The Lost Scrolls

What a fantastic, exciting novel, truly a masterpiece filled with suspense at every turn! Dr. Munro teaches Paleography in a university with an assistant, Leon, who helps him with a variety of tasks. Leon is a man Dr. Munroe hopes the university will hire after he completes his doctorate. An archeologist, who had been Dr. John Munroe's friend in college and roommate, urgently sends him an email, but circumstances force John to forego reading it when he learns his house had been vandalized.

Stephen and Izzy are being followed, shot at, and hunted in various places in Middle Eastern countries for what other interested parties thought they possessed. Terrorists and mercenaries are also in the mix each aware of the other, but the reader is never quite sure which side of the fence they are on. Do these various men have ulterior motives for following Dr. Munroe? Behind the scenes is a man who is funding the search for the treasure Stephen is thought to have obtained. Are the scrolls that everyone is after real or a fake? The scrolls are known as Domo tou Bibliou.

Brought into the mystery and intrigue by the former archeologist Stephen and the university, Dr. Munroe crosses many borders in search of the truth. One theme of the story is of forgiveness and living the life of faith in front of others not just having mental acknowledgement of Jesus. The reader is taken to several historic sites along with the characters in unraveling the mystery John finds himself tangled in. Does Izzy, Stephen's sister, still have feelings for John even though it has been years since they went their separate ways? Is Izzy really after truth or just wanting to grab the prize to sell on the black market?

Dr. Munroe's life prior to all this adventure was a routine life of a university professor. He loves studying ancient documents, but not people always pointing a gun at him. Stephen has his life threatened many times, and now his sister and friend John are in constant danger. John is always finding himself being arrested, questioned by local police and international law enforcement as well. Finally, expelled from turkey, he and Izzy must find a way to return to her home located in a small village to obtain a fragment that can help solve the puzzle.

What I share with you above is barely the tip of the iceberg of this adventure and search for truth. Trust me when I say there is more than meets the mind of the reader. The ending may or may not surprise the reader or how a mystery is solved. The mystery, adventure, intrigue, constant danger and bullets flying will keep you engrossed until you're finally done with the story. The novel is a work of fiction with a flavor of Biblical history, archeology, ancient peoples and places. From the first page until the last, you will be captivated by each twist and turn of events. I was and I loved the novel.

A Writer's Review of The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch and Lee Chadeayne

Flashplot:
Set in 1650's Germany, this historical fiction mystery tells the tale of a small town which is rocked by a series of odd events. Children are turning up dead, marked with the 'witches mark' and the town leaders want a swift execution in order to prevent the hysteria and ruin that befell the town after similar events decades ago. They're not too concerned with who swings, so long as it quiets the townspeople. Lucky for the accused midwife, the town executioner Jakob Kuisl, his daughter Magdalena, and the young physician Simon Fronwiesser set out to find the real culprits.

As a reader: The opening line of the novel reads, "October 12 was a good day for a killing." It's hard not to be hooked by a line like that. The rest of the prologue was paced well and created immediate compassion for the main character, the young son of the hangman. With emotions tied to this young boy, I was a little miffed to realize the rest of the book takes place thirty-five years later, with the scared child now the surly hangman. That said, I was soon hooked again by the main characters, the town, which has character of its own, and by the action that unfolds relatively quickly. The first third of the book balances plot, description of the historical setting, and character development of the book's many characters.

Then things get a little hung-up. (Sorry, I never pass up a pun!) The middle third of the book slows down considerably. The events of plot and the clues unfolding seem to be a bit redundant. The story's point of view changes characters frequently, which is fine, except when readers have to hear different characters come to the same conclusions. Since the story was rich and had a great many characters, perhaps the author thought this was needed. In most cases, though, I felt the reader should have been given the benefit of the doubt to keep track of clues and characters in exchange for a faster-paced plot.

By the end, Pötzsch picks up the pace again and the story moves along well as the main characters begin to unravel the mystery. Though parts of the end could be predicted along the way, there was enough unexpected material to provide a very satisfactory ending.

As a writer: Perhaps it's because of the anti-prologue propaganda that agents drill into writers' heads, but I wasn't a fan of the prologue in this instance. It was important backstory about Jakob, backstory that helps the reader be sympathetic to him early on­-perhaps too early on. Most readers like a flawed protagonist. Pötzsch should have trusted that his readers, due to his strong writing, would connect with Jakob even before this glimpse into his past. It would have been just as interesting and perhaps more appreciated a little further into the story.

Other than the prologue and the pacing problem in the middle of the book, this was a terrific mystery. I'm always in awe of good historical fiction writers for the way they weave historical facts into their plots in such unobtrusive ways. Pötzsch did this masterfully, so that when I reached the end I was thrilled to see there was a postscript that explained what was researched and what was purely his fantasy. I also liked the descriptions in the book, which were often unique and felt like part of the plot as opposed to mere window dressing. I'm sure some of the credit for this belongs to the translator, Chadeayne, for his ability to make even the figurative language seem fluent and meaningful in its translated form.

Bottom line: A good book for history lovers and mystery lovers, so long as you're a little patient. With my soft spot for gruff, yet lovable guys, I downloaded the sequel as soon as I finished.

Why One City Finds Books Fifty Shades of Burnt

With the momentum of the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon still building and anticipation of the movie filling the air; it is no surprise that a few negative-nancies are surfacing. Recently in Cleveland, two outspoken radio DJs hosted a Fifty Shades of Grey book burning; claiming that it was all in good fun but also hosting the event under the guise that the book is offensive toward women. Although only about 25 copies were burned in the blaze, set fire atop a sand pit for safety purposes, attendees made a point of speaking their minds about why they were there. Some said that the book ruined relationships, claiming that it made women have too high of expectations of their men. Others stated that the book is demeaning to women and the writing is not up to par, so to speak.

It's interesting and comical that male guests of the book burning event claim the book to be offensive to women. As female readers we are aware of exactly what we are picking up when we purchase this book. We are not fooled nor do we come with blinders on. We know that we are reading a fun, sexually exciting, love story... there is no false hope for an intellectually challenging, literary masterpiece. Female readers do not expect a scholarly piece with this novel, we merely want to read something that will piqué our interest and pass our time in a way other than staring at the television screen. For book burners to claim it is offensive in a way we female readers do not realize, they are underestimating our intelligence and undermining our reasoning for reading Fifty Shades of Grey.

As for those who believe the book has ruined relationships, that is an unfortunate and false assumption on their part. If men truly believe that their relationship was or can be ruined by a book's contents, the state of the relationship was or is obviously not stable to begin with. Placing blame on a book and the romance it contains only shows how little attention a man has paid to past events; it is an excuse not a valid reason. For the book burners who felt destroying the book was a symbol of taking back relationships, or proving the books guilt in a failed marriage, maybe some deep thinking is in order. Just maybe, these men should take their wives or girlfriends heightened libido any way they can get it... and go out and buy them a shiny new copy of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Fifty Shades Paves the Way for a New Young Adult Novel

Fifty Shades of Grey's BDSM theme and sexual content may be too much for young adult readers, but it has provided the platform for an up and coming author to achieve success by creating a "toned down" version of the romantic relationship of Christian and Anastasia.  Warner Bros has been chosen to make the movie version of the self published e-book, later picked up by a publishing house, Beautiful Disaster.  Novelist Jamie McGuire modeled this book after Fifty Shades, detailing the tumultuous relationship between a college student and her domineering crush, but minus the kinky-sex and S&M.  Following in the path of The Hunger Games and the Twilight, this novel turned screenplay takes an adult style story and makes it appeal to a younger audience.  The audience for these types of movies and books creates an opportunity not only for aspiring authors to find their niche but also for a huge payoff.

It appears that romance stories are not enough anymore and that there must be a conflict, and a little naughty interaction, for them to be popular.   With all three of the successful titles preceding Beautiful Disaster, there is at the heart, a huge hurdle for the main characters to get over in order to have the love they desire.  Fifty Shades and the two other books in the trilogy provide not only the conflict of opposing worlds, but also the juicy details of Christian and Anastasia's bedroom activities.  The question is: will Beautiful Disaster live up to the demands of the success of its big sister?

One thing is for sure, Fifty Shades of Grey is much too racy for young adult readers, but as times have proven, these readers are hungry for more mature content... now more than ever.  With each passing decade, children of younger and younger ages are becoming desensitized to violence and sex.  Movies, television and fiction that is supposed to appeal to a young audience is inundated with adult jokes, violence and sexual innuendos, claiming to be more fun for the parents and meaning a bigger paycheck from the box office.  Unfortunately, kids are not blind to the changes and are picking up on much more than they used to, nothing gets by wide and curious eyes.  As the movie version of this young-adult novel comes to fruition, there will be a difficult task for the producers to keep from making an adult film with a young-adult rating.

Synopsis of 'A Diary's House: Where True Love Endures' by C David Murphy

A Diary's House captures a world of two generations, forged by the lightening rod of a mysterious diary; a diary, and the world within it, was lost for decades and sitting in the lower regions of a magical island. The Randola River was its protector, shielding it from all who dared to trespass its waters.

A world of mystery, of pirates and treasures, of trees with a language all their own, of a Cherokee legend and the lands of Kituhwa - these were the stories told to Landon Hampshire in his most impressionable youth. He was not to go there; he dare not try.

Through the years he wondered if the stories were true; if such a land as mythical and alluring as this even exists. He dared to discover it and see where it led. His two friends had heard some of these stories as well, and so a journey began that they would not soon forget.

Old man Montague knew some of the tales; he bore a witness to the fear such a mighty river can cause one to be possessed by. Fear, he had learned in his own travels, could strip a man from his once-secure bravado. And so the warning went that the boys would not heed. They would travel the mighty Randola River and discover what their curiosity could not fathom.

A place where dreams and reality co-exist; a harbor; a home; a destiny which could fill their memories and make them men, though they did not know what the correct definition of what a true man was - Landon was soon to learn this lesson all too well. They would quickly discover more than what they ever bargained for. It is a world where life and death co-mingles; a place where illusion can quickly turn into reality.

Little did they know what would await them, the deep treasures which would ultimately be revealed - a lost world, a dream that would never end, and a diary from the heart of a young woman who found herself trapped and alone in a world she could not prevail against.

Landon knew her story; he was living it. The dream becomes a reality; the parched paper of her innermost thoughts turn into the trails of his colliding world with hers. A world he too, found as unforgiving. There was a tie to the hearts; a place where they both could roam and discover this mutual past and present, all intertwined into one symbiotic spin of fate. The present becomes the past; the past becomes the present. The diary becomes more than a diary itself. It becomes a bridge for two worlds; interfaced, and colliding into a climatic turn.

It is true Landon Hampshire will discover the true meaning of manhood. But not as one might suspect. His heart will know what true love is, and the joys and sorrows such an emotion can be unknowingly bound together with. There are more of treasures than from a pirate's take here. This land; this home; this time will yield the greatest treasure of all. A diary has its secrets, and soon it will tell its own story...