Category: Books I’ve Reviewed

Learning the Business of Writing

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Today is Tuesday March 19, 2013.

Today I was sitting back and reflecting on the writer’s life. It got me to thinking. How did I get that first sale? That first book review?

The first sale involved learning the system. I attended a Smokey Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference. I was a wanna be writer. I learned basics of magazine article writing. Maybe the most important happening at the conference was meeting editors and publishers. I talked to several publishers who expressed interest in working with new writers.

All the editors required that I write on speculation. That means I write on the subject they assign, but they have no obligation to buy my work. It allows them to see if I can follow their rules, meet their deadlines, write sale-able copy, etc.  It lets them see how thick-skinned you are and if you take things personal.

I had a kind editor who loved taking a few rookie writers under his wing each year and mentoring them. He called offering me an article on speculation. I had to rewrite six times before he bought the first article. My payment was 2 1/2 cents per word, that is a check for $12.50, three copies of the magazine – one for me, one for my parents, and one for my wife’s parents – plus my name was on the by-line.

The article appeared in a little magazine called “Sunday School Leadership” published by Lifeway Christian Resources. Its circulation in the early 1980s was over 250,000 paid subscribers. It’s audience was my church members, seminary classmates, and members of the 40,000 plus Southern Baptist Churches in the USA as well as most directors of Christian education of all denominations.

I wrote an article or two for this editor every year for the next 15 or 16 years. It took me over decade before I got a cover article. Once I did get a cover article I got one every year until he retired.  The first article is very basic. It’s title was: “Who Does What“. I wrote the article in the Emory University Library in Atlanta, Georgia. I lived close to the campus. It was a favorite place for me to hang out and study. The article is available by clicking on the link with the article title.

In 1986 I asked about reviewing books. At the time I would put a book review about once a month in my church’s newsletter. My editor was on the mailing list and said I wrote good reviews. He recommended me to a colleague. The thought of having someone give me a book for free to read was exciting to me. I was buying and reading about 100 books a year so free books were a good thing.  The review for the first book is available by clicking on the link with the article title: “Book Review“.

I wrote this article while sitting in my church bus. I had taken the senior adults from my church to an event in the Smokey Mountains. We had the afternoon free and had gone to the Vanderbilt Estate in Asheville, NC.

One lady refused to tour the house. She was protesting paying homage to the rich and decadent lifestyle I think. Even though the tour was prepaid, she refused to go on it. It was fall and cool in the mountains. I would not let her stay on the bus by herself. So, I sat out there all afternoon and wrote. I can write anywhere I think. The dear lady is still living and around 90 years old and still as stubborn. The picture is of the Vanderbilt Estate.

What is my point? My point is if you love to read and write you can probably leverage it into a paying gig.  You’ll never get rich. I learned at the DFWCon (the Dallas Fort Worth Writer’s Conference) last spring that less than one percent of all writers are able to support themselves writing full-time. So don’t quit your day job. If love writing why not go for it? Just write!

Encourage your friends, keep reading and write.
Jimmie A. Kepler

Albedo One and Albedo 2.0

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AlbedoAlbedo One & Albedo 2.0 – Submission Guidelines for Authors

We are always looking for thoughtful, well written fiction. Our definition of what constitutes science fiction, horror and fantasy is extremely broad and we love to see material which pushes at the boundaries or crosses between genres.

All authors receive a complimentary print and pdf copy of the issue their story appears in. Our payment is 6 euro per 1000 words (i.e. 0.6 cents per word), up to 8000 words. We hope to improve our rates gradually in the future, and purchasing the magazine is the way to help us achieve that!

Our preferred length is between 2,500 and 8,000 words. We have published stories above that limit, but only because we thought that they were of exceptional quality. Please also note that we cannot (regretfully) pay for additional words beyond 8000.

Our response time is variable – but we aim to respond between two to four months after submission date.

We do not accept simultaneous or multiple submissions, nor do we accept previously published stories, the exception being stories that have been published previously in languages other than English (i.e. you may submit stories that have not yet been published in English, but the stories must be translated to English for submission).

We do not count stories that have been posted online in fiction workshops for critique and improvement as having been previously published (i.e. these may also be submitted, but must be removed from the workshop if accepted for publication).

All stories submitted will be considered for publication in either Albedo One magazine, OR in the online Albedo 2.0 Fiction Showcase series, which aims to publish and showcase online the very best fiction that the Albedo One team can lay their hands on.

For postal submissions: All stories should be typewritten, on A4 paper or US equivalent, double line or 1.5 line spaced, using one side of the paper and leaving at least 1″ margins all round. Electronic version should be available on request.

We do NOT return manuscripts, so disposable manuscripts ONLY please!

Our postal submissions address:

Albedo One
2 Post Road
Lusk
Co. Dublin
Ireland

All submissions must be accompanied by an e-mail address, our preferred method of response, or a SAE with Irish stamps. NO English stamps, NO American stamps please – the Irish Post Office does NOT accept these. International Reply Coupons (IRCs) are unfortunately also not accepted by the Irish Post Office.

For email submissions: Mail your e-mail submission to: bobn@yellowbrickroad.ie.

Email submissions may be pasted into the body of your email, or may be submitted as an attachment in .rtf format (no .docx please).

Please enter subject line as follows: Fiction Submission: Name of Story

We strongly suggest that potential contributors be familiar with the style and content of Albedo One before submitting, and we advise ordering a copy or minimally reading a low-cost pdf copy before submitting stories.

Story rights: Upon acceptance of a story for publication in Albedo One magazine or the Albedo 2.0 Fiction Showcase, we claim First World English Rights for Online and Print mediums. This lets us be the ones to publish your story first, worldwide in the English language, either in the pages of Albedo One, or online on the Albedo 2.0 Fiction Showcase. As soon as we have published your story, be it in Albedo One magazine or Albedo 2.0, rights revert to the authors. Albedo One NEVER claims any permanent rights to your work.

You might also wish to consider entering our respected horror, fantasy and science fiction writing competition, the International Aeon Award Short Fiction Contest, with a grand prize of €1000 euro (yes, that’s right, €1000!) and publication in Albedo One.

We are also looking for interviews with high profile authors, media personalities and for book reviews.

Albedo One – Guidelines to Artists

Please submit a sample of your work. We currently require cover artwork only. Artwork may be commissioned on the basis of your initial sample submission. We pay €20 for artwork, on publication.

Our address:

Albedo One
2 Post Road
Lusk
Co. Dublin
Ireland

Aeon Press – Guidelines for Authors

AEON PRESS IS CURRENTLY CLOSED TO SUBMISSIONS.

Source: http://www.albedo1.com/?page_id=82

“The True Story of Catch – 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller’s 340th Bomb Group in World War II” by Patricia Chapman Meder. The publisher is Casemate Publishing.

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Did Joseph Heller commit a disservice to the members of the 340th Bomb Group when he wrote Catch-22? Did author  Patricia Chapman Meder write an apologetic defending the real four officers some feel Joesph Heller blindsided when he made them into Catch-22’s four heavy hitters?

“The True Story of Catch – 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller’s 340th Bomb Group in World War II” is a combination of both plus I feel some admiration for Joseph Heller making those men infamous.

There is a reason the original Catch-22 is found in the fiction not nonfiction section of bookstores. Joseph Heller didn’t write a memoir of his service during World War II. He wrote a satirical and somewhat historical novel.

Patricia Chapman Meder uses rare and unpublished photos to bring our actual heroes to life through use of first person narrative.

There is a third part in her book that is actually the book’s heart. She takes twelve men of the 340th and relates twelve true tales.

Fans of Catch-22 will enjoy the book. It makes good use of diaries, logs, and photos to bring the people to life. For those unfamiliar with Catch-22 the book will make you curious enough to pickup Heller’s book.

“The True Story of Catch – 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller’s 340th Bomb Group in World War II” would make a nice companion volume or commentary for the serious student of the original work. It would make a nice inclusion in university or community libraries as a resource for Joseph Heller’s book.

I recommend “The True Story of Catch – 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller’s 340th Bomb Group in World War II” by Patricia Chapman Meder. The publisher is Casemate Publishing.

Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler.

Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice

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I enjoyed reading “Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice” by Allen B. Clark. I can easily recommend the book. In the vast literature on Vietnam that is too often  memoirs full of hubris or tomes that bore you with action killing details, Mr. Clarke has given us a wonderful, fresh look at one of the most seminal events in the life of those who experienced the 1960s and 1970s. You experience the Vietnam War from the personal point of view of  some of the men and women who were there. You get both a unique boots on the ground and narrative perspective.

I need to give a spoiler warning. I was left wondering if the actions Colonel Clyde R. Russell was the catalyst that started the war. It was interesting to see his son in high school in Saigon in 1964. Later, we learn of his son, Lieutenant Chris Russell – the reluctant warrior as the author called him. We see how his dad got his college student deferment pulled where he had to go in the Army. We see when he is in Vietnam he returns to the halls he walked as a ten grader. The building is now used for a very different purpose.

The book is full of wonderful, well told stories that sequentially take us through the war. The stories of men and women of various branches of service and ranks, both officer and enlisted gives a you were there feel.

I especially enjoyed the combat leadership lessons that were shared as we made our way through the years of the war. I would hope that such venues as the Infantry School, Command and General Staff College, and War College would include this insightful work in their required or recommended reading. I pray these are lessons that will not have to be learned over and over, but can be taught through case studies from this book.

While every chapter was well written and action packed, a couple of chapters especially touched me. They were the chapters on The Real Horrors of War covering Captain Wendy Weller’s tour as a nurse in 1969-1970 and the chapter titled Ranger’s Ranger covering the 1965 – 1970 tours of duty of Staff Sergeant Patrick Tadina. I was amazed at how low the casualty rate was for the units/missions he led and how long he was in Vietnam.

The book’s title caught my attention when it had the date range going to 1977 instead of stopping in 1973 or 1975. Spoiler alert – the last chapter covers 1975 to 1977 and a couple who were left behind when the last Americans fled. It is intriguing.

Congratulations to author Allen B. Clark and Casemate Publishing.  You have published a special book.

“Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice” by Allen B. Clark. The publisher is Casemate Publishing.

“Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice” by Allen B. Clark

Posted in Books I've Reviewed1 Comment
I enjoyed reading “Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice” by Allen B. Clark. I can easily recommend the book. In the vast literature on Vietnam that is too often  memoirs full of hubris or tomes that bore you with action killing details, Mr. Clarke has given us a wonderful, fresh look at one of the most seminal events in the life of those who experienced the 1960s and 1970s. You experience the Vietnam War from the personal point of view of  some of the men and women who were there. You get both a unique boots on the ground and narrative perspective.

I need to give a spoiler warning. I was left wondering if the actions Colonel Clyde R. Russell was the catalyst that started the war. It was interesting to see his son in high school in Saigon in 1964. Later, we learn of his son, Lieutenant Chris Russell – the reluctant warrior as the author called him. We see how his dad got his college student deferment pulled where he had to go in the Army. We see when he is in Vietnam he returns to the halls he walked as a ten grader. The building is now used for a very different purpose.

The book is full of wonderful, well told stories that sequentially take us through the war. The stories of men and women of various branches of service and ranks, both officer and enlisted gives a you were there feel.

I especially enjoyed the combat leadership lessons that were shared as we made our way through the years of the war. I would hope that such venues as the Infantry School, Command and General Staff College, and War College would include this insightful work in their required or recommended reading. I pray these are lessons that will not have to be learned over and over, but can be taught through case studies from this book.

While every chapter was well written and action packed, a couple of chapters especially touched me. They were the chapters on The Real Horrors of War covering Captain Wendy Weller’s tour as a nurse in 1969-1970 and the chapter titled Ranger’s Ranger covering the 1965 – 1970 tours of duty of Staff Sergeant Patrick Tadina. I was amazed at how low the casualty rate was for the units/missions he led and how long he was in Vietnam.

The book’s title caught my attention when it had the date range going to 1977 instead of stopping in 1973 or 1975. Spoiler alert – the last chapter covers 1975 to 1977 and a couple who were left behind when the last Americans fled. It is intriguing.

Congratulations to author Allen B. Clark and Casemate Publishing.  You have published a special book.

“Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice” by Allen B. Clark. The publisher is Casemate Publishing.

The True Story of Catch – 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller’s 340th Bomb Group in World War II

Posted in Books I've ReviewedLeave a comment
Did Joseph Heller commit a disservice to the members of the 340th Bomb Group when he wrote Catch-22? Did author  Patricia Chapman Meder write an apologetic defending the real four officers some feel Joesph Heller blindsided when he made them into Catch-22’s four heavy hitters?
“The True Story of Catch – 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller’s 340th Bomb Group in World War II” is a combination of both plus I feel some admiration for Joseph Heller making those men infamous.
There is a reason the original Catch-22 is found in the fiction not nonfiction section of bookstores. Joseph Heller didn’t write a memoir of his service during World War II. He wrote a satirical and somewhat historical novel.
Patricia Chapman Meder uses rare and unpublished photos to bring our actual heroes to life through use of first person narrative.
There is a third part in her book that is actually the book’s heart. She takes twelve men of the 340th and relates twelve true tales.
Fans of Catch-22 will enjoy the book. It makes good use of diaries, logs, and photos to bring the people to life. For those unfamiliar with Catch-22 the book will make you curious enough to pickup Heller’s book.
“The True Story of Catch – 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller’s 340th Bomb Group in World War II” would make a nice companion volume or commentary for the serious student of the original work. It would make a nice inclusion in university or community libraries as a resource for Joseph Heller’s book.
I recommend “The True Story of Catch – 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller’s 340th Bomb Group in World War II” by Patricia Chapman Meder. The publisher is Casemate Publishing. Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler.

Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice

Posted in Books I've ReviewedLeave a comment
I enjoyed reading “Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice” by Allen B. Clark. I can easily recommend the book. In the vast literature on Vietnam that is too often  memoirs full of hubris or tomes that bore you with action killing details, Mr. Clarke has given us a wonderful, fresh look at one of the most seminal events in the life of those who experienced the 1960s and 1970s. You experience the Vietnam War from the personal point of view of  some of the men and women who were there. You get both a unique boots on the ground and narrative perspective.   
 
I need to give a spoiler warning. I was left wondering if the actions Colonel Clyde R. Russell was the catalyst that started the war. It was interesting to see his son in high school in Saigon in 1964. Later, we learn of his son, Lieutenant Chris Russell – the reluctant warrior as the author called him. We see how his dad got his college student deferment pulled where he had to go in the Army. We see when he is in Vietnam he returns to the halls he walked as a ten grader. The building is now used for a very different purpose.
 
The book is full of wonderful, well told stories that sequentially take us through the war. The stories of men and women of various branches of service and ranks, both officer and enlisted gives a you were there feel.
 
I especially enjoyed the combat leadership lessons that were shared as we made our way through the years of the war. I would hope that such venues as the Infantry School, Command and General Staff College, and War College would include this insightful work in their required or recommended reading. I pray these are lessons that will not have to be learned over and over, but can be taught through case studies from this book.
 
While every chapter was well written and action packed, a couple of chapters especially touched me. They were the chapters on The Real Horrors of War covering Captain Wendy Weller’s tour as a nurse in 1969-1970 and the chapter titled Ranger’s Ranger covering the 1965 – 1970 tours of duty of Staff Sergeant Patrick Tadina. I was amazed at how low the casualty rate was for the units/missions he led and how long he was in Vietnam.
 
The book’s title caught my attention when it had the date range going to 1977 instead of stopping in 1973 or 1975. Spoiler alert – the last chapter covers 1975 to 1977 and a couple who were left behind when the last Americans fled. It is intriguing.
 
Congratulations to author Allen B. Clark and Casemate Publishing.  You have published a special book. “Valor in Vietnam 1963 – 1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage and Sacrifice” by Allen B. Clark. The publisher is Casemate Publishing. 
 

Review: We Were Soldiers Once and Young

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There is a movie based on this book. I read the book before seeing the motion picture. I was very surprised when I saw the movie. They had left out the second battle. It was a battle that was just as bloody as the first, but without LTC Moore commanding.

General Moore and Joseph Galloway have written a fine book. It should be must reading for every military officer and politician. I found this book to be consuming my attention. It was very hard to put down. The narrative of the training, deployment, battle, wives back at Fort Benning, battle, deaths and death notifications by cab drivers, and the stupidity of the leadership that lead to the second battles terrible losses.

We Were Soldiers Once and Young is terrific book!

I was in junior high school when the battle of Ia-Drang took place. I remember it vividly. My dad had returned months earlier from his first duty in Viet-Nam. I was living in a military family on a military base. I watched soldiers march to and from training daily from my school’s playground.

I can still vividly recall the CBS evening news story with Walter Cronkite discussing the impact of all the deaths on Fort Benning and Columbus, Georgia. I wish I had read this before I served as a US Army Infantry platoon leader.

Buy it, read it, and keep it in your library.

Fighting With the Filthy Thirteen: The World War II Story of Jack Womer – Ranger and Paratrooper by Jack Womer and Stephen C. Devito

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Travel with Jack Womer from the steel mills of Dundalk, Maryland through his being drafted (which he resented) and assigned to the 29th Infantry Division to his deployment to England. Experience with him his selection to and the nearly yearlong training with the British commandos as a member of the 29th’s elite Provisional Ranger battalion. You will learn how he joined the 101st Airborne Division after the disbanding of 29th Ranger Battalion.

You will meet the group of demolitionist he joined in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment’s demolition platoon as they fight in Normandy, Holland, the Ardennes and Germany. The detail of the combat jump into Normandy gives you the sensation of being there as well as showing the confusion on the group. Wormer shares examples how his Ranger training helped him survive in combat. Unfortunately, he does not share the same level of detail in the campaigns following Normandy.

Co-author Stephen Devito did a great job of interviewing Wormer and putting his stories into a first person narrative. The book gives the feel of a veteran telling the actions of his youth.

Wormer shares how he and other soldiers had girlfriends when in England, but his heart yearned to return to the United States and his fiancée Theresa. A side note I enjoyed was the story of how he asked Theresa for a new picture and she refused. He told the story of his desire for a replacement picture. The press picked up the story. The Baltimore newspaper carried the story. We see his fiancée Theresa’s response/reactions.

The book’s title “The Filthy Thirteen” is the nick-name of the section in the 506th’s demolition platoon that Wormer was assigned. It operated/used special equipment like flame-throwers and explosives to attack and clear German positions. These men were infamous for hard living, tough fighting, and poor personal hygiene that earned them their name. The claim is made that The Filthy was an inspiration for the film the Dirty Dozen.

I recommend this well-written and interesting book.

White Heat – The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson

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White HeatHe had seen men enslaved, and seen death in battle on a terrible scale. So when a young, unknown poet named Emily Dickinson wrote to ask whether he thought her verse was “alive”, Thomas Wentworth Higginson – a critic for The Atlantic Monthly and a decorated Union veteran – knew he was seeing poetry that lived and breathed like nothing he had seen before.

Higginson was immediately awed by Emily Dickinson, and went on to become her editor, mentor, and one of the reclusive poet’s closest confidantes. The two met only twice, but exchanged hundreds of deeply personal letters over the next twenty-five years; they commented on each other’s work, mulled over writers they admired, and dazzled each other with nimble turns of phrase. After she died, he shepherded the first collected edition of her poetry into publication, and was a tireless champion of her work in his influential Recent Poems column for The Nation.

Later generations of literary scholars have dismissed Higginson as a dull, ordinary mind, blaming him for the decision to strip some of the distinctive, unusual structure from Dickinson’s poems for publication. However, Brenda Wineapple offers a portrait of Higginson that is far beyond ordinary. He was a widely respected writer, a fervent abolitionist, and a secret accomplice to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry; wounded in the first year of the Civil War, he returned to service as colonel of the first federally-authorized regiment of former slaves. White Heat reveals a rich, remarkable friendship between the citizen soldier and the poet, a correspondence from which Dickinson drew tremendous passion and inspiration – and which she credited, more than once, with saving her life.

Brenda Wineapple is the author and editor of five books, including the award-winning Hawthorne: A Life and Sister Brother: Gertrude and Leo Stein. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in The American Scholar, The New York Times Book Review, Parnassus, Poetry, and The Nation. She teaches in the MFA programs at Columbia University and The New School in New York.