In his novel, ‘Breaking Ground: The Horeb Anomaly,’ author Robert J. Cornell tells a story of a quest to decipher and locate an ancient artifact known as the “Perfection of Paradise” This ancient artifact holds the key to learning the truth about the history of mankind.

The novel begins by providing a historical account of the significance of the “Perfection of Paradise” which dates back to Egypt, 2150 BC. Readers will learn how Moses the Priest, the last priest of the ancient knowledge and protector of the artifact, steals it from the Pharaoh to keep it out of hands of those seeking tyrannical power, as the ‘Perfection of Paradise’ is a great source of immense power. As well, an account is given of those, who throughout history, have gone to great measures to get rid of ancient artifacts.

The plot of the story begins in 2021, where Victor Finn, a wealthy businessman and head of the organization The Finn Group, discovers an ancient scroll in an unknown language and assembles a team of scientific researchers and military personnel to translate the scroll. He finances an excavation quest to Jordan to learn the secrets of the scrolls and locate the “Perfection of Paradise.” The central characters Jack Butler, a former special –ops officer, and Holly Webster, an expert in ancient language translation, along with the rest of the team begin a dangerous journey of following the clues the scroll offers to locate the ‘Perfection of Paradise’ and  acquire knowledge that would change Man’s view of the history of humanity. Their journey becomes dangerous and even life threatening as they contend with an ominous group known as the ‘Brotherhood,’ and their leader Al Fatima who tries to stop them from securing the artifact so that he can suppress historical knowledge that is not consistent with Man’s long held beliefs about the history of human civilization.

‘Breaking Ground: The Horeb Anomaly,’ is an exciting adventure story that integrates Biblical accounts and themes, particularly the theme based on the narrative from the Book of Exodus about the making of a golden idol by Aaron at Mount Sinai for the Israelites to worship. As well, the action and plot is a much like a blend of the ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘The Davinci Code’ adventure movies. Readers will enjoy following the quest and the obstacles the characters must overcome both personally and professionally in order to complete their quest. The outcome of the quest and the climatic conflict will surprise readers. The story is filled with vividly described settings and action packed scenes that will engage readers’ imaginations. ‘Breaking Ground: The Horeb Anomaly,’ is highly recommended to readers who enjoy page-turning action packed stories written within a biblical and historical framework.

Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services

In his novel, ‘The Vernham Chronicles,’ John Saunders provides a glimpse into a small village of Vernham located in the countryside around Vernbury Vale, England. The buildings are mostly 16th century with a few mock Tudor buildings. When viewed from the outside, the village appears to be a quaint and charming village “suspended in time,” however, what makes the village so captivating is its collection of wacky and eccentric residents that live intriguing, comical, and atypical lives. ‘Vernham Chronicles’ is a character exploration of the residents of a quaint village and their quirky habits and unconventional behavior.

‘The Vernham Chronicles,’ is divided into twelve chapters with each chapter focusing on a specific setting in the village such as the local tea room, Candy Shop, Country Inn, and more. The stories of the characters in each chapter are loosely connected to one another. The characters presented in each chapter are not just compelling in their oddities and behaviors, but readers will see how these characters are key figures representing the heart of the little village. For instance, readers will follow the Reverend Parsworthy and his alcohol induced rants and eccentric contemplations. PC Fred Sweetman is a man with a history of flashing people who is also a part-time Bobby. Fred is viewed as the “cog in the machine of the village.”

Vernham is an intriguing village with its gossip mill and devilish young boys stealing Candy from Ye Olde Sweetie Shoppe. And the village residents are resolved to live in the past with their absolute lack of interest in technology. Vernham is a village filled with characters with comical idiosyncrasies that will amuse readers. With all of their peculiar and quirky behavior, readers will laugh at the ridiculous and obsessive behavior which makes the story such a fun and entertaining read.

The ‘Vernham Chronicles’ is highly recommended to readers who love reading amusing stories about charming communities with quirky and engaging characters.

Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services

In his novel, ‘The Everyday Housewife,’ author Bryan Foreman tells a story about a housewife living in Oklahoma City who travels to New York City to pursue a writing career. In New York City, the once sheltered housewife finds herself immersed in a foreign world filled with intriguing people, adventure, and extraordinary experiences.

Katharine Beaumont has been living a mundane life in Oklahoma City as a housewife with a husband who barely acknowledges her and teenagers who are unappreciative and rude. One day her husband confesses an affair. Katharine decides that it is time for her needs to be fulfilled so she hops on board a Greyhound bus and travels to New York City to pursue a writing career.  Katharine becomes involved in the lives of an intriguing and multifaceted cast of characters and ends up embroiled in a world of drugs and murder. As she traverses her new life, she writes a book where the main character is Katharine’s alter ego. In the story, Kitty Everhart is a smart, striking, and seductive British intelligence agent who finds herself shipwrecked on a desert island with 7 other castaways.

Katharine’s three and half month experience in New York City takes her out of the security and comfort of life as a suburban housewife and into a world where she makes astonishing decisions that she once thought were out of her nature. The story is filled with engaging plots full of surprising twists and turns, as well as a cast of offbeat characters. For instance, Bree, an emotionally damaged drug addict in an abusive relationship manages to stay a believer in true love. Joe Milano, a bartender who Katharine develops a relationship with, is involved with the mob and is known as a killer for hire. Joe fills the loveless hole in Katharine’s heart and she sees his more human side.

‘The Everyday Housewife’ is a story that utilizes dark humor in an effective manner which helps to enhance and contrast each character’s unconventional attributes. It is an entertaining and engaging character study that focuses on Katharine’s growth from a mundane housewife to a risk taker with her own independent and unique outlook on life. I highly recommend ‘The Everyday Housewife’ as a fun read that will keep readers satisfyingly engaged from start to end.

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In his novel, ‘Liar Loan’ author Jason Reid tells a fictional story about the how one mortgage company under the leadership of a greedy CEO manipulated the mortgage system. Although fiction, the story mirrors what actually happened causing the 2008 – 2009 collapse of the sub prime mortgage market which nearly caused the destruction of the entire US financial market.

Neil Roberts is the CEO of Katana Mortgage, a company that markets mortgages to the masses and creates refinanced mortgages to unqualified homeowners who want extra money for personal endeavors such as education, financing a business, expensive products…etc. With loose regulations, Neil Roberts’ team is able to engage in unethical tactics such as manipulating credit scores, pushing up the values of appraisals, and charge high fees with high adjustable interest rates with their refinanced mortgages. Neil’s team lend to unqualified homeowners without thinking about the consequences of large numbers of homeowners not being able to repay their loans leading to mass foreclosures.

Neil Roberts is a self-centered, egotistical, arrogant, and sexist CEO who lives for instant gratification in business and his personal life. He pushes his team to make as many deals as possible to unqualified mortgage holders. In his personal life, he neglects and cheats on his wife. Jared, his top salesman and an obsessive compulsive, trains greedy young men and women with no mortgage experience to convince just about anyone to refinance their home. Neil’s world is on the verge of imploding when everything he has worked for in both business and his personal life begins to fall apart. The result is the biggest challenge of Neil’s life: learning what is truly meaningful in life.

‘Liar Loan’ is a fast-paced engaging story that gives readers a glimpse into a big cause of the collapse of the sub prime market. Readers will learn the tactics mortgage salesmen used to convince homeowners to refinance their mortgage to a loan they could never afford. As well, readers will learn how homeowners are partly to blame for taking a mortgage they could not afford so that they could get extra cash. In the story, there is a large amount of dialogue and explanations that focus on how the mortgage refinance works, slick sales tactics, and how credit ratings and appraisals can be manipulated so that homeowners could qualify for the loan. Readers will gain insight into the loan officers’ corrupt behavior, greed, lack of moral conscience, and how the loan officers justified their actions. Regarding character development, readers will start out despising Neil and Jared, but will have a change of heart as the two young men face what they have become.

‘Liar Loan’ is not only an engaging read, but it provides valuable information about the mortgage market and will hopefully educate people to think before they pick up the phone and call a company that has sent them an email or direct mail advertisement promising them they will get a mortgage that will give them lots of extra cash.

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In her novel, ‘The Healing’ author Pamela Young tells a story about redemption and healing. At age 54, Michael Thornton’s life has been focused on growing his Seattle-based business, Thornton Industries, into an international multi-million dollar corporation. His insatiable greed and blind ambition have alienated his friends and family. Thornton’s disapproval of his son being gay and his indifference toward his wife of twenty years finally causes her to file for divorce. Now alone, he focuses all his energy on the only thing he has left—Thornton Industries. The unrelenting workload takes a toll on his health and he develops pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapy and recovery distract him from his business for over a year, allowing another company to launch a hostile takeover. Ultimately, Thornton is betrayed by his best friend and his son and loses everything he believed defined him. Devastated, he takes off on a solo voyage to Alaska. His journey is interrupted when his boat is damaged and, while arranging for repairs, he becomes violently ill and passes out. He wakes up to find himself in the home of Maria Clearsky, a Nootka healer, who offers to help him. The healing process forces Thornton to face his past and his greedy and controlling behavior.

‘The Healing’ is a tale of personal transformation and freeing one’s spirit in order to heal mentally, physically, and emotionally. Readers will enjoy following Thornton’s journey to healing as he transforms from a controlling millionaire businessman to a man who loses everything, followed by discovering what it means to truly be wealthy. He works to understand why he is sick and why such past emotions as resentment and anger have depleted him both emotionally and physically, leaving him vulnerable to illness. He learns that mind and body are connected and when one suffers, the other will also suffer. ‘The Healing’ is an engaging tale rich in strong character development complemented by important messages of what it truly means to not only live, but live well. I highly recommend ‘The Healing,’ for readers who enjoy stories where characters fall from grace and struggle to find what is most important in life. It is a compelling “Man vs. Himself” story that will keep readers engaged from start to end.

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In her novel, The Chameleon Room, author Kerry Hadley tells the story of three young people living together in England who feel the effects of a mysterious past on their current lives.

The narrator relates the story of life with her lover Angelo and her emotionally tortured friend Kary. The three grew up together in Devon, England, and were raised by a mysterious woman known as the Doctor. The main conflict of the story revolves around Kary, a young woman with severe mental health problems. Kary becomes obsessed with her married boyfriend Clive and develops an intense and dangerous desire to become pregnant.

Kary’s disturbing actions cause the Narrator to reflect on their childhood in order to discover how the three came to be together. As the story unfolds, dark and disturbing secrets are uncovered, revealing a number of themes that include: the relentless need to be loved, love, obsession, moral and ethical dilemmas regarding reproduction, loss, and death.

The Chameleon Room deals with dark revelations of childhood that shaped the Narrator, Angelo, and Kary. The writing is rich in symbolism and imagery. The story is an intense and dark look at characters who struggle to face their internal demons.

Structurally, I found myself going back to reread the first few pages of the beginning of the book to get a complete understanding of the ending. It may have been helpful to shorten the foreshadowing at the beginning and expand the ending.

The Chameleon Room is a well written dark drama that exposes many issues of human morality. With its many surprises, the plot of unraveling the three characters childhood secrets will keep readers engaged from start to end. It is highly recommended to readers who enjoy compelling stories of human frailty.

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In her novel, White Knight, Black Nights, author and World Series of Poker Ladies Champion, Susie Isaacs, tells the story of one woman’s journey of survival and self discovery.

In White Knight, Black Nights, Isaacs chronicles a tale of two families that span the years 1935-1995. The story begins by focusing on The Sommers, a wealthy family from North Carolina, and The Johnsons, a middle class family from Nashville, Tennessee. An in-depth historical account of both families sets the stage for the two protagonists, Rachel Lee Johnson and Dalton Sommers, to meet. The plot focuses on the main protagonist, Rachel Lee, and her life as a single mother. As well, an account of Dalton Sommers and the struggles he faces with a dominating, fanatically religious mother who is the fundamental influence in his life. Struggling to break free of his mother’s control, Dalton chooses a life that goes against her personal beliefs and wishes. One night he meets Rachel Lee while she is working at a Bar and the two begin an intense seduction and relationship. From that point on, Rachel Lee and Dalton eventually marry and begin a life of accumulating wealth and prosperity. They eventually find themselves living the good life in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Unbeknownst to Rachel Lee, Dalton’s life begins to unravel as he becomes caught up in an unmanageable and wild lifestyle. As Dalton drifts away from Rachel, she becomes involved in the world of poker and begins a career as a writer of stories about people involved in poker. Dalton’s life takes a different turn as he loses himself in high risk endeavors.

The story is a tale of romance, adventure, love, betrayal, loss, and rebirth. Readers will be engaged and root for Rachel Lee as she comes to terms with her marriage, her life, and her future. Readers will also feel for Rachel’s dedication to her husband and the overwhelming heartache she endures. With a host of unique and compelling characters, the narrative is very descriptive and compelling; with many poignant themes developing which tap into the self-reliant spirit within all of us.

With many surprising twists and turns, White Knight, Black Nights is a well written story that effectively draws on life skills and poker skills to unravel an inspirational story of one woman’s survival.

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One of the most important historical influences on literature is the classic Shakespearean Tragedy. Shakespeare's tragic heroes will be men of status and the misfortunes that transpire will be unexpected and extremely disastrous. The hero will suddenly fall from high status, honor, or happiness. We feel sympathy at the depths to which the hero is suddenly plummeted. As a result, the tragedy will be enormous. Such great suffering and misfortune will affect those he most cherishes. The principal sources of tragic emotions, especially pity, are essential ingredients in the tragedy.

In Voice of Conscience, author Behcet Kaya implements the attributes of a Shakespearean Tragedy to create a modern day story of love, loss, retribution, and redemption. The protagonist, Ramzi Ozocomert Junior., is a young boy living in Atamkoy, Turkey, in 1962. In Ramzi’s culture, arranged marriages are often a part of their customs. Ramzi’s parents are confronted by a family who want to arrange a marriage between their son and Ramzi’s sister. Ramzi’s parents deny the request and allow their daughter to marry a man she truly loves. As the family prepares for their daughter’s wedding, Ramzi’s parents and sister are brutally murdered. Ramzi, fearing he will be murdered, is forced to flee his home.

Ramzi embarks on a journey where he lives in emotional isolation relying on instincts and his upbringing to survive. As he becomes an adult, he develops a strong work ethic and grand career ambitions while at the same time being haunted by the memories of the brutal slaying of his family. While in England, he falls in love with Megan, a young American who is the daughter of wealthy and powerful business man. As Ramzi becomes involved with British High Society, and when he goes to America to become a successful business man, he embraces a new culture and values. Despite his new life and loving family, he is haunted by his family’s death and overwhelming guilt for not avenging those who destroyed his childhood.

Within the story, such themes as honor, love, vengeance, obsession, and overwhelming guilt are predominant. Readers will gain insight into a culture and their beliefs while at the same time revealing human qualities that we all share. The blur between justice and revenge is an important theme.

Voice of Conscience is a compelling drama with the author incorporating the traits of a Tragedy very successfully. Readers will empathize with Ramzi’s trials and tribulations. It is highly recommended to readers who enjoy compelling stories of human frailty.

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