Winter Reading 2016 Give Me Wings

Imagine being born a slave, being told to spy on your own mother, living with the knowledge that you could be sold away at any time. We can't, because we are fortunate enough to have been born in a time and place of freedom. But Ella Sheppard was born in 1851, in the state of Tennessee, and she was asked by her mistress to report anything suspicious her mother said or did. Now, imagine going from that start in life to leading a choir that sang for Queen Victoria herself. A true rags to riches story, right?

Give Me Wings is not just Ella's story, although she features in it prominently. Using her as a central figure, the story traces the Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction. In the aftermath of the war, schools for blacks (as they were often referred to at that time), either former slaves or others, were established across the South by the American Missionary Association. Fisk Free Colored School in Nashville was one of the schools. But financial woes plagued the school and in an effort to raise funds, it was decided to form a singing group to give concerts. The result was the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The details of their rocky beginning and the road that eventually took them to London and a European tour are covered in a narrative supported with primary sources such as photos, maps, song lyrics, and paintings. The story also draws in other prominent figures of the period, including: Mark Twain, Lyman Beecher, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass.

Altogether a well-told and informative look at a piece of American and Tennessee history that deserves our attention. This would be an excellent addition to any school library or history classroom collection.

I received a review copy from the publisher.

Fall Reading 2015 Design the Life You Love

I enjoy planning and organizing, so the idea of this book appealed to me. Once I began reading it, I enjoyed the way it was presented. The process that the book will take you through is explained up front, and plenty of examples are given for each step along the way. Since the author is a designer, the approach she uses draws heavily on that background with lots of visual organizers like idea maps, graphs, and diagrams. There are also times when lists, charts, and poems are used to gather your thoughts. The main thrust of the book is to deconstruct your life and examine all the existing elements, and then reconstruct it with the things you want to keep and eliminating the things you don't love.

There are so many positive points about this book. It includes various types of responses to the different prompts so that no matter what style of learner you are, or how best you express yourself, you will have opportunities to work from your areas of strength and explore new methods, too. I also appreciated the way each step was presented and then a time limit for the response was given, and each one was a small chunk that felt do-able and not overwhelming. There were also extra pages for some of the responses in case you decided after your first effort that you wanted to try a different approach, and there were even more templates in the back of the book. The construction of the book itself is very sturdy, which is a good thing for something you may be carrying around with you or revisiting often. The cover is thick but flexible, and it even has an elasticized band for closure. 

This would make an excellent gift, especially at this time of year when many people are thinking of New Year's resolutions. If you know someone who is at a point where they are considering making some changes or perhaps you are looking for ways to improve your own level of satisfaction with your life, then order a copy of this book. It will be very helpful.

For more details visit the author bio or book info provided by the publisher.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Blog Tour Monsterland

Book Review: Monsterland, by Award-Winning Author Michael Phillip Cash

Warning! This book is not for the faint of heart, or those hoping that the monster will turn out to be Old Man Withers in a creepy mask and Scooby-Doo will thwart his plans. No, this is a tale of real monsters and what happens when you mix them together in a theme park with a crowd of excited teenagers, celebrities, and politicians. As it asks on the back of the book, "What could possibly go wrong?"

Have you ever debated with your friends about which monster is the biggest and meanest? You know how it is; you're all sitting around and someone asks, "Who would win in a faceoff - King Kong or Godzilla?" Wyatt Baldwin (no relation to Alec), and his friends Howard and Melvin often spend their time at work debating just such deep questions. Then again, working at the Instaburger isn't exactly a demanding job. But when they win behind-the-scenes passes to the new theme park Monsterland, it looks like they will finally get to see some of the creatures they have only read about or watched as CGI and special effects in movies. So the guys, along with Wyatt's younger brother Josh, are there for the big opening night. Jade, the girl of Wyatt's dreams is also there, along with her bully of a date and her friend Keisha, who has a crush on Howard.

But wait, you say, where do the monsters come from? Well ... vampires have been around all along, living on the fringes of society. Werewolves were discovered by accident in the Everglades. And the "vitality challenged" zombies are the victims of an incurable virus and have been quarantined into detention camps to protect the rest of the world’s population. It turns out that fear of contagion from the virus has pretty much thrown the world into a steep economic decline. So the world's leaders are overjoyed that Dr. Vincent Conrad has offered to take all the infected off government hands and confine them to the multiple parks he has built around the world, and he will even use profits from the parks to research a cure.

There are those who think it sounds too good to be true, like Wyatt's parents, but his stepfather is at the park on opening night, too. He is part of the local law enforcement contingent there to help protect the VIPs. It seems like the perfect time for the kids to experience the park - heightened security from park employees, the Secret Service, and local police - special passes to see how the park is run, and the chance to finally satisfy their curiosity about the creatures they have debated about for so long. Once the park opens at sunset, the crowd rushes in to experience all the thrills and chills. And it is an experience they will never forget.

The descriptions of the various areas of the park are creepy enough to give us goose bumps. As readers, we can only imagine how spooky they would be in person. Here's a taste of the main entrance square: "The village was a parody of any Main Street ... a maze of rutted paths, buildings squeezed together from different centuries ... a bizarre assortment that jarred the nerves." The enclave for each type of monster is decorated differently. For the werewolves there are bayou-like dense vegetation, bird calls, and banjo music. The vampires have a "techno paradise" with rubber streets that muffle any sound and gleaming chrome buildings that "grew out of the black depths." Perhaps the most macabre are the pastel suburban homes set aside for the zombies, with attendants washing the blood and guts off the streets.

Author Michael Phillip Cash takes on several heavy themes in his latest story. Among them are the threat of pandemics and how governments deal with the diseases and the victims, corporate and political greed, the difficulties of divorce and blended families, bullies, and more. Whether you enjoy stories with action or mental stimulation, Monsterland has it all covered, along with the creation of a sinister atmosphere that has you glancing over your shoulder as you turn the pages. If you enjoy horror, suspense, and thrillers, then grab a copy, but take my advice - read with the lights on.

About the Book

Monsterland

Written by Michael Phillip Cash Welcome to Monsterland – the scariest place on Earth. All guests can interact with real vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by an actual werewolf on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville. Wyatt Baldwin, a high school student and life-long movie buff is staring bleakly at a future of flipping burgers. Due to a fortuitous circumstance, Wyatt and his friends are invited to the star-studded opening of Monsterland. In a theme park full of real vampires, werewolves and zombies, what could possibly go wrong?

“Monsterland contains solid ingredients for a horror feast: stupid teens, smart teens, a little challenged romance, family dynamics, action, blood and gore. Will civilization ever be normal again? You’ll have to read it to find out. We dare you!”—The Children’s Book Review

Ages 14+ | CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform | 2015 | 978-1517180676 Add this book to your collection: Monsterland Available Here:

About Michael Phillip Cash

Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning screenwriter and novelist. He’s written eleven books including the best-selling Brood X, Stillwell, The Flip, The After House, The Hanging Tree, Witches Protection Program, Pokergeist, and Battle for Darracia series. Michael resides on the North Shore of Long Island. He writes full-time with his screaming monsters in the background. Website | Facebook | Twitter

Monsterland Tour Giveaway

Would you rather be a werewolf, a zombie or a vampire? Enter to win an autographed copy of Monsterland, by Michael Phillip Cash; plus a living dead themed travel mug and a $50 Amazon gift card!

Giveaway begins November 14, 2015, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends December 16, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. PST. US addresses only.

Monsterland Tour Dates

Thursday November 12 2015 The Children’s Book Review Tour Kick-Off & Giveaway Tuesday November 17 2015 The Review Wire Book Excerpt from Monsterland Tuesday November 24 2015 SciFiChick.com Guest Post written by Michael Phillip Cash Tuesday November 17 2015 Suz Reviews Author Interview with Michael Phillip Cash Sunday November 29 2015 The Cover Contessa Guest Post written by Michael Phillip Cash Tuesday December 1 2015 DCC Mealy Author Interview with Michael Phillip Cash Wednesday December 2 2015 Once Upon a Twilight Book Excerpt from Monsterland Saturday December 5 2015 The Fairview Review Monsterland Book Review Tuesday December 8 2015 Just Another Mom Monsterland Book Review Monday December 14 2015 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers Monsterland Book Review Tuesday December 15 2015 Inspired by Savannah Author Interview with Michael Phillip Cash

Fall Reading 2015 The Ghetto Singer: A Berlin Jazz-Legend Remembers

The title may actually confuse some readers, because when they hear "ghetto," they think of gangs in New York or similar settings from a movie. The fact that ghettos can actually be in any large city worldwide seems to occur to only a small percentage of people. It wasn't as misleading to me because of all the WWII stories I have read over the past year; many of them mentioned the Jewish ghettos created by the Nazis to contain unwanted citizens. So I decided to read this book based on my interest in history and my love of music. 

It seems that Coco Schumann and I share that love of all things musical. During his long and interesting career he has played almost every type of popular music and had the privilege of meeting or even performing with legends such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Watching through Coco's eyes and seeing the music scene change over the years (some of them long before I was even born), was like seeing a time-lapse movie of pop culture. The book covers the pre-war years of 1930s Germany up to the present day and the songs and styles of the times are his anchors in each decade or era.

For those who have never heard of Coco Schumann, he is a musician born in Germany to an "Aryan" father and Jewish mother after World War I. Even though his father had served in the German army during WWI and his family had a long history of service and loyalty to their country, Coco was sent to a concentration camp along with thousands of others from the Berlin area. He actually spent time in three camps - Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Dachau. As with anyone who survived the horrors of the camps, it is a miracle he lived. But it is an even greater miracle that he has remained as positive and friendly as he is. He credits music with saving him, both literally and figuratively. It saved him physically because the camp officers enjoyed having musicians to play for them and entertain them, so they spared his life. But it also saved his sanity and humanity by giving him something to cling to as an anchor and a connection to better times.

Since Coco never emigrated to America, his name is not well known except among music aficionados. His biography tells of how he first became attracted to the musical scene in Berlin and spans his career in Germany and abroad, with performances on board cruise ships, in jazz clubs, for campaign rallies, TV and radio shows, jazz competitions, and countless other appearances. The book does talk about his time in the ghetto and in the camps, but without going into excruciating detail. Instead, it focuses on the music and its importance to him.

For history buffs this is an interesting addition to the literature about the time period of the Nazi rise to power and its effects on European Jews. For music lovers, it traces the influence of war and culture, as well as technological breakthroughs such as TV and radio, on popular music. This is a book that keeps readers interested and ready to hear more.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Capitol Couture vs. Material Girls

Having recently finished Material Girls, I was struck by the similarity of the "torture trend" in that story and one of the designs for the Panem digital magazine Capitol Couture. The model wearing "The Huntress" look seems to have a woven red muzzle on her face, which reminds me of the gags in the torture trend accessories. To see the final issue of Capitol Couture visit CapitolCouture.pn, or to see a behind the scenes video of the shoot visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j95WIsicG8M.

Monsterland Blog Tour - Interview with Michael Phillip Cash

Michael Phillip Cash Talks About Monsterland and a Cameo as a Zombie

People have probably been asking you this quite often lately, since the “Goosebumps” movie has been so popular with kids this fall, and especially since you are a screenwriter—do you have any plans to turn Monsterland into a film adaptation? Absolutely! Getting a movie made is my goal…that is my end game. I’ve already pitched Monsterland to a studio and they are interested in the script, which I’m currently polishing. There is another production company who is also very interested in producing Monsterland. The only thing I’m asking for is a cameo as a zombie. The “vitality challenged” have overrun the world and regular humans have withdrawn into fortified enclaves in most zombie stories. But in Monsterland the infected are safely contained in detention camps. Why did you decide to set up the situation in that way? I mean this in the nicest way possible, but how many times can we read or watch the same zombie story over and over again. Every zombie book/movie has zombies running rampant in the streets. I wanted to shake things up a bit. I asked myself, would the government really let the zombies take over the world? No way! The US government in Monsterland built camps and wrangled them in there. It would have been the same story as every other zombie story if I left them in modern society. The government had a plan and it succeeded. Were there other monsters that you considered including in the park, but then decided to leave out? If you did, what were they and why did you exclude them as you went forward with the story? Yes, there was. I wanted to include a haunted house and have ghosts be the main attraction. But I must say, it was very, very hard to toggle between the three main monsters – werewolves, vampires and zombies. Adding a fourth monster, say ghosts, with a fourth teen whose story is intertwined was just too difficult. I’m going to try it for the sequel though. J Wyatt, Josh, Melvin, and Howard share an interest in monsters, although they disagree on which would win in a face off. Did you have friends with whom you debated the merits of various creatures when you were a teen? Not necessarily monsters, but I’ve debated, and still do, other types of things worth debating. Best movie of the 80s. Best video game on the original Nintendo console. Best TV show. Best book of the 90s, etc.…I must say that having those three argue about which monster reigns supreme was a hoot to write. I loved the witty banter because I’m familiar with it. The only parents we see in the story are those of Wyatt and Josh, although Melvin’s mother is mentioned. Was that a deliberate choice, or something that happened organically as the story evolved? Yes, it was deliberate. I loved writing the characters of Wyatt, Melvin and Howard, and I certainly could have added more depth with their parents, but I really wanted the central story to be about these three boys overcoming their insecurities. I feel it would have taken away from them as the focus if I had included parents in the mix. This was about teens surviving a scary theme park and growing up to become men. There have been several series of books recently that are a multi-platform experience combining the book and online components where readers can watch video clips, hunt for clues, etc. Have you considered expanding Monsterland to include other media with which readers can interact? It’s an incredible idea, but I leave all the publicity and online components to my fabulous team. My mom handles all the publicity with my publicist Brittany Bass. Ann Gerber oversees all the Facebook and Twitter stuff. If these ladies in my life feel this is where we should go with Monsterland, then so be it. I listen to them…they’re my bosses. I just create and write the stories. Do you have any projects you are currently working on that you can give us a few hints about and pique our curiosity? I just finished writing the 9^th Star Wars movie and the Yoda spinoff. I have a meeting with JJ Abrams this afternoon. Other than that, it’s been kinda quiet. You know I’m only joking, although that is my dream to write a Star Wars movie. All kidding aside, I finished this creepy novella called “The History Major” that is currently being edited. I don’t want to reveal too much, but I will say it’s a bit of a departure from my previous works. I’m in the middle of beating out a wizard story called “Warlocked”. Two wizards from different factions and different time periods are fighting for the same guy … the chosen one. I have a few sequels in the works too. Witches Protection Program II and Monsterland II are being beat out as well. Finally, I have met with a production company who is currently setting budgets for one of my earlier novels to be made into a feature film. I’m hoping this dream comes true!

About the Book

Monsterland

Written by Michael Phillip Cash Welcome to Monsterland – the scariest place on Earth. All guests can interact with real vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by an actual werewolf on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville. Wyatt Baldwin, a high school student and life-long movie buff is staring bleakly at a future of flipping burgers. Due to a fortuitous circumstance, Wyatt and his friends are invited to the star-studded opening of Monsterland. In a theme park full of real vampires, werewolves and zombies, what could possibly go wrong?

“Monsterland contains solid ingredients for a horror feast: stupid teens, smart teens, a little challenged romance, family dynamics, action, blood and gore. Will civilization ever be normal again? You’ll have to read it to find out. We dare you!”—The Children’s Book Review

Ages 14+ | CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform | 2015 | 978-1517180676 Add this book to your collection: Monsterland Available Here:

About Michael Phillip Cash

Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning screenwriter and novelist. He’s written eleven books including the best-selling Brood X, Stillwell, The Flip, The After House, The Hanging Tree, Witches Protection Program, Pokergeist, and Battle for Darracia series. Michael resides on the North Shore of Long Island. He writes full-time with his screaming monsters in the background. Website | Facebook | Twitter

Monsterland Tour Giveaway

Would you rather be a werewolf, a zombie or a vampire? Enter to win an autographed copy of Monsterland, by Michael Phillip Cash; plus a living dead themed travel mug and a $50 Amazon gift card!

Giveaway begins November 14, 2015, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends December 16, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. PST. US addresses only.

Monsterland Tour Dates

Thursday November 12 2015 The Children’s Book Review Tour Kick-Off & Giveaway Tuesday November 17 2015 The Review Wire Book Excerpt from Monsterland Tuesday November 24 2015 SciFiChick.com Guest Post written by Michael Phillip Cash Tuesday November 17 2015 Suz Reviews Author Interview with Michael Phillip Cash Sunday November 29 2015 The Cover Contessa Guest Post written by Michael Phillip Cash Tuesday December 1 2015 DCC Mealy Author Interview with Michael Phillip Cash Wednesday December 2 2015 Once Upon a Twilight Book Excerpt from Monsterland Saturday December 5 2015 The Fairview Review Monsterland Book Review Tuesday December 8 2015 Just Another Mom Monsterland Book Review Monday December 14 2015 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers Monsterland Book Review Tuesday December 15 2015 Inspired by Savannah Author Interview with Michael Phillip Cash

Fall Reading 2015 So, Anyway

Have you ever met someone really interesting and intelligent that you enjoyed talking with and listening to? Maybe you've come out of a presentation or seminar and said, "I could have listened to him all day." That's the feeling you get from reading So, Anyway. John Cleese tells the story of his life, including everything from how his parents met to the first filming of the "Flying Circus" series. Tales of his schooldays are brutally honest about how awkward he could be socially and how he learned to use comedy to redirect potential bullying. And the description of how he came to choose a life of writing and performing comedy rather than a legal career is an almost unbelievably random string of opportunities. Through it all Cleese offers explanations of his choices and his theories on what worked best, and why, for each TV or radio show, script, or screenplay.

If you are expecting the book itself to be one long Python sketch, it is not. Instead of a 400-page running gag, it is an honest and often amusing recollection of a very busy life. The number of different projects that Cleese has worked on as writer and/or performer staggers the mind. He lists a sample from the time period of March 1966 to November 1967 which includes 41 radio show episodes, 80+ TV show episodes, another 12 TV appearances, 1 film appearance, and work on 2 film scripts and 1 TV pilot script. (And just think - it was all done before the days of cell phones, e-mail, and video conferencing.) It is also awe-inspiring to stop and think about all the other comedic greats he has known and worked with, such as Peter Sellers and Marty Feldman (just to name a couple).

The photos of Cleese along with his friends and family help you to imagine the scenes he describes. In a similar way, the inclusion of script excerpts from different projects gives a taste of what the performances were like. While I would have wished for more details on his time with Monty Python, that would probably fill another book of its own. This is a very enjoyable read and feels like a humorous monologue about the author's life and what he has observed and learned along the way. It has been like a visit with a dear and very funny friend, and when the book ended I was sad that the visit was over.

Check the publisher's website for more information about the author or the book.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.