Thursday, January 26, 2012
DEFENDING GENRE FICTION
Sunny here. I've posted my opinions over at http://coraramos-cora.blogspot.com/
My Review of The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier
The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier
J. Michael Orenduff
The Pot Thief books are known for making the reader hungry and this one is no exception. Herbert Schuze, better known as Hubie, is hired to design and make the prototype for chargers (better known as plates) for a brand new restaurant soon to open in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The hitch is the Schnitzel restaurant is going to focus on Austrian cuisine.
From the beginning nothing seems quite right, from the owner to all the quirky people hired to cook and serve. Hubie gets to know these people better than he’d like because he must do his pottery work in the restaurant while preparation for the grand opening are underway. The cooks are trying out all the new recipes and everyone must try them out. None sound appetizing, and most of the time Hubie sneaks away to find more appealing meals elsewhere.
For followers of the Pot Thief books, Hubie makes plenty of trips back home and to Dos Hermanos Tortilleria in Albuquerque to discuss the happenings and the employees of Schnitzel with his friend, Susannah, over margaritas and chips. In between, he reads about the life and times of Escoffier.
The opening of the Schnitzel is disastrous. Austrian food is not a hit with the epicureans of Santa Fe. The descriptions of the menu items were explicit enough for me to know I would never try them. Never fear though, Hubie does plenty of cooking and eating of much more tantalizing dishes.
Though I haven’t mentioned it yet, there is a murder and of course Hubie is the prime suspect. Along with the quest to find out the true murderer, Hubie is romanced, threatened, creates new dishes, bar tends, attempts a bit of burglary and safecracking, and is nearly murdered. As with all the Pot Thief books, plenty of subtle humor abounds, and Hubie enjoys his Gruet Blanc de Noir.
There’s much to love in The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier. It has all the elements that endeared readers to Hubie and this series, good food and drink, unusual characters, great settings, a puzzling mystery and plenty more. Though I recommend that all the books be read, each can be read as a stand-alone.
Marilyn Meredith, Author of Angel Lost and the soon to be published No Bells.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The wonders of cyberspace
I posted the piece below on my Pot Thief blog and it showed up here. Go figure. I was planning to post just the review portion here, but the intro material works O.K. here, so I'm just leaving it. Which is just as well because I wouldn't know how to remove it anyway.
Mike
Mike
Review of NO BELLS by F. M. Meredith
The Pot Thief Blog has been inactive since the end of the Murder We Write blog tour on December 9. After 14 days of posting blogs on other sites while simultaneously hosting other mystery writers for 14 days on this site, I couldn't bear to hear the word blog, much less do something on on. Then Lai and I left three days later for a month in our apartment in New York City. We enjoyed the Christmas displays in the big stores, saw the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Special, went to the museums and galleries, saw Billy Elliot, a great musical, visited with friends and relatives and lived the carefree life in our cozy pied-a-terre. Cozy? Try 350 square feet with a Murphy bed. Hey, we're lucky to have anything in Manhattan. If it were on the market today, we couldn't afford it.
We returned just in time for the start of the spring semester. Lai had to turn her attention to teaching, and I had to turn my attention to treating a head cold with the staying power of a triathlete. When I finally got well enough to read, I treated myself to a pre-publication copy of F. M. Meredith's latest. So I'm restarting the blog today with a review.
Fans of F. M. Meredith’s long-running Rocky Bluff Police Department mysteries will be happy to learn the newest book may be the best yet. In No Bells, Gordon Butler gets his first leading role in this clever ensemble series. Butler is like Joe Btfsplk, the cartoon character in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner, a poor sap for whom things never quite work out. Meredith’s plot – her best yet – is a perfect fit for the character. Without giving away too much, he wins but he loses. It’s a very satisfying read, and the meaning of the title is not revealed until the end. No Bells is a tightly woven story. Just when you think you know “whodunit,” something happens to change your mind. Then you go back to your first guess. Then a different hunch arises. As always, every member of the Rocky Bluff PD and their family members has a speaking part as their personal lives and police issues give us another glimpse of a town we love to visit.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Five-star review for "Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper"
Inga's Review posted this reaction to my book on Goodreads.
If you want to read something which is entertaining, fun and has a good suspense story combined with Beatles music and good characters then The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper is definitely for you! Sally Carpenter’s book is well-written, humorous, and original and it is easy to read! I really enjoyed it! Regarding the plot: Meet Sandy Fairfax: Sandy is 38 years old man who used to be a pop-star and an idol for young fans for many years ago and who has been on the road of deterioration for a while. Since he needs some work he is accepting the offer from his manager to attend a Beatles convention as a guest speaker. When he arrives, then everything is different than Sandy is used to – no limo to pick him up, no suite in the hotel, except the fact that he is still recognized and he still has a fan base. During the fan convention Sandy is ending up in the middle of the murder case and all the clues which are left behind are related to Beatles and their songs. In order to make sure that he is not accused as a murderer, he is using his knowledge from the TV-series he starred – Buddy Brave, Boy Sleuth – to solve the mystery. I loved several aspects in the story. Firstly, I was fascinated by the details of fan convention. I have never ever attended at a fan convention and the spirit and the world of being a fan was very much fun to read about. How the characters know the details of their object of admiration, how they would choose no means to get a fan item – all that was put neatly to the paper by the author! Secondly, the dialogue was very vivid between the characters! Besides that, the inner world of Sandy was very captivating; I really enjoyed reading the book from his point of view. Thirdly, I also loved how the author changed Sandy – he developed through the story in very positive way. Regarding the characters: I liked Sandy because he started out as a middle-aged degraded pop-star with alcohol issues into the person he once was – person who loves music and loves creating and making music. He also grew as a person inwardly from being arrogant into a man who actually has nice personality. Bunny was annoyingly lovable. She was so into Sandy Fairfax that sometimes it seemed like harassment. She was smart and so keen to make sure that her idol Sandy was pleased. It was in one way very adorable and the other way also little too much. The other supportive characters were interesting and believable which also shows that author has thought through the stories of even the smallest and less important people in the book: the hotel manager, band members, police detective – they were all well-written. Generally: The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper was very entertaining and good book! It’s a book which makes you laugh and smile and creates a lot of positive emotions for the reader. Even though there is a murder story in the novel, it still offers a very positive atmosphere and that is exactly the reason why this book gets a very good evaluation from me! Read it!
If you want to read something which is entertaining, fun and has a good suspense story combined with Beatles music and good characters then The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper is definitely for you! Sally Carpenter’s book is well-written, humorous, and original and it is easy to read! I really enjoyed it! Regarding the plot: Meet Sandy Fairfax: Sandy is 38 years old man who used to be a pop-star and an idol for young fans for many years ago and who has been on the road of deterioration for a while. Since he needs some work he is accepting the offer from his manager to attend a Beatles convention as a guest speaker. When he arrives, then everything is different than Sandy is used to – no limo to pick him up, no suite in the hotel, except the fact that he is still recognized and he still has a fan base. During the fan convention Sandy is ending up in the middle of the murder case and all the clues which are left behind are related to Beatles and their songs. In order to make sure that he is not accused as a murderer, he is using his knowledge from the TV-series he starred – Buddy Brave, Boy Sleuth – to solve the mystery. I loved several aspects in the story. Firstly, I was fascinated by the details of fan convention. I have never ever attended at a fan convention and the spirit and the world of being a fan was very much fun to read about. How the characters know the details of their object of admiration, how they would choose no means to get a fan item – all that was put neatly to the paper by the author! Secondly, the dialogue was very vivid between the characters! Besides that, the inner world of Sandy was very captivating; I really enjoyed reading the book from his point of view. Thirdly, I also loved how the author changed Sandy – he developed through the story in very positive way. Regarding the characters: I liked Sandy because he started out as a middle-aged degraded pop-star with alcohol issues into the person he once was – person who loves music and loves creating and making music. He also grew as a person inwardly from being arrogant into a man who actually has nice personality. Bunny was annoyingly lovable. She was so into Sandy Fairfax that sometimes it seemed like harassment. She was smart and so keen to make sure that her idol Sandy was pleased. It was in one way very adorable and the other way also little too much. The other supportive characters were interesting and believable which also shows that author has thought through the stories of even the smallest and less important people in the book: the hotel manager, band members, police detective – they were all well-written. Generally: The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper was very entertaining and good book! It’s a book which makes you laugh and smile and creates a lot of positive emotions for the reader. Even though there is a murder story in the novel, it still offers a very positive atmosphere and that is exactly the reason why this book gets a very good evaluation from me! Read it!
SUNNY OVER AT BURIED UNDER BOOKS
The topic is titled "You've Changed--Has Your Website?"
It's not enough anymore to just put a website up and forget about it. It's also not enough to put down the dates where you are appearing and the latest book you've written. You need to have a website that reflects not only who you are but where you're going. Does your website define you? Does it offer readers a reason to come back?
I looked mine over and realized what was important to me at the beginning of my career path had evolved into something quite different. The marketing sites I concentrated on informing my "Posse" is now available to everyone without any extra effort on my part.
It may be better to give than to receive, and I do get so much more satisfaction sharing the book covers of authors I've brought into Oak Tree and sites of other bloggers. But, what I receive is payback, the willingness of industry people to promote me in return. It's all good.
For the full article, go to
http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/01/24/youve-changed-has-your-website/
To check out Posse Posts on my website, go to: http://sunnyfrazier.com
It's not enough anymore to just put a website up and forget about it. It's also not enough to put down the dates where you are appearing and the latest book you've written. You need to have a website that reflects not only who you are but where you're going. Does your website define you? Does it offer readers a reason to come back?
I looked mine over and realized what was important to me at the beginning of my career path had evolved into something quite different. The marketing sites I concentrated on informing my "Posse" is now available to everyone without any extra effort on my part.
It may be better to give than to receive, and I do get so much more satisfaction sharing the book covers of authors I've brought into Oak Tree and sites of other bloggers. But, what I receive is payback, the willingness of industry people to promote me in return. It's all good.
For the full article, go to
http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/01/24/youve-changed-has-your-website/
To check out Posse Posts on my website, go to: http://sunnyfrazier.com
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Website up and Running
I finally have my website up and running. Check it out at berylreichenberg.com. For a sample of my children's stories go to page 4 and page 5.
I'm writing new titles all the time and recently completed a book entitled "Camouflage" about how animals in the wild camouflage themselves. Reports from my test audience (my grandchildren and other small ones) have been very positive. Whenever I develop a new story, I always see now this audience likes the book and look for ways it can be improved by their comments. I find children are very truthful critics, no sugar coating here.
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