Celebrating Independent Authors
On The Right Side: My Story of Survival and Success
by Karen Magill
biography, memoir
Available from Amazon.
When Karen Magill woke to find herself partially paralyzed on one side of her body, she began a journey filled with twists and turns. From the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis to becoming an award-winning novelist, On The Right Side shows that a crisis can be a blessing.
“Hey Joe”
Poems and Stories from the Peace Corps
by Robert Nicholas
Genre: Travel, biography, memoir
Available at Amazon.
Most Peace Corps Volunteers experience some form of culture shock. But which was worse – giving everything up to spend two years living a simpler way of life on a small remote island in the Philippines, or returning to the US and realizing what we’ve lost?
Excerpt:
Now my favorite word was “kwan”. I struggled at first to understand this often used term. “Kwan” seemed to pop up in every conversation I heard. How could that be? It didn’t make any sense. So much “kwan”. Sometimes it seemed to be a verb, other times a noun, or an adjective or adverb, though never a preposition. Finally it dawned on me that “kwan” was the equivalent of “uh” “er” “ah” “umh” or the ever popular “you know”. “Kwan” means I am clueless as to the word I should use here, but you catch my drift. And if you do, please tell me the correct term. Man did I use “kwan” a lot once I figured that one out. Now I could speak far more fluently and sound as if I actually knew what I was talking about. I even used to buy “kwan” at the merkado.
What others are saying:
“Having read many books about the Peace Corps experience I feel this book is one of the best.” D. Ianni former Philippine Peace Corps Volunteer.
The Color of the Wild
by Gin Getz
Genre of this Book: Memoir/Nature
Word count: 64,353
The Color of the Wild, an intimate look at life in an untamed land.
An original, inspiring work of literary non-fiction; an unconventional memoir of woman and land. Lyrical and lilting, powerful and passionate, The Color of the Wild is the beautifully told story of one woman’s life, love, determination and connection with the natural world. More than a memoir, a contemporary western tale with stunning stories interspersed and intertwined with powerful poetry, prose, and striking photographs.
Gin’s captivating tone and intimate view bring to life the drama and trauma of one year on her family’s ranch, surrounded by and a part of the wilds around them. The reader enters a world of deep beauty, fresh perceptions, simple humor and breathtaking writing as The Color of the Wild unfolds.
Set high in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, along the Headwaters of the Rio Grande, Gin opens her world to the reader with stunning honesty, and compassionate grace, sharing this captivating, personal tale of home, belonging, and commitment to land and family.
This book is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Continue reading “Book Brief: The Color of the Wild”
Betty’s Child
by Donald R. Dempsey
Available from Amazon.
In the tradition of Frank McCourt and Angela’s Ashes, Don Dempsey uses Betty’s Child to tell the story of life with his cruel and neglectful mother, his mother’s abusive boyfriends, and hypocritical church leaders who want to save twelve-year-old Donny’s soul but ignore threats to his physical well-being. Meanwhile, Donny’s best friend is trying to recruit Donny to do petty theft and deal drugs for a dangerous local thug.
Young Donny is a real-life cross between Huckleberry Finn and Holden Caulfield as he tells his story, with only his street smarts and sense of humor to guide him. Donny does everything he can to take care of himself and his younger brothers, but with each new development, the present becomes more fraught with peril–and the future more uncertain.