentenced for the wrong crime. He reflects on his life and how he ended up in a cell. A troubled young man who grew up in northern California, the son of a poor farm worker. He quits school and gets a job at a service station where his employer teaches him several tricks to cheat customers. He devises several tricks of his own to cheat the customers and also his employer. He learns how to read from his girlfriend who he impregnates. Not wanting to face the consequences of his actions, he runs to another job in another town. An incident and a vehicle accident cause him to run again. To avoid facing the consequences of his past he changes his identity and takes on the name of Ross Bull. After two years he takes his first vacation to Las Vegas and loses most everything he won. Now almost broke, he is approached to be a collector for a set up jackpot and accepts. He is paid $500 for his activity. Ross becomes a full time collector for the cheat team. Eventually, the team leader cannot keep up to the slot machine changes in the electronic age and the team breaks up. Ross enrolls in a school to learn slot machine repair and electronic machine maintenance. He is employed by a casino and begins to cheat with one of the old team members, Bill Cushion. After numerous payments by the casino, a scam is suspected but there is no evidence. Ross is fired. Bill goes to locksmith school but for very limited purposes. Ross and Bill begin cheating the new electronic slot machines and come up with some very unique methods to cheat. One cheating scam nets 2.2 million dollars but the recruited collector runs with the money. Bill and Ross decide that slot machine cheating has become too risky and design some cheating methods for cheating table games. The cheating continues on table games in Nevada and New Jersey. A series of events causes him to become suspect and the authorities are called in to investigate. One Las Vegas dealer who had participated in the cheating scam is interviewed and reveals the cheating. He subsequently disappears . . . so where is he? For more information on Jack Miller's cleverly written novels, you may go to the AUTHORS page on this web site and click on his name listed in CHARTER MEMBERS. _____________________________________________ JUNE  "LEGACY OF ADRIAN BLACKTHORNE: Vampire" by Woodrow W. Walker Woodrow W. Walker's latest novel is the account of a young Englishman of noble birth who, after being cast out by his father because of an indiscretion, must leave Blackthorn Castle and seek his fortune in the army. Once there, he is able to buy a junior officer’s commission. It is 1854 and the Crimean War takes him to the Ukraine. He is wounded in battle and wakes up on a battlefield littered with the dead bodies of his comrades. Weak from his wounds, young Blackthorn seeks shelter in a cave, unaware that it is home to Drago, a thousand-year-old vampire. Drago turns the young officer into a vampire fledgling, keeping him as a slave. Despite being a vampire held in bondage by the mad Drago, Blackthorn is determined to return to England and claim his birthright. For more information on Walker's well-written and exciting novels, you may go to the AUTHORS page on this web site and click on his name listed in CHARTER MEMBERS. _____________________________________________ MAY  "T.O.Y.S.! Tired of Your S#%@!" by J. David Jamesson (excerpt from a memoriam thread on the messageboard by W.O.W. president, Caryn Bruer) "I only knew him for a short time, but felt he was my friend. I had a lengthy conversation with him in Las Vegas, and then we sent a few emails back and forth about his book and some other things that were interests shared with my husband. As it turned out, Art and Dave had a lot in common, and stories to share... about baseball and old cars, of course. Dave's book is filled with his personal observations, opinions, puns, and platitudes. He had a unique way of telling it like it is, which served a dual purpose. It let him get things off his chest as well as entertain in his own special way. I think most readers found themselves nodding in agreement with a stupid grin on their face. I know he enjoyed making people laugh. I also know that wherever he is today... and I believe he's smilin' down on us from above... he knows that he was loved and appreciated by the people he touched in a very small way as he passed through this mortal life. Reminds me of a line from an old song: "I wanna live fast, love hard, die young, and leave a beautiful memory". Dave had an unfortunate singing voice, but not even a hint of stage fright. I've seen the photos and videos. So... put on some music, and lift a glass or pop a top in memory of the Dazz." _____________________________________________  
"CHILDREN OF PLAINS ESTATES" by Claudette Milner On a church camping trip, Debbie reveals that her mom is really in a rehabilitation center and is an alcoholic. Everyone has been led to believe that Mrs. Colbert has been away on business since they moved into Plains Estates. Why now is Debbie sharing this secret with her friends? Her mom is coming home and her family will have to begin to confront not only their lies to the community but also their innermost fears and emotions. The Walkers are faced with the most difficult decision of their life. Should they tell Tammy that she is adopted now that her birth mother wants to meet her? How will this affect their family? Tammy’s birth mother is happily married now and making a good living. Does she really want her child back? Will the return of Tammy’s mother break up the Walker family? "FAMILY TRADITION" - by Cheryl Hill Laura Kincaid flees her satanic family. She travels cross-country with her dog and settles in Sunrise, a small off-the-freeway town in Arizona. Her dreams of a normal life begin when she becomes involved with her landlord, Rick Helms. He is as mysterious as he is dark and handsome. But her happiness is overshadowed with constant nightmares and internal voices warning her of impending danger. She seeks the help of a therapist. Her new life is shattered when she receives an ominous note letting her know she can not escape. She is terrorized by the fact that the cult has found her. Then a series of murders with satanic overtones begin—and her counselor is the first victim. She has a decision to make: will she keep running, or will she overcome her past by facing it? _____________________________________________   "A TREE FOR AMERICA" by Edd Voss Robert Anjer is a mid-level bureaucrat who dislikes Christmas and prefers to stay in his safe apartment or office in D.C. He finds himself being sent to the small town of Leavenworth, Washington, to supervise the shipment of the national Christmas tree. Here he meets Ken Rainey, the larger-than-life-seeming truck driver who is delivering the tree to the White House, and finds out that he must ride along in the truck with the tree. After insulting Ken while on the phone to D.C, he must now deal with the logistics of the trip. First Ken convinces Anjer that the clothing he has brought along with him is inadequate for the trip. Anjer’s education begins with a shopping trip to purchase correct apparel for the journey. He is given a peek into the life of a long-haul driver, while meeting some wonderful people along the way. While dealing with the weather in Wyoming and helping a family escape the danger of an impending storm, he gets a view of America he never knew existed. The scenery opens up his eyes to just a glimpse of what America has to offer. Other adventures await the duo as they make their way to the delivery in D.C. This is not really a religious book but does give a view of Christmas as a time of giving and caring about our fellow man. It is also just a glimpse into the lives of the men and women who travel the open road to deliver all the goods we consume as a nation. HIGGINS: An American Story - by Jeffrey S. Miller Come and read the memoirs of a not-so-average self-made man. Follow J.D. Higgins from humble beginnings in rural Mississippi as a boy to a man of great political success. During a run for the U.S. Senate, an IRS scandal erupts saying that he owes more than his family has ever made combined. How could this be? After all, the government wouldn’t lie. Travel back into the thirties, a time before coverups were the norm. Only a man of great success known as J.D. Higgins could lead the government he works for on a manhunt of this great monetary level. _____________________________________________  "EMOCEANS" by Ina Goodling Born in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Ina Goodling has been writing stories and poetry since the age of seven. She also enjoys painting, drawing, reading, and raising pet rats. Her first collection of poems, "Emoceans", does just what the title implies, blending a word pool of rhyme and verse with a range of powerful emotions. Her poetry covers a wide spectrum, from whimsical and humorous to poignant and provocative. From worldly visions to deeply introspective prose, Goodling paints a vibrant picture on every page of this book. _____________________________________________ |