*Help Me* Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Help Me Thanksgiving Day Prayer

O God, when I have food,

help me to remember the hungry;

When I have work,

help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a home,

help me to remember those who have no home at all;

When I am without pain,

help me to remember those who suffer,

And remembering,

help me to destroy my complacency;

bestir my compassion,

and be concerned enough to help;

By word and deed,

those who cry out for what we take for granted.

Amen.

-Samuel F. Pugh

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*Book Review* The Devil Colony by James Rollins

The Devil Colony
by James Rollins
Wm. Morrow 2011

What if when America was founded, there were negotiations between Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin with a potentially unified Native American nation which wanted to become the fourteenth colony to join the United States?

What if ancient Mormon, Native American, and American mythology were combined with a long ago understanding of nanotechnology and particle acceleration?

If there are two great forces in the world, the Guild (let by a Frenchman with ambition to unite his family heritage with the great legacies of history) and the American Sigma Force, which will prevail?

In this rollicking thriller, good vs. evil compete across the history of America and some of our cultural monuments to gain control of the technology embedded in the weapons, metallurgy, and fail safe mechanisms of the long gone Indian cultures that failed in their bid to be part of the United States. The cleverness of the elements brought together in this beautifully crafted story are testament to the analytical interest of the author, both in history and technology, and story-telling skill.

James Rollins populates the torridly paced story with a collage of characters, each set of which could be the centerpieces of another story (perhaps they will be). There is a physically weak Frenchman and an African Amazon who cannot speak and has been with him since childhood; a Sigma leader and a distant niece; another Sigma operative loving a father in failing health and a femme fatale in the operation (both needing each other in a variety of ways); a combat medic with a Sigma leader spouse who is about to give birth; and others.

In the end, Rollins brings it all together in a beautifully orchestrated crescendo. As always, it will be interesting to see where the Sigma Force turns next. Perhaps, it will be to the inevitable rise of the Fourth German Reich. I can imagine Rollins following the current tribulations of Europe, the rise of Germany as the financial well for the continent, a failing America, and a rising China with its own economic woes barely beneath the surface needing to own energy and other imperatives of super-powerdom. Into this vortex, the Fourth Reich is ready to rise, having preserved its wealth through two world wars and three failed reichs.

Obviously, I enjoyed The Devil Colony and thinking about new adventures.

Warms, Cym

AMAZON
James Rollins

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Getting Ready for the Holidays in Book Style!

Is it really that time of year again?  I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week & then Christmas is close behind. So, no matter what holidays you celebrate, here are some great ideas for decorating with books.

Let's start with the holiday table. You can click on an image & it will take you to the original link.

Need a few Christmas Tree & Decoration ideas?



















Let the count down begin - cute bookish advent calendar ideas.





Are you decorating with books this year?
XOXO
Beachbrights
(guest blogger)

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*Book Review* The Things that Keep us Here by Carla Buckley

the things that keep us here
by Carla Buckley
Bantam Books Trade Paperbacks 2011

Imagine that you are a happy family living in a suburban area with your spouse and two daughters about age seven and twelve. Your marriage has become a function of running the family, with distance caused by the loss of a baby which your spouse essentially blames on your inattention, even though it was obviously an accident.

Your spouse advises that you are loved, but he is no longer in love with you and asks for a separation. He moves out, damaging his relationship with his children, especially the older girl

Into this peacefulness comes a pandemic of bird flu. It is anticipated that one-third to one-half of the American population will perish.

Ms. Buckley has written a gem of a story. the things that keep us here evolves in a thought-provoking linear process from beginning to end. Life is a day-by-day process, with crises, tragedies, and celebrations all taking their place in our lives.

The pacing of this story is wonderful in terms of letting the reader think through how they would deal with such a crisis. From my own life, it is amazing sometimes to see what personality traits cause people to persevere and blossom, while others turn inward and wither.

The twists and turns in this lovely story will hold your attention, wondering how you would handle such a situation. This may also be a life-saver for you, because who knows what is around your own corner. Think it all through and be ready.

Carla Buckley
Amazon

Warms, Cym

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My Current Project

I am done with the first portion of the revision. Over the past few months, I have had an interesting ride as a hope-to-be fiction writer. I was ready to go with a thriller manuscript entitled The Dust Scenario, with a background of the financial collapse and a protagonist who knows, and can prove, what actually caused the collapse and its destruction of the financial lives of millions of people. Her life has been turned on end to seal her lips. I took an on-line marketing course, then was handed off to a wonderful editor. She suggested a wholesale revision (only 26 single-spaced pages of comments), which has been a wonderful roadmap. I am done with the first third or so of the manuscript, ready to send it off upon her return from a holiday (hopefully, ready to work on my draft).

In the middle of this comes a request for a manuscript that we featured on the website www.cymlowell.com entitled Harvest of Gold, with a background of what actually happened to the infamous Jewish gold at the end of World War II, played out in a current time thriller.

I love to write fiction. Maybe I am making some progress. If not, I am a persistent little devil.

What are you working on??

Warms, Cym

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*Book Review* Little Princess: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
by Conor Grennan
William Morrow 2010

If you were an ambitious young man (or woman) and were determined to spend a year travelling the world before you found a job and began a normal life, would you consider working in a orphanage for children in some exotic locale, such as Katmandu, Nepal?

It would be great fun, especially if you always wanted to see the majestic mountains, go up to the base camp, and otherwise enjoy the exotic charms of this land situated between India and China. Of course, it has also been the site of virtual civil war.

What if you went to the orphanage, perhaps to impress the opposite sex with your care for humanity, and fell in love with the children? After a short stay before undertaking the around-the-world trek, would you miss the little faces? Would you feel the tug of children who adore you . . . and need what and who you are?

What if you responded to the tug in your own heart and returned only to find that the parents of the children are likely still alive? Would you then find a way to deliver them to their parents? Can you imagine the joy in your own heart as the little souls run into the arms of their family, looking back at you with love and thanks. Imagine the feelings of their mothers and fathers.

Finally, would your life be complete if, during the course, of your time in Nepal, you met a sweetheart on line, fell in love, and then had her (him) come join in with the orphan business, including finding a home to begin a new orphanage?

Wow! This is what Little Princes is all about. It is a charming, true story of one young man’s quest. He began with lust for adventure and found a rainbow of love at the end of his trail.

As I read these enjoyable pages, I kept wondering how I would have responded at the author’s age. I am of the Vietnam generation and had my trek there. Could I have done what Mr. Grennan did? Could I do it now?

You will feel better about humanity when you close the cover of this wonderful book.

Warms, Cym

AMAZON

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**Book Review** Buried Prey by John Sandford

Buried Prey
by John Sandford
G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2011

Two young blonde girls disappear as they are walking by their home. It is assumed that they have been abducted, abused, and murdered. A young patrolman, temporarily made a plain clothes detective, Lucas, follows leads to apprehend a street bum to whom all available evidence points. The street man is killed in the arrest process.

The young detective thought it was too pat. Superiors talked him out of pursuing his instincts concerning a shadowy Mr. Fell.

Thirty years later in an excavation, the bodies of the girls are discovered. DNA proves that the bum was innocent of this crime. By this time, Lucas is a senior detective married to a surgeon and living a comfortable life via inheritance, good fortune, and hard work. He is on the case of Mr. Fell once again.

There follows an intense manhunt, complete with unfortunate shootings and unanticipated twists in a road full of potholes. The story evolves in Minneapolis-St. Paul and surrounding lakes and communities.

If you love well-written mysteries, and you have never read the work of John Sandford, you are in for a treat. The writing is crisp, the characters engaging, and the mystery interesting.

I came to appreciate Mr. Sandford at the International Thriller Writers Association meeting (Thillerfest) in New York earlier this year. He was engaging in person, as well as in print.

Warms, Cym

John Sandford
AMAZON

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