You meet the most interesting people at Comic Cons

MOBICON

Mobile, Alabama, May 27, 28, & 29 

Balloon Man and his tiny human sidekick. They only fear pins.

It's not easy being blue-green

Who knew you could get a flight suit in size XXXXXXL?

I wonder if what they say about a guy with big hands is true?

Someone got up on the wrong side of the yurt.

Release Day for My New Book

Spirit Ridge

Spirit Ridge

L. A. Kelley

A dark shadow rises.

San Francisco in 1885 was a dangerous place for those who crossed Colin Doyle. To Nob Hill elite he was a successful businessman. To the underbelly of San Francisco he was The Mick, a criminal mastermind ruling from the shadows. If a buyer’s tastes ran to opium, a whore, or a politician, The Mick could name a price. No one who betrayed him ever escaped the city alive.

Until now.

Nell Bishop is a fearless investigative reporter for the San Francisco Dispatch. She’s on the run to the Arizona Territory with the one witness who can expose Doyle’s corrupt empire and stop the plan to extend his evil dominion to the West.

Marshal Sam Tanner of Spirit Ridge in the Arizona Territory fought the visions sent by his Apache blood. They always foretold a death he couldn’t prevent. Then Sam dreamed of the coyote with golden brown eyes who warned of a black shadow spreading evil across the land. Did the message call him to help the beautiful woman who stepped off the stagecoach? Can Sam and Nell elude the mysterious dark riders who dog their trail or will the next vision mean death for both of them?

Adventure, romance, humor, and the call of Apache spirits weave together a Wild West adventure where either murder or justice can come at the twitch of a trigger finger.

Excerpt

Surprise shot through Bart’s expression. “Never reckoned you smart enough to figure the truth. The Mick’s reward ain’t for fetching you alive.” His tongue flicked in and out again. “Please me, and I’ll make it quick.”

Tears sprung to Daisy’s eyes. “Sweet Jesus, help me.”

Bart’s heartless chuckle encased Nell’s heart in ice. “Ain’t no God nor man gonna help a whore.”

“Get away from her this instant!” Nell stepped into the alley, right hand hidden in the tunic, finger on the trigger.

Bart raised the gun to meet the new arrival. “Where’d you come from? Best be on your way. This ain’t no concern of yours.”

Nell strode toward them through the fog. The gaslight shone on her white wimple and the scapular under the veil.

Daisy gasped. “She’s a nun, Bart. You can’t shoot a nun.”

“Shut up,” he barked, backhanding her across the mouth. “For five thousand, I’ll shoot anyone.”

  “Get out of here, Sister,” Daisy moaned. “Please, don’t get hurt on my account. I ain’t worth it.”

“Release her.” Nell’s tone betrayed not a single tremor. “If you beg trouble, sir, let fly. I guarantee you won’t live long enough for regrets.”

Bart’s thumb pulled back to cock the trigger. “Your words don’t cut nothing. The devil claimed me as his own long ago.”

“Then perhaps,” she responded coolly, “the time has come to meet your maker and beg forgiveness in person.”

A shot rang out. Daisy shut her eyes and screamed.

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Book Review: Dead Wake by Eric Larson

The best historical fiction transports a reader to a different time and place, so much so that pages come alive. The story is real. The same can be said for the best historical nonfiction. All senses are engaged; taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight. The reader not only comes away with a better understanding of historical events, but a complete picture of the world in a far-removed time. It’s the mark of a great book when you root for people to survive and forget they are long dead.

New York Times Bestseller, Dead Wake, is a vibrant telling of the last crossing of the steamship Lusitania. No stuffy compilation of facts, no dull recitation of times and dates. As Larson relates the story of the doomed ship and the passengers, readers are drawn along. It doesn’t take long to become vested in their survival. Will the young man headed to England for his engagement live? What about the little boy with measles confined to bed? His pregnant mother? The spiritualist? The book dealer with his priceless package? Larson uses a treasure trove of letters, diaries, and written reminisces to give each a unique voice.

Larson flicks the story between the major players; the passengers and crew of the Lusitania, the British Admiralty, President Woodrow Wilson, and the U-boat commander Schwieger. This is in no way confusing, but instead, reveals surprising details. Some are sweet. President Wilson wrote gushy love letters for his soon-to-be wife, Edith. Others are simply amusing. I never expected a description of life aboard a U-boat to include a dachshund with puppies who cuddled with the crew.  

Tragedy can sometimes approach a comedy of errors. The sinking of the Lusitania is no exception. Warnings of submarines sightings were ignored or never sent. People who needed vital information didn’t get it. Even simple pride played a large part. Few took seriously the German government’s warning that all ships flying the British flag were fair game. Even when they did, destroying the Lusitania was unthinkable. She was the biggest, fastest passenger ship afloat with more than enough lifeboats. Too bad safety drills weren’t mandatory. Maybe then passengers would have actually learned how to put on their life jackets.

Larson’s face-paced chapters build tension until the final moment when U-20 fires the torpedo. After that, the story turns to nail-biting anxiety as the ship quickly sinks. Heartbreaking tragedy follows when who lived and who died is revealed.

Dead Wake has no overly technical jargon or dull details. No one is painted as a villain. This is simply a great read that recreates a tragic historical event in remarkable detail. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys getting lost in another time and place, whether fictional or real. Any quibbles? Yes. Other than one map and one photograph of the Lusitania, the book contains no illustrations or pictures. The omission is disappointing.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a review.

Book Review of The Naturalist by Darrin Lunde

When Being a Passionate Preservationist Meant Shooting Lots of Stuff

Naturalists are hunters for science who collect biological specimens for display and skins for study. These early collectors made natural history available to the general populace and played a major role in turning the study into a serious scientific pursuit. In this well-researched book, author Darrin Lunde focuses on Theodore Roosevelt’s passion as a naturalist and his influence on early environmentalism in the United States. The biography concentrates on the years from Roosevelt’s birth to his great African safari after he left the White House, and describes the events and people in his life that turned him into an avid outdoorsman.

Roosevelt came to his love early. Although a sickly child, he grew up in a time of Victorian beliefs that a weak constitution can be overcome by manly pursuits. So with the blessing of his parents little Teddy spent many happy hours rambling through the outdoors, slaughtering animals to skin and stuff. (He became an expert taxidermist.) Roosevelt was a serious student of the natural world, even studying science in Harvard. His decision to enter politics was an economic one; natural scientists made a poor living. Throughout his life Roosevelt surrounded himself with scientists, cultivating their friendships, and later inviting many to the White House.

Nowadays, naturalists are readily identified as preservationists, but not in Roosevelt’s era. He shot hundreds of animals for collections, many whose numbers were already in decline. The rationale being it’s better to kill a good specimen before they’re all gone so people will know what they once looked like. Readers will be surprised to learn how many of his contributions are in collections of the American Museum of Natural History and Smithsonian.

How times have changed. One of the things I liked about this book is that it doesn’t sugarcoat. There is a weird horror in reading the number of animals killed during Roosevelt’s hunting trips and safaris, and yet he and others like him laid the foundation for both the National Park system and conservation movement. Perhaps Roosevelt’s greatest accomplishment was conveying his enthusiasm for the natural world to the general populace through his writings and collection of species for exhibit.

Another interesting aspect is how the notion of preservationist has changed over the years. Roosevelt had no qualms about hunting, even endangered species. He believed predation was a natural part of life. One of the reasons he gave for supporting nature preserves in the first place was so enough big game would be left for his son to shoot when he came of age. “Laws should so far as possible provide for the continued existence of the game in sufficient numbers to allow a reasonable amount of hunting on fair terms to any hardy and vigorous man.”

The book was enjoyable, giving a real flavor for not only the work of early naturalists, but life in the Victorian Age as well. (Victorians also believe nicotine helped asthma and I snickered over Lunde’s appalling description of wheezy little Teddy as a child smoking stogies in bed.) I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Theodore Roosevelt, the Victorian Age, or natural history.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a review. 

Book Review: The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts by Maja Sӓfstrӧm

While I don’t regularly read children’s books, every now and then I have to let out the inner child.

The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts includes a splendid array of animals from barnyard to ocean to the wild. Sӓfstrӧm chose her subjects simply because they happen to be personal favorites, so the collection has no particular order. It lends the book a quirky charm when you find sea horses next to pandas. Sӓfstrӧm is also the illustrator. The print is handwritten and not typed, but easy to read. The minimalist black and white drawings are both whimsical and sweet.  The simple lines are clean and fresh and clearly display a Scandinavian minimalist approach (The author is from Stockholm.)

Each illustration accompanies several fun facts. For instance, if a snail doesn’t like the weather it can go into its shell and hibernate for up to three years. (Big deal. So can I) Many of her animal choices are obvious favorites for other people as well. Who doesn’t love a cute, cuddly koala or a regal tiger? I do take issue with the cockroaches though. In my mind the only good one is a dead one. I didn’t need to know that they can live for days with their heads cut off, but kids generally appreciate an icky yuck factor.

I suggest the book for an approximate age range of 4-8 years. The younger ones will enjoy having it read to them, while older ones will manage nicely on their own.  I was also pleased with the construction. The book is a sturdy hardcover . The pages have a good weight and a nice feel to the paper. They’re sure to withstand repetitive use by many little hands. The Illustrated Compendium will be a practical addition to any child’s library and can easily be being passed from older siblings to younger and still maintain its shape.  This makes it suitable for a public or school library, as well. A warning to parents: if you want the book kept close to its original condition, hide the crayons. Certain children will find the line drawings irresistible and be tempted to add a dash of color to the black and white. Not that I’ve ever done something like that in my misspent youth.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a review.

Book Review: This is Your Brain on Sports by Wertheim and Sommers

I’m not into sports. I don’t root for any teams and have no interest in the Olympics, World Cup, Superbowl, or anything that requires sweaty people to vie for a trophy. The quirky aspects of both fans and athletes has always been a mystery to me, but thanks to Wertheim and Sommers I have a better understanding of people who sit in a stadium with giant cheese wedge hats on their heads. The nature of sports turns out to be not much different from other forces that shape human behavior. Athletes and fans aren’t so crazy after all, and after reading this engaging book I realize I’m actually more like them then I care to admit.

The book examines sports from many aspects; behavioral psychology, marketing, economics, with a dash of evolutionary biology thrown in. Part of the fun is the often lighthearted approach seasoning the science. Why are quarterbacks always so darn good looking? Blame part of the reason on the halo effect which endows qualities of attractiveness to those in positions of authority or command.

A fascinating section on underdogs explains fan loyalty with teams in the bottom of the rankings. According to studies, the struggle to rise to the top is enough to engage support. As Wertheim and Sommers note, the role of the underdog seems natural. Losers are more human, poor schlubs striving to overcome obstacles like the rest of us. We relate better to them than those with godlike physical talents and attributes. People also frame the performance of a longshot more favorably; the humble, scrappy losers are endowed with more character than those prideful adversaries who stomped all over them. You don’t have to be a sports fan to understand.

This book isn’t a sugarcoated treatise on the benefits of sports. Negative aspects of competition are given an evenhanded investigation. A section on violence explains the link to arousal, and the authors draw interesting parallels between sport's violence,  the ability to negotiate a business deal, and ad agencies using arousal to cajole consumers to buy. Apparently sex not only sells, but also, according to research, doesn't detract from an athlete's abilities. Remaining celibate before the big game to improve performance is a myth. 

What I particularly enjoyed about This is your Brain on Sports is that it’s written for the fan and nonfan alike. The book is both entertaining and thoughtful. Even when the authors go deep into the science, explanations are easy for the layman to follow. Everyone will come away with a little better understanding of not just sports, but human behavior as well.  Sure, sports fans are a little crazy, but apparently so are the rest of us. Now, hand me my giant cheese wedge hat.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a review.

Book Review - Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body by Jo Marchant

Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body

 by Jo Marchant

The connection between mind and body during illness has long been at the center of a hot debate between the scientific and lay community, especially in Western medicine. Opinions tend to the extremes. Medical convention usually downplays the effect of the mind on healing. On the other end, New-Age nature babies babble about auras and essences. (Commune with the Earth Mother, and while you’re at it gambol through the woods and hug a squirrel.) In a balanced scientific approach, Marchant, a geneticist and medical writer, offers a thoughtful examination of the evidence in an attempt to answer the question: can aspects of the mind be harnessed to cure the body?

Placebos and Stress

Marchant investigates medical conditions with mental components. Placebos, for example, are a staple of medical testing, purposely concocted to have no effect on patients, yet they can. Placebos don’t change anything a person is not consciously aware of, such as cholesterol levels. However, Marchant notes in certain instances they are able to significantly alter pain, and can work better than, or as well as, prescription medications.  So much so, that even when people know they’re given a placebo, they still receive a beneficial effect. Still, they’re rarely studied. One reason is that placebos effects are often elusive and change depending on the type of placebo, shape, size or color, even the gender and culture of the patient. Marchant notes, “just because the benefits mediated by placebos are mostly subjective, that doesn’t mean they have no potential value for medicine.”  

Another area Marchant examines in detail is stress. Over time, stress can have devastating physical consequences, since it actually has the ability to rewire the brain. She delves into case studies involving the benefits of continuous care and supportive interaction. One program called Comfort Talk, reduced the need to sedate children needing MRIs—lessening the need for more medication. What struck me most in much of the reporting in this book was how it often takes only a very small change in treatment, requiring little money or effort, to greatly improve the benefit for the patient. A large part of Comfort Talk, for instance, is simply eliminating scary language.

Brains are weird.

Yes, they are. Marchant has written a fascinating book. Cure is neither dry nor dull, and filled with personal stories of patients and researchers, some amusing, some rather heartbreaking. Marchant ends with a strong plea for more scientific research to fully understand the role of the mind in health, but funding sources remain elusive. More than three quarters of clinical trials are paid for by pharmaceutical companies who have no interest in findings that won’t lead to the development of new drug treatments. Here’s hoping at least a few CEOs will read this book and put profit aside for the betterment of all.

  

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a review.