Thursday, June 9, 2011

Twitteriffic Thursday!

journos_diary Chris Thomas
Sexy, saucy, sassy! Journo's Diary is the funniest book you'll find this year!

xlibrispub Xlibris Publishing
Print on demand manuscript and book publishing services provider gets you started with your publishing career by requesting your free book publishing guide.

BookCoverDezine BookCoverDezine
I design quality book covers at affordable prices. Visit my website or message me for rates.

indybooks Independent Books
The latest literary news from the UK's most free-thinking newspaper

It's Twitteriffic Thursday!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Review Wednesday - They Snooze, You Lose; The Educators Guide to Successful Presentations

Date:                6/5/11
Title:                They Snooze, You Lose: The Educator’s Guide to                      Successful Presentations
Author:             Lynell Burmark
ISBN 10:           
ISBN 13:            978-0-470-90290-5
ASIN:
OTHER:            
Pages:               262
Publisher:          Jossey-Bass
Cover:               Paperback w/CD-ROM
Reviewer:          Yolanda M. Johnson-Bryant Literary Wonders!  
Rating:               3 Stars


           In They Snooze, You Lose: The Educators Guide to Successful Presentations by Lynell Burmark, readers will find tips on how to spruce up a boring Power Point presentation. Although the book is meant for educators, I think this title will come in handy for anyone looking for tips on how to make a more interesting and engaging presentations.
          Each chapter is full of activities that challenge presenters to put recommended tips to use. The book covers various examples like colorful and vivid images, entertaining music and sound bites as well as eye catching, attention grabbing text.
          The book comes with a companion CD with Power Point plug-ins, music and other tools. I found the book to be useful in my power presentations, but didn’t find anything above and beyond of the typical Power Point presentation guide.

Review Wednesday - Unauthorized by Shelia M. Goss and John Wooden

Date:               5/10/11
Title:               Unauthorized
Author:            Shelia M. Goss, John Wooden
ISBN 10:           
ISBN 13:
ASIN:               B0052TIAUG
OTHER:            
Pages:             Unknown
Publisher:       JBOW Productions
Cover:            Electronic ARC
Reviewer:       Yolanda M. Johnson-Bryant Literary Wonders!  
Rating:              4 Stars


Unauthorized, by Authors Shelia M. Goss and John Wooden is great collaborative of romance and crime. Detective Michael Henderson has an unwelcomed friendship with death. It seems to follow him everywhere he goes. After the death of his good friend and colleague Art Jessup, Detective Henderson is in emotional disarray. To add fuel to the fire, Michael’s best friend Shaun has been murdered, raising the body count.
To add insult to injury, the Dallas Police Department has paired Michael with his former lover Dena—a former lover whom he found in a vertical position with his girlfriend. Michael resents Dena but realizes that he has to remain professional in order to bring his friends’ killer to justice.
Michael soon falls in love with a reporter for a local Dallas newspaper who nearly ended his career just a few months earlier. The closer the detective and the reporter get, the higher the body count becomes.
Through their investigation, the Dallas Police Department realizes that there is something foul going on at Metro Medical Hospital. As the department gets closer to the truth and the killer, things get out of hand. After another reporter goes undercover, she realizes that there’s a whole lot of mischief going on at the hospital.
Unauthorized by Bestselling Author Shelia Goss and fiction crime writer, John Wooden is an eventful work of cat and mouse. The authors do a great job in keeping the mystery and intrigue alive from start to finish.
Unauthorized is engaging and a great ‘whodunit’ tale of love, deceit and murder. Ms. Goss and Mr. Wooden gelled their talents well in this must read thriller.

Review Wednesday - Business Ethics for Dummies

Date:                      June 5, 2011
Title:                      Business Ethics for Dummies
Author:                  Norman E. Bowie and Meg Schneider
ISBN 10:                  
ISBN 13:                  978-0-470-60033-7
ASIN:
OTHER:                    
Pages:                    360
Publisher:               Wiley Publishing
Cover:                    Paperback
Reviewer:              Yolanda M. Johnson-Bryant– Literary Wonders!  
Rating:                   4 Stars


             Business Ethics for Dummies by Norman E. Bowie and Meg Schneider is one of those books that every business should have in their library. The book contains practical business practices that can be used in small businesses as well as large companies. This book is also user friendly enough for entrepreneurs or those considering starting a business.
            Business Ethics for Dummies explores religion and cultural differences and how they affect business ethics. I found the Ten Ethical Issues That Most Businesses Face and Ten Ways Managers Can Keep Their Business Ethical very useful. This book gives useful tips on conflict resolution.
            This book offers tons of valuable information and solutions on how to maintain a fair playing business field in business. 

It's Review Wednesday!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Blog Tour: The Misadventures of Phillip Isaac Penn w/Donna L. Peterson



About the Book
Everybody calls Phillip Isaac Penn, Pip. And usually they yell it at the top of their lungs. Sure he might forget to close the classroom mice's cage door, or leave his mother's hair dryer in bathtub (hey, it's unplugged), and he might even make it so that Liar Lizzy gets caught, but that doesn't make him bad. It's just not easy being a kid.

About the Author
Donna Peterson has enjoyed writing stories and poetry since the second grade. She has been published four times in the Idaho Magazine; wrote a weekly humor column, "Kaleidoscope," for the Three Rivers Chronicle; and she continues to write short stories for the children at Park Intermediate School, where she has been employed for the past twelve years. Two years ago, Donna took a children's literature class, which inspired her to finally publish her own stories.

Donna lives in Weiser, Idaho, with her husband, Brad, and her three-legged cat, Sam. Her son, Erik and his lovely wife, Shawna, live in Murray, Utah. Her other son, David, will be attending college in Japan next fall.

Writing has always been Donna's favorite pastime, so having her first children's book published is a dream come true.

Learn more about Pip and Donna by visiting their website at http://www.misadventuresofpip.com/

Book Review
Date:                 5/24/11       
Title:                 The Misadventures of Phillip Isaac Penn
Author:             Donna L. Peterson
ISBN 10:               
ISBN 13:            978-1-59955-893-6
ASIN:
OTHER:                
Pages:               85 pages
Publisher:          Bonneville Books/Cedar Fort, Inc.
Cover:               Advanced Reader Edition e-book
Reviewer:          Yolanda M. Johnson-Bryant– Literary Wonders!  
Rating:               4 Stars


          If it wasn’t for bad luck Phillip Isaac Penn would have none. In the Misadventures of Phillip Isaac Pen by Donna L. Peterson, Phillip, affectionately known as PIP, just can’t seem to catch a break.
     If you he isn’t getting in trouble in school for cheating on tests, he’s getting in trouble at home for putting the hairdryer in the tub. Now PIP really is a great kid, however, mischief and circumstance just happens to meet him at every corner.  
     All is not lost. At the end of each chapter re-evaluates each situation and learns from them. After all, it’s not easy being a kid.
     I enjoyed The Misadventures of Phillip Isaac Penn and think children from ages 8-12 will also enjoy it. I’d like to see Donna L. Peterson turn this book into a series of books. I even see this book in schools. Kudos to Ms. Peterson!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Missy Smith and the Blueberry State of Mind

Blueberry State of Mind. a collection of reflective truths

Missy Smith, A Reflectionist hailed as the voice of now, has finally embraced her soul’s journey as a Reflectionist, the term given to her by her late Grandmother Martha Skinner. Missy known for taking moments staring off into the world she wished she could live peacefully in found this method to be relaxing. Born in Washington D.C. in the 70's, Missy was a happy and energetic child who loved using words in very descriptive manners.

Missy experienced the horrors of sexual abuse at the tender age of six, which threw her into a world of utter turmoil. Unable to cope with being abused by two male uncles, Missy developed an alter personality to help deal with being abused leading to the name Missy Smith. It would be six more exhausting and brutal years before Missy was finally strong enough to say NO more. During those times, Missy used her mind to escape these horrific moments thus leading her to fantasize about places much happier than the one she resided in. Missy was in the fifth grade when her English teacher realized her talents of writing. Encouraged by her way of story telling, he bestowed Missy with her first journal, which she aptly titled "Blueberry State of Mind".

As a teenager, Missy kept adding more and more to her journal. Stories of her abuse, lost and found love, as well as her dysfunctional family life. At 13 Missy became depressed remembering losing her childhood to rape. She started lashing out at anyone who crossed her path. Writing and school became the solace from her shameful world. Writing began to consume Missy as she wrote about everything stemming from her pain. At 16, Missy dropped out of school altogether as her mind started taking a turn for the worse. Running with the wrong crowd brought about destructive behaviors.

Becoming a mother during those turbulent years brought a calming sense to her chaotic soul. Her son, the love of her life was the determining factor that made Missy reevaluate her life. It was then Missy decided with the help and guidance of her mother Thelma to go back to school to acquire her high school diploma. Upon receiving her diploma, Missy took any and every job just to make sure her son wanted for nothing.

Still, the writing she at times began putting on the back burner beckoned her, upon letting friends know how much she enjoyed writing, they encouraged Missy to take a chance and begin the process of publishing her emotional truths. With journals in hand, Missy sought out to make this dream of past her reality now. Since changing her name during her teenage years, Missy decided to stick to writing under that very name Missy Smith that brought comfort to her.

Missy began studying the works of Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Rita Dove, Gwendolyn Brooks and Ai; it was their words that gave Missy the strength too now share hers. Maya and Nikki was the closet to her style of writing and so with pride Missy decided to simply take that leap of faith and begin contacting publishing houses. With no one seemingly interested, Missy decided self-publishing was her best option. Once again, with the support and guidance of her mother, Missy began compiling some of her most heartfelt Reflections that are now in her book Blueberry State of Mind.

A Reflectionist who not only wrote poetry, Missy also lived the very poems gracing her books pages.

With the publishing of her book, Missy now wishes to fulfill other dreams. Dreams of writing a movie based on the very book Blueberry State of Mind. Missy wishes to increase the spotlight on abuse of every form. From sexual to relationship abuse and even family abuse, she wishes to bring awareness to all about this disheartening trend.

One of Missy's favorite poems penned by Ms. Angelou is Phenomenal Woman. Missy also has a few penned by herself that touches her to the core. Her Poem entitled Survivor allowed her to embrace her inner demons and do just that. Survive. Missy also loves her poem entitled Gentle Wings, which is a tribute to her mother. Finally able to speak out on her years of abuse at the hands of uncles and the man she gave her heart too; Missy now has started her journey to healing. Missy's greatest wish is for her words to soothe aching souls while healing wounded hearts. 

Contact the Author: 
Author Missy Smith
Oxon Hill Md. 20745
email: get_em_gyrl37@yahoo.com
webpage: wix.com/authormissysmith/poet
phone: 240-271-5335

Blueberry State of Mind book links:

Friday, June 3, 2011

Fan Page Friday


As a kid I was always making stuff: skates, skateboards, skimboards, skis, sleds, clothing, furniture, wood carvings, Easter baskets, comic books, you name it. I was the mother of all nerds. Anyway, I think I was searching for the one thing I wanted to keep on making for the rest of my life. Then one day I discovered Choose Your Own Adventure books. Remember those? You as the reader were asked to make choices for the characters. They were a lot of fun and I just had to make my own. And so I did, writing three of them, and I've been hooked on writing ever since. (Just think, I could have been hooked on making Easter baskets.)

It's Fan Page Friday!