<![CDATA[Published Authors all News Posts]]> http://www.publishedauthors.spruz.com en Sat, 18 May 2013 15:11:58 GMTPublished Authors all News Postshttp://www.publishedauthors.spruz.com<![CDATA[Slightly Cracked – Susan Whitfield, Author]]>

Slightly Cracked – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
 
After eighteen holes of golf with his pals, Clayton ran into the kitchen from the mud room with a white face, his underwear dropped to his knees. Mackie Sue flung her spoon into the sink.
 
“Clayton, what on earth are you doing with your underwear down? I’m busy here, and I’m in no mood for sex right now.”
 
“Tick on my testicle! It’s seizing up. Get it off!” Mackie Sue sprang into action, getting the tweezers and heating the tips to remove the entire tick—head and all—on the first attempt.
 
“Just where have you been to get ticks, Clayton?”
 
“I stayed in the woods on every hole. I played like I’d never picked up a club before in my life.”
 
“Hold still while I finish up here.” She coated the injured gonad with Vaseline, just in case she’d missed something, and to soothe the traumatized area. Then Clayton tottered off to the sofa while she got back to her cooking, soon hearing a snore from an apparently relaxed if injured husband.
 
 
Ladies, if that isn’t enough to make you laugh and want to read Slightly Cracked I don’t know what will. And yes, I see this as a ladies book even though you guys would probably enjoy it too if you would just allow yourself to read it.
 
 
Clayton is Mackie Sue’s husband of many years. She is a high school principal and he is an accountant. Daisy is Mackie Sue’s best friend and has been almost since birth. They know each other like the back of their hands and a bonded friendship that nothing nor no one will tear apart. Daisy is married to Stanley who is a mortician with a deep dark secret that even Daisy doesn’t know. Actually he didn’t know himself that he had a secret until recently. And when it does come to light, it will have a tremendous affect on his and Daisy’s marriage.
 
 
This book is full of humor. We have two overweight friends who give it their all to lose weight, while eating anything that isn’t on the healthy food list. Both are going through menopause and both feel they have husband problems. And then there are the ‘gaggles’ of geese that Daisy has helped create over the years through feeding and protecting. I’ve read every book written by Author Susan Whitfield and there hasn’t been a one that I haven’t enjoyed but Slightly Cracked has brought out a side of this author that I didn’t know existed. I can’t remember reading another book that has made me laugh as much as Slightly Cracked. Yes, as I said before, it’s basically a female book but it’s also an adult book. It does get a little risqué but with so much humor that you can’t help but love it. Got you guys interested now? I think you would enjoy it too.
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Sun, 7 Apr 2013 20:54:36 GMT<![CDATA[Bertha & Tillie Sisters Forever – Fran Lewis, Author]]>

Bertha and Tillie Sisters Forever – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
 
My mean and horrible cousin said, “Bertha is the one that started the spitball fight in the bathroom. She was throwing them at everyone, and even hit the guards in the face when they tried to stop them. She bumped into one of the guards and knocked him out with her wide butt when she tried to run away. The coach was knocked out when she threw the ball and broke the window, causing it to fall on the volleyball coach. She deserves whatever she gets. Bertha thinks she is so smart. All she is and will always be is fat, ugly, and oversized.”
 
 
Can you imagine being a young person and have someone talk about you in this manner? And with you standing there too? It has to hurt. Bertha is overweight but what she lacks on the outside she more than makes up for on the inside. She isn’t athletic, she can’t even throw a bowling ball without it landing in the wrong lane. But she is still a good person to know, to be around and one of the best friends you’ll ever have, if you just let her.
 
 
In Bertha and Tillie Sisters Forever, Bertha tries to find herself. She tries to find just where she fits in her world of peers. While doing this, she doesn’t always make the right choices. One of her tries came when she decided to join a gang that harassed little kids on the playground. She tried it but it just wasn’t in her to be mean. Lesson learned and her next step is taken. Instead of joining a ‘gang’ she decided to create her own. But instead of being mean, Bertha’s gang became a team of investigators who are instrumental in catching the guilty people who broke into the music room and destroyed the instruments, gaining her respect from the teachers and police as well as a few of her classmates.
 
 
With ‘Adolescent Bullying’ being brought to light lately, Sisters Forever is the perfect book for young people to read. It helps them in understanding that just because you’re fat, you don’t wear designer clothes, your house isn’t a castle or your parents don’t drive the best car, you don’t have to accept bullying from anyone. You do need to stand up for yourself and if you can’t talk to an adult you trust and allow them to help you find the solutions to stop the bullying.
]]>Fri, 5 Apr 2013 00:17:57 GMT<![CDATA[Without Consent – Bev Irwin, Author]]>

Without Consent – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
He probed for the next vessel, clamping and cutting in a similar fashion. The cavity brimmed with blood and he couldn’t see. But now, it didn’t matter. He had what he wanted. He lifted his hand. He felt resistance. A Tiny tenuous cord stretched out of the wound. Another vein. Grasping the scalpel, he carved through the connecting tissue and the organ came free. For several seconds he nestled the coveted organ as if holding a newborn robin in the palm of his hand. Its warmth seeped through his latex gloves. Below his hand, blood surged into the gaping wound. He shot a glance at the woman’s face. Mary Jane, her driver’s license said. How plane. He’d call her Gabrielle. Yes, she was more beautiful than a Mary Jane.
Dr. Claire Valincourt, works the ER at Grace Memorial Hospital. In her worse dreams she never expected to find what she found while jogging to work one evening. A foot, sticking out of the bushes. It was pale and white and Claire sound found, it was attached to a body. A dead body that looked as though it might be a patient that had for some reason left the hospital after having surgery. There was definitely an incision going down the woman’s stomach and the incision had been stitched back together. But why was she in the park and not still in her hospital bed. That’s a question that the police will have to answer.
Detective Gerry Rosko got the call that there was a body found in the park. What he never expected to find was that the woman didn’t just have surgery within the hospital but somewhere unknown. He learned after the autopsy that the sloppy job of her surgery had allowed her to bleed out and she was missing a kidney. Pressure on him was to find the killer but that pressure was increased tenfold when another victim was found in yet another park. As with the first victim, this one had bled out and was also missing a kidney.
Without Consent had me looking over my shoulder as I walked my dog at night. The tension this book puts out as Rosko tries to find a serial killer before he strikes again had me just about biting my nails. Then when it looks like he may go after Claire I was really on the edge of my seat. This is a good one for Criminal Minds to pick up. It’s believable and will scare the heck out of you for at least a few days.


 

 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:56:38 GMT<![CDATA[host Hunting Diary Vol. 2 – T. M. Simmons, Author]]>

Ghost Hunting Diary Vol II – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish


 

 
I don’t much care for my days and nights getting mixed up, but since I won’t take sleeping pills unless I’m desperate, I hadn’t taken any this night. Being ghost-sensitive, though, I had realized that the ghosts were fairly active. I’d heard –and felt – someone several times since I’d settled in the room, and been aware of various noises in the rest of the house that couldn’t be explained away as a roaming cat. I’d also encountered the ghost in the bathroom a couple times: that drop in temperature and the skin-crawl sensation of the energy surrounding a paranormal entity. Normally, I don’t bother turning on the light during my nightly bathroom excursions, but due to that fairly strong presence this night, I did. And I’m not too happy with being watched during what should be a private time, but I don’t have much choice around here. I won’t call them pervert ghosts, but the bathroom ones are male.


 

 
This is Author T. M. Simmons talking about her own home, which is haunted, especially her spare bedroom which she calls the Molly-Belle Suite and which accommodates her when she can’t sleep and doesn’t want to wake her husband. She normally gets along with her resident ghosts but that’s only due to her ‘laying down the house laws’ to them. But now and then they will ‘test’ her to see what they can get away with.



 

In Ghost Hunting Diary Vol. II, T. M. Simmons records some of her experiences in both the cemetery as well as a few haunted buildings. Some of these experiences would scare the pants off people like myself yet all are quite interesting and there are even a few that are quite funny. By funny I’m talking about her records of the Naked Ghost which she found in the Baker Hotel. And her description was so that I don’t think I would mind meeting this ‘Adonis’ghost. But the evil ones she encounters within the Goshen Cemetery I think I’ll pass on.


 

 
If you enjoy a good ghost story, you’ll enjoy this series of books – Ghost Hunting Diaries. If you’re a believer, you’ll love these stories. If you’re a non-believer, they just might change your opinion regarding ghosts, ghost hunters and the paranormal world. They have made a believer out of me!


 

 




 

 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Fri, 29 Mar 2013 23:42:58 GMT<![CDATA[Olivia's Gift – Nancy Carabio Belanger, Author]]>

Olivia’s Gift – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
 
“He set before me a book of nature; I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not take away from the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wildflowers. And so it is in this world of souls, Jesus’ garden. He willed to create great souls comparable to lilies and roses, but He has created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God’s glances when He looks down at His feet. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be.” - St. Therese
 
 
Olivia Thomas has loved and cherished her books of her favorite saint St. Therese of Lisieux for a long time now. She follows St. Therese’s ‘little ways’ in everything she does, or at least she tries. But things are about to change for Olivia when her family are invited to spend a whole month at her Aunt and Uncle’s house on the beach. The house is beyond beauty, in Olivia and her friend Hayley’s eyes as they see it, the ocean and the kids that reside around it. The surrounding houses as well as the people inside those houses all have one thing in common – money, and lots of it. That is except for Olivia and her family. In fact, her family may have to really start ‘pinching pennies’ due to her dad being laid off and not really sure when he’ll be called back to work. But for now, they will enjoy a full month of living in a beautiful home by the ocean.
 
 
Like St. Therese, Olivia strives to do what’s right. She treats people the way she would like to be treated, shares with everyone and never lies. She’s even started a project of saving her money to sponsor a young girl’s family in Guatemala. But that is all about to change as Olivia and Hayley meet their next door neighbors Brooke and Brandon. Two kids whose family has given them everything they could ever dream of – but love, attention, discipline, rules. They basically do as they please, not caring who nor what is hurt in the process. And meeting these two has put Olivia into a position of shame. Shame that her own family has no money but does have rules that in order to fit in Olivia must lie about owning her Aunt and Uncles home, traveling around the world and being a ‘little rich girl’ that goes to a private school. She must also use the money she has saved for her project to buy things she doesn’t really need just to fit in. But we all know that sooner or later our lies and actions catch up with us. So what does Olivia do to mend her ways? That’s a question you’ll have to find out by reading Olivia’s Gift.
 
 
Olivia’s Gift is a book that EVERY young girl needs to read. The positions Olivia and Hayley find themselves in are positions I feel sure they can all relate to. I know I could and I’ve been grown for a long time. These situations never change from generation to generation. They are always there and hopefully Olivia’s Gift is a book that will help young girls understand the ‘whys’ as well as the’ what to dos’ when faced with the decisions Olivia had to face. I highly recommend that every parent with a daughter of reading age present her with a copy of Olivia’s Gift. I also recommend that the parents read it too so they can be there to help their daughter through this hurdle in their life.
 


 

 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:30:07 GMT<![CDATA[A Teacher Grows in Brooklyn – Albert Mazza,Author]]>

A Teacher Grows in Brooklyn – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
‘At the village we were greeted by our hosts and tribe members. My girls were again paired with one family and I was to be hosted that night by Susan. Her home was a block building with “outside plumbing.” A hand pump brought rain water into a small kitchenette. There were two rooms in the building. Susan was young, pretty, and blonde. She was given a guard at night to discourage the tribe’s young men. The Kalenjin were more advanced than the Luo, but the Peace Corps did not want any incidents with their volunteers. My new host, Edward, was slightly older than I was. He had fourteen children ranging in age from five to twenty-three years. His family occupied more than four buildings: sleeping quarters for the younger children, a larger building with a bedroom for him and his wife, and a living/dining room with a television set. I hardly saw his wife, who spoke only Swahili. Much of her time was taken up shopping and cooking in a typical cooking hut that had a chimney and an overworked fireplace that seemed to turn out food twenty-four hours a day. Edward told me that all his children will go to college. His eldest son was already married and a teacher. He was very proud to be a grandfather. Edward was also proud that he was a wealthy man with a healthy wife, many children, and a very productive tea plantation.’
 
Al Mazza grew up in Brooklyn and later went into the field of education serving many roles but with his most important one, in my opinion, as a creator of a student exchange program. He and his students traveled throughout the world learning the cultures as well as some of the languages, but most importantly earning the friendship of those within their travels. The experiences learned by teacher and students are priceless and could never be learned, taught nor ‘felt’ without this program. Teacher and student traveled to Japan where they took a trip to Mt. Fuji on the “Bullet Train.” They visited Belfort, which is famous for the Statue of Liberty design. They viewed the beauty of the Pyramids at Giza. And these were just a few of the trips allowed over the years for those students lucky enough to qualify for the exchange program. During their stay in the different countries, the students actually lived with their host family and attended the schools. In exchange, students from the host countries were treated to the same experiences within the United States.
 
What I can really express about my feelings while reading A Teacher Grows in Brooklyn is that I envy those who were treated to these experiences. The knowledge and memories can be nothing but grand. I would have loved to be a part of this program but since I wasn’t I do appreciate being able to read the memories and stories shared with us by Albert Mazza.
 
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Fri, 8 Mar 2013 16:53:35 GMT<![CDATA[Never Say Neigh – Noah Vail with Mary I. Farr, Authors]]>

Never Say Neigh - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh,Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
It takes a long time to train a human. None of this “get them broke in thirty days and into competition by age two” philosophy works with two-legged partners. It takes time and creativity on a horse’s part to get past all those self-assured human ways. In fact, most humans don’t know the difference between a horse problem and a horse lesson. Typically, they think training setbacks begin and end with the horse, though I beg to differ. I once heard a fellow blame his horse’s poor performance on the fact that the horse grew faster on one end than on the other. Now, this revelation caused quite a hoot in the horse community. We never did figure out which end grew faster, the rump or the withers. The gelding looked pretty even on both ends.
 
 
So, can Noah train his human owner and talk her into helping him write a book? He has everything it takes to become a good author. He’s a good listener when the other horses talk. Unlike humans, he knows what they want and need. With ‘Madam’s’ help he will surely have a best seller out in no time.
 
 
Noah was once a racer who just couldn’t quite make the speed. Madam bought him and took him home to his new home at Evergreen Farm. The accommodations left a lot to be desired at first but before long he was given a nice, spacious room that will end up being sufficient to double as his ‘office.’ That is as soon as he convinces Madam to co-author with him on the book that is sure to open the eyes of every horse lover out there. Who knows, he might even make friends with the other 4 legged animals running around like they own the place… the cat, dog, cows, other horses… and add a few of their comments and stories just in case someone other than a horse lover wants to buy his book. He might even fall in love with that pretty filly rooming across from him and write about her. All-in-all life is going to be just great in his new home with his new owner. If he can just get her trained!
 
 
Meet the next 'Mr. Ed.' You can’t help but laugh as you read Noah’s comments and feelings about anything from dressage to jumping to cattle horses. And his conversations with the other animals such as the mouse will have you smiling and even laughing out loud. This is a very light hearted book that is enjoyable for adults as well as being the perfect book to read a chapter or so to the kids before lights out.
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:49:23 GMT<![CDATA[License to Lie – Terry Ambrose, Author]]>

License to Lie – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
 
“You lied about not knowing what Richard was upset about. Did it have something to do with Roxy?” The color drained from Tommy’s face. He grabbed the towel he’d hung over his shoulder and began to wipe the bar. “I-I can’t.” “Richard Tanner may be in some sort of trouble. If you know something, tell me. I won’t tell Roxy. This is in confidence between you and me. You don’t have time to think about it Tommy, she’ll be back in a minute.” Tommy let out a deep breath. “Richard never said exactly what he was upset about, just that Roxy lied to him about something.” “That’s it? Come on, there has to be more.” Skip glanced in the direction of the restrooms, no Roxy yet. Tommy grimaced and crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t lock up on me, Tommy. We don’t have time for niceties.” “Okay, okay. It has something to do with Roxy’s business. She’s got him totally screwed up. He kept saying something about a scam.”
 
 
And boy was it ever a scam. One to the tune of almost five million dollars that Roxy Tanner had swindled from some of her rich ‘investors’ with no intentions of investing nor giving back to them. If there was to be an investment, it was to be in her own future sitting on a beach somewhere in a country where she couldn’t be found. But now her father was missing and she needed help finding him. That’s when she spotted Skip Cosgrove on TV after he had found a missing child and returned him to his parents. This just might be the person to help her find her dad. But this theory changed when those responsible for his disappearance demanded five million dollars ransom for his return.
 
 
The last person Roxy had trusted was a man that she met when she was 8 years old. She tried to sell him a fake Rolex and it landed her in more trouble than any child that age should face. Now she was faced with actually needing someone to trust. Maybe Skip would be that person. But how does an con artist trust a criminologist that sometimes works as a consultant for the police. How would he react if he found out what she had done and was planning to do? If he got that close she would have to make dismiss him before he turned her in and she ended up spending the rest of her good years in prison instead of on the beach. But boy was Skip hard to get rid of and hard to forget. Skip also found that Roxy was hard to forget, too.
 
 
The adventure, excitement and speed of this story kept me on the edge. I wanted Roxy to find her dad, alive and to give the money back to those she scammed but when the money ended up being transferred from her account to the kidnappers I actually felt sorry for her. She would either have to find a way to recover the money or go to jail for sure. There was no running away with enough stashed away to hide forever. I also felt sorry for Skip who by then had fallen hard for Roxy. He knew in his heart that if she did recover the money she would run so with both of them between a rock and a hard place they end up….. Sorry but you’ll have to read the book to see how they ended up. I can promise you that in doing so you’ll go down a road with more curves than straight stretches. This was a good one!
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
]]>Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:31:56 GMT<![CDATA[Ghost Hunters Diary, Vol. 1 – T. M. Simmons, Author]]>

Ghost Hunting Diary – Volume I – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

 

The Green Room is haunted by a Confederate soldier, but for some reason, he only appears in the summer. He had been wounded in the Civil War and found his way to The Myrtles, where he died from his wounds. There are tales of people seeing six red-coated British soldiers carrying a coffin out by the pond. A lady in white walks around the grounds, and both guests and townspeople have reported seeing her. The most famous story about The Myrtles, though, is the story of Cloe, the black slave. Clark Woodruff owned the plantation in the early 1800’s. By 1982, he and his wife had three children, two girls and a boy. There was a portrait of Woodruff in the game room, and stories say that people have actually seen tears flowing down it.

In those days the southern plantations were worked by slaves, and at times, the masters took mistresses from the workers. One of Woodruff’s mistresses was Cloe. Proud and protective of her status, since it kept her in the house and out of the fields picking cotton and other crops, Cloe intended to maintain her position. Thus, she tended to eavesdrop in order to store up any information that might assist her. When caught Woodruff ordered Cloe’s ear cut off and banished her from his bed.

Author T. M. Simmons doesn’t just write paranormal stories; she lives them too. The ghosts above are just some that she and her Aunt Belle encountered while visiting The Myrtles in St. Francisville, Louisiana, just outside of Baton Rouge. In her Ghost Hunting Diary Volume I, she gives us a look at what is involved in ‘cleansing’ a room and sometimes even a whole house. But I think the story that got to me the most was when she and other members of the North Texas Paranormal Research Society visited Goshen Cemetery, just out from Eustance, Texas on of all times of the year, Halloween.

There have been times in my own life that I’ve felt there were ‘others’ among us but have always brushed this feeling off to excuses such as ‘I’m alone,’ ‘Its Dark,’ or ‘That was just the wind.’ After reading Ghost Hunting Diary Volume I, I’ve just about decided that there is a lot more to these encounters than we realize. I have a feeling that by the time I get to her 4th Ghost Hunting Diary, I’ll be a true believer.

 
Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Sun, 17 Feb 2013 19:50:23 GMT<![CDATA[Confessions of a Predatory Lender – Irma Fritz, Author]]>

Confessions of a Predator Lender – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
“During the eighteen months the Otts have had their home, they have paid only part of the interest and none of the principal. Now, that the reset date has arrived, I’m not surprised that shock and awe has set in. Their new payments will be three, maybe even four, times the amount of the monthly payments they’ve been making. I could explain to Sally that they can’t refinance a house that’s worth less than the amount they owe. I could explain to her that their house is a piece of paper, called a mortgage-backed security, that’s been sold and resold. Their home is identified by a serial number, rather than a family name Whoever owns a share of the Otts’ CDO has never seen photos of Sally, John, Haley, and J. J. And if Big Lou and Steve can’t come up with a viable solution for our bank, very soon I will be in the same position as the Otts.” (Quote from Confessions of a Predatory Lender)
 
Lewis ‘Big Lou’ Goode is the CEO of Goode Mortgage Bank. This is the bank his own father created years ago. Now, the bank has branches extending throughout the U.S. But Big Lou wants his bank to grow even bigger. How? By flooding the mortgage lending market with new products, which will allow just about anyone to qualify for a mortgage. With loan products the customer can buy with no money down, without the best credit references, such as the ARM programs, they can pay just some of the interest and none of the mortgage at a lower interest. Then a few months down the road after the new homeowner has had time to build up a little nest egg, the loan will jump up to a higher interest rate. But by then they will be in better financial shape to make the higher payments. This is just one of the products Big Lou has highlighted to his newest graduating class of loan officers. And when he talks about the money they themselves will profit from these sales, greed can’t help but kick in.
 
Greed is exactly what Christy Palus feels as she climbs the ladder to success. As she and her best friend Megan begin to live their dreams of great cars, clothes and even a houseboat, Christy finds herself betraying, not only Megan, but anyone else who seems to get in her way. She isn’t proud of what she does to rise up the ranks, but does see it as something that must be done. When her very first buyer comes back to her for yet another Big Lou deal, in the form of a cash out loan, and her gut tells her this isn’t such a good idea for the customer, again greed steps in to remind her that the customer is really the greedy one by wanting more.
 
Then it happens. The housing bubble bursts. The customers can’t pay and the banks are running out of money to loan. The housing market is going down the tubes with no relief in sight. Loans were made, loans were sold, and the housing values are dropping, leaving everyone out in the cold. Will Christy herself survive? Should she survive? Is she the ‘Predatory Lender?’
 
I’ve seen the events within this book happening all around me. I’ve known young couples who would never have qualified to buy, had the loans been given on the merit of credit, job and stability. I’ve seen them spend the money they saved with lower interest rates, even though they knew in the back of their minds that the rate would soon go up. I’ve seen the stress these financial situations have put on couples, some enough to split them up. And I’ve seen the houses being foreclosed on, due to the rise in their interest rates. But this hasn’t affected just those who have and will lose their homes. It’s affected all of us through the property values of our homes. Even in the condos where I live, there have been foreclosures with the banks selling the property way below the mortgage. With just a few foreclosures within an area, you end up with the decrease of all property around it. Although Confessions of a Predator Lender is a book of fiction, it has opened my eyes, showing me exactly how and why this has and is still happening. It all boils down to one word… Greed. This is a book filled with humor and truth and well worth reading.
 
Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com
]]>Fri, 15 Feb 2013 22:22:45 GMT<![CDATA[Suzanne's Kitchen 'Come on In' – Suzanne Rexford, Author]]>

Suzanne's Kitchen - An A-Z Kitchen Guide - 'Come on In' - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish


What is 'Brown Betty?' What is 'Enamelware?' What is 'Gratin?' What is 'Light Beer?' What is a 'Snow Pea?' What is 'Quinoa?' If you know the answers to these questions, see if you can answer a few more. What does 'Cooking in Liquid' mean? What does 'Cube' mean? What does 'Frizzle' mean? What does 'Mince' mean? What does 'Render' mean? Answered these all correctly? Just a few more. Do you know how to purchase 'Corn?' Do you a substitution for 'Corn Syrup?' Do you know how to store 'Limes?' Do you know what needs to be done to 'Meringue' to keep it from shrinking? Do you how to use 'Star Anise?'
 
If you answered yes to all of these you just may not need this book. I for one have to look some of these up before giving an intellegent answer. I've always heard of Brown Betty and am sure I've eaten it but never really knew what it was. I found a recipe using Quinoa but had no idea what it was, where it came from nor how to cook it. I actually have some Star Anise but had no idea what meats are complimented by this licorice smelling 'pod' that comes from an evergreen that grows in southwestern China and northern Vietnam. And when it came to a substitution for Corn Syrup, I had to look that answer up too and that is where Suzanne's Kitchen came in.
 
As soon as I picked this book up the first thing that came to my mind was a 'cooking dictionary!' How many times have I needed one of those. Sure, we can all go to the internet but that means logging in to the internet, typing in the main topic of what we're looking for and then sorting through several pages of articles/blogs written on the topic. With Suzanne's Kitchen you simply look it all up within one book. Short, simple and quick. I love this book and as much as I cook I'll never be able to store all of the cooking information within my head that you can find within this one book. This is a book that EVERY kitchen needs, whether you cook a lot or just a little. This one will be used in my kitchen.
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
]]>Wed, 6 Feb 2013 21:40:04 GMT<![CDATA[The William S Club – Riley Banks, Author]]>

The William S Club - Review by Martha A Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
Damon’s grandfather pulled a heavy brass key from around his neck. For as long as he could remember that key had hung there, a visual reminder of a lifetime of secrets. ‘I want to know the moment she boards the plane,’ his grandfather said. Damon nodded. Not like he had any other choice. Fresh rain pelted the double glazed windows as the key clinked in the lock, echoing across the Spartan dining room. The house had become more mausoleum than home. Behind the wooden door lay a metal door; the kind used by bank vaults. It protected a flight of stairs that led to the basement. Not that Damon Harvey had ever been down there. The basement was forbidden to all but The William S Club. As a child, Damon spent hours pondering what lay behind that door. Now he didn’t care. Let them have their secrets. As long as they left him alone.


 

 

What began as a derogative term to explain the tight, inner circle of firstborn Harvey men became a badge of honor worn by each consecutive William Sydney Harvey including Damon’s older brother, BJ – Bill Junior – older by a whole minute and a half. But The William S Club were not without their secrets, the biggest one hidden in the basement. Only one brave man had discovered that secret; Paul Baker, a former employee of Harvey Enterprises. And Paul paid the ultimate price for his discovery – he lost his wife, his daughter and his freedom, spending twenty years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now out of prison, Paul is determined to find his daughter, Victoria, and prove his innocence. But finding Victoria will be harder than he thinks. She changed her name and fled Australia the first chance she got, distancing herself from her father’s criminal past and her mother’s apparent suicide. Paul has no idea his daughter is being used as bait to draw him out or that Victoria, or Charlotte Burke as she is now known, is a guest on the Harvey’s wine and dine press trip. There is only one way Paul can save his daughter’s life – retrieve the documents his wife hid. But first, he must find them.

 

 

When I agreed to read The William S Club I didn’t realize that one of its tags was erotic, which isn’t my cup of tea and since I don’t read other reviews nor comments before reading a book I’ve found myself reading something that just doesn’t fit my suspenseful mind. Well, The William S Club is a book that can claim the tag of erotic but I have to say from the very beginning the suspense grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I was so hooked that I decided I could live through the erotica which actually came a little later in the book. I found myself reading every page in the hope of finding out just what the Harvey men were hiding. What was so precious that they not only killed outsiders for but family members too. It took me to within the last few pages to find my answer and I was completely surprised. I had ventured many guesses but none were correct. Their secret was something so different that I would have never been able to come up with it on my own. This is a true suspense novel with some erotic sex along the way.

 

 


 

 
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
]]>Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:08:52 GMT<![CDATA[Time Out – Mary Allen Sochet, Author]]>

Time Out – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
I never thought
it would turn out this way.
Growing old,
fat, wrinkled, gray.
Going to funerals
way more than weddings.
Watching our friends’ children die.
 
When we were kids
back in the North Country,
we would twirl our way
up Broad Street,
heading home
from the movies
and Confession
on Saturday afternoons.
 
Everything seemed
so easy, so clear
The movies ended happy every after,
The priest gave
short penances.
Three Hail Marys
One Our Father.
A piece of cake
 
As I read Time Out I couldn’t help but relate to many of the memories Author Mary Allen Sochet brought to my own mind. She talked about her life with Marvin, with his ability to never be on time, how he stood up for his rights and the rights of others, and how this standing up even landed him in jail at the age of 75. You see, Marvin was a ‘baby boomer’ that grew up during the times of flower children, hippies and the Viet Nam War. Through her writing I can picture the protests, changes in time, the changes in values and the changes in ourselves as we grow old. I can see these because I too am a ‘baby boomer’ that lived through these times. Some were happy, some were sad and some were simply bad.
 
Time Out is a series of poem ‘stories’ that trace the author’s life from the beginning to the end with her beloved husband Marvin. In Time Out, Mary Sochet expresses her own way of coping with the ups and down of life and the death of a loved one. It’s one of the most touching books I’ve read in some time.
Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com  

 

]]>Sat, 19 Jan 2013 21:04:02 GMT<![CDATA[One Rainy Summer – B. J. Robinson, Author]]>

One Rainy Summer – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
Quietly, I dragged a chair over the soft beige carpet, took my seat, and pulled aside the curtain. Granny stood at the bottom of the ladder with a man a full head taller, and the two of them headed for the woods on the side of the house. He held her hand, pulled her along after him, and focused a flashlight on the wooded trail that led to the canal. Granny, don’t you know you’re too old to be sneaking out windows and climbing ladders? What in the world’s going on? Granny was a grown woman. Why was she sneaking around with this mystery man? What was going on? Why was my honest, respectful, Bible-reading granny slipping out her bedroom window in the middle of the night like some teenager breaking curfew? I was determined to find out, so I jumped back into my bed and grabbed the heavy volume of Walden. No time to waste. Something was going on, and I knew this book and Granny’s journals held the answer. I made up my mind that this was one puzzle I’d stick with and solve.
 
 
After her father's death, Hope and her mother went to live with her Granny in the beautiful Sunshine State of Florida. She loved it. Her best friend Matthew lived next door and the two of them spent hours in the woods, swamp and along the canals and lake. So when she spotted Granny sneaking out one night she knew it would be her job, with Matthew’s help, to find out the secrets that Granny had been keeping. Her first clue was found inside her Granny’s volume of Walden where she had hidden a picture of herself and a handsome man from earlier years and written notations within the margins of the pages. Her biggest clue came when she and Matthew were out searching for the man Granny had slipped out with. After finding him she discovered him to be the same man in the picture hidden in the book. So, who is he and why must they slip around to see each other. Who are they hiding from?
 
 
Hope ends up opening up more doors than she ever expected when she learns the true identity of Granny’s special friend Sandy. She also finds that the person Granny is apparently hiding Sandy from is Hope’s own mother. Now she has to find out why.
 
One Rainy Summer is a book of true love and God’s way of making everything turn out just the way it was supposed to. If you don’t believe in ‘things happening for a reason’ this book just might make you believe. The trust in God that Hope, Matthew, Granny and Sandy have for bringing happiness and love to everyone is written in a beautiful way. And as the story unfolded I couldn’t help but feel the love of the characters as well as the love God bestowed on each of them. A truly beautiful book.
 
B. J. Robinson makes her home in the Sunshine State, Florida, where she lives with her husband and pets. She's blessed with children and grandchildren, and Jesus is her best friend. Visit BJ Robinson at http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com and check out her available books through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, and Christianbooks.com.
 
 
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
]]>Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:56:45 GMT<![CDATA[Dead Man Haunts – T. M.Simmons, Author]]>

Dead Man Haunt – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 

Twila and I see ghosts. We talk to ghosts. We actually hunt ghosts and enjoy the heck out of our quests. We love to prowl old buildings and graveyards, day and night, study the history of them, and occasionally chat with the long-passed occupants of both the buildings and graves. Yet out of the dozens of gone-by souls we chat with, very few ever keep our attention past that one and only conversation. Patrick, however, a ghost I met recently, had intrigued us into this upcoming adventure, the adventure Jack was so adamantly opposed to. I’d met Patrick when I joined a few local ghost hunters to investigate the historic, scheduled-for-demolition Springs Hotel in the tiny West Texas town of Mineral Springs. He stepped out of the shower in the men’s dressing room, six foot of blond nakedness, dribbles of water crawling down his tanned muscles, a white towel draped around his neck. No doubt in my mind he was a ghost, yet what a gorgeous ghost. Patrick winked at me – he could see me every bit as well as I could him. Then he disappointed me greatly when he faded back into his own dimension. I didn’t even get a chance to see if he’d show up in a photograph, because I was too rapt to remember the digital camera hanging around my neck.

 

 


 

Alice is a writer by occupation and resides in a lakeside cabin in Six Gun, Texas along with several cats and a dog and a mixture of ghosts who would rather stay as they are than to go into the light to the other side. Her closest neighbor Granny and her aunt Twila both indulge in Alice’s taste for the spirit side of life, or should I say death. Oh yeah, I can’t leave out the 4 legged ghost hunters, Trucker the dog and Miss Molly the cat who accompany the 3 on all of their ghost hunting trips. And I almost forgot Jack, Alice’s ex-husband who is a New Orleans detective who seems to be drug into all of Alice, Twila and Granny’s tangles with the ghosts as well as the non-ghosts. Jack just happens to be a non-believer but he can see the ghosts. Go figure.


 

 


 

I can’t get enough of this author. In Dead Man Haunt I enjoyed a real laugh when Alice and team are accosted by a skunk and end up taking a tomato juice bath. I laughed when Patrick would appear at the most inopportune times, sporting nothing but his birthday suit, which seemed to be his preferred mode of dress, or should I say undress. I laughed when the ghost Mary Ann, who had been cut in half, appeared scaring the pants off Delroy the ‘commando.’ But laughter isn’t all T. M. Simmons puts into the Dead Man series. I stayed in total suspense until the end trying to guess who killed Mary Ann and why. I strained my mind trying to come up with the reason for Patrick, as well as several other ghosts, still being on this side and not the other where they can find peace. And then the characters started coming together making the puzzle into a picture. But the ending still ended up being nothing that I had suspected.


 

 


 

I seem to be reading this series backwards starting with Dead Man Hand, book #1, which was just as good as Dead Man Haunt, book #2, I can’t wait to read book #1 Dead Man Talking. I’ve also read T. M. Simmons Paranormal Suspense Winter Prey, enjoying it immensely. As I said, I can’t get enough of this author. And did I tell you that T. M. Simmons actually lives in a haunted house in East Texas which she shares with hubby, a variety of pets and of course her paranormal residents.
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Sun, 30 Dec 2012 20:00:38 GMT<![CDATA[Looking for Pork Chop McQuade – Darlene Franklin–Campbell, Author]]>

Looking for Pork Chop McQuade – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
‘My illicit love affair began with a jar of homemade pickles. The whole thing started the same day Uncle Faucett got arrested for indecent exposure. I’d gotten up before daylight to fix breakfast for Bob. Then like he did every day, Uncle Faucett pecked on my front door and, like I did every day, I opened it. “Damn fool chickens ain’t layin,” he muttered. “Where’s the damn fool chickens?” He leaned on two canes. His black-rimmed spectacles, like two magnifying glasses, made his gray eyes look too big for his body. “We sold them last Thursday,” I said. “Remember? Daddy took them off.” “Oh, I forgot,” he mumbled and shuffled away. I knew he would go stand on the edge of our lane and catch a ride into town with some local farmer. He had done that each morning since he had lost his license, the unfortunate results of an accident involving a cattle trailer. Every morning he asked about the chickens and every morning I told him Daddy had sold them on Thursday, because even though it had happened when I was a girl and Daddy was now long gone, I remembered clearly that my father had sold the last of our chickens on a Thursday.’
 
This was the day that Raspberry Cupcake McQuade and her twin sister Cookie Thompson found themselves visiting the local police station and coming face to face with Sheriff Daniel Ransom. Apparently Uncle Faucett had run across a box, took his clothes off and was walking around town wearing just the box. This also became the beginning of changes to come in the lives of Cupcake, Cookie and Sheriff Ransom.
 
Cupcake and Cookie both have their own problems. Cupcake is married to Bob ‘Pork Chop’ McQuade who has papered their trailer with tin foil in the attempt to keep the government and aliens from being able to penetrate their home with their spy technology. He is so paranoid that the government is abducting their own people that he has joined a militia and is storing arms to defend himself. So, when he comes up missing, was he abducted by aliens or his own government? Cookie is the total opposite of her sister Cupcake. She is pushing 500 lbs. and becomes depressed when any form of bad news comes her way. Then we have Sheriff Ranson who became sheriff after his wife was hit by a drunk driver. He wanted to do his part to prevent this from happening to anyone else. And of course there is Uncle Faucett who is approaching 94 and seems to be losing his memory as well as some of his facilities.
 
After reading the first page of this book I knew it was going to be good. What I didn’t know was that it was going to be more than good, it was going to be great! With names like Cupcake and Cookie, I found humor, but that wasn’t all. This book is filled with love, compassion, heartaches, and sorrow. I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book that makes me feel so many emotions at the same time. And when you put all of these together you have Looking for Pork Chop McQuade in the form of a book that I didn’t want to put down.
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
]]>Sat, 22 Dec 2012 22:55:42 GMT<![CDATA[Yesterday's Daughter – Sallie Lundy–Frommer, Author]]>

Yesterday’s Daughter – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
 
Grace stared at the large stranger who filled her small apartment with his mammoth presence and suddenly felt very warm. She shook her head from side to side trying to dislodge the chaos that his words brought about. She couldn’t have heard him correctly. Had he said that he knew her parents? She didn’t have any parents. She was an orphan; that was the only thing she knew about her past. He had to be wrong! This was some kind of bad joke, wasn’t it? She started to interrupt Malachi, but he put up a hand and said, “I pled with you to listen. I know I have not handled this matter well,” he signed in frustration. “In truth, I thought I was better prepared, but I too find the situation to be most extraordinary and find myself at a loss for words.” Grace noticed how he spoke, the way he formed sentences. He spoke as if he were from a different time. Again, she started to interrupt him, but he said, “Listen please! I know your thoughts, what you must be thinking, that you grew up in foster care and that your biological parents were never found.” As he spoke, a look of great shock and bewilderment blanketed her face. No one knew that because no one knew who she really was. Who is he? How could he know so much? I ran away from my foster parents years ago. Is he a blackmailer? This is crazy, she thought. “Grace…Grace,” he said as his voice gentled even more to a smooth calming chant. “I know you are frightened and overwhelmed. But it is also true that I knew your birth parents, your real parents.”
 
 
Grace Stone’s memory goes back to foster parents and years of abuse, which she was finally able to escape by running away. Even as she lived in hiding she was still able to continue her education and had eventually acquired a job working in the morgue. She had always sensed that she was different from others. She couldn’t allow herself to be exposed to the sun. It seemed that her skin had no protection from the sun’s rays and exposure would cause severe burning of the skin. Therefore she worked nights only. Even though she was declared to be a beauty by everyone who met her, she refused to associate or become close to anyone. The strangest thing she noticed about herself was her lack of taste for normal food and her taste for blood which was easily acquired with her working within the hospital. So when she came home after a night’s work and found a total stranger in her apartment, she was more than shocked. Especially when that stranger admitted to knowing her real parents.
 
 
Malachi has been searching for his ‘life mate’ for decades. As a child she had been placed in an underground chamber to age to maturity before they were to be bonded. Due to a cave-in within the chamber, she was assumed dead even though there was never a body recovered. Malachi refused to believe that his mate had been sent to the ‘void’ so his search started and had never ended until he finally found Grace Stone. This he knew was his mate, alive and well.
 
 
Now that Malachi has found who he believes to be his ‘life mate’ he plans to take her home where she belongs. What he doesn’t know is that one of the Doctors she works with is a ‘harvester’ and wants her just as bad as Malachi does but for different reasons. Where Malachi wants her love, the good doctor wants her blood.
 
 
Yesterday’s Daughter is filled with: deception – there is a traitor among the clan; love – between two that were always supposed to be; mystery – who is the traitor?; and suspense that took me all the way to the end of the book. I thought for a while that I knew who the traitor might be but wasn’t sure until I made it to within the last few pages of the book. Was I right or wrong? You’ll have to read Yesterday’s Daughter to find out for yourself. This was an enjoyable book from beginning to end.
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Sun, 9 Dec 2012 19:33:20 GMT<![CDATA[The Devil's Garden – Brady Christianson, Author]]>

The Devil’s Garden – Reviewed by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and a Dish
 
 
The conference room was full of police officers, social workers, and attorneys from the district attorney’s office. The staff psychologist, Dr. Coffee, was in attendance as well. Everyone was trying to piece together the night’s events. Officer Shelley was in a corner of the room on the phone with the investigative team in the field. “Alright, let’s go over what we’ve learned so far,” Detective Collier told his team as he tried to get everyone’s attention and get them to focus. “We have four dead men at the Colsons’ residence and two more dead mean in a plane that crashed into Calusa Harbor. All of which happened by Mr. Colson’s hand and by his own admission.”
 
 
Brandon Colson’s training had been extensive. He had served as a Recon Marine with extensive training in guerrilla warfare, jungle survival, desert survival, underwater demo, just to name a few, so when a group of Muslims attacked his family he took matters into his own hands and defended them the way he had been trained. Four never made it out of Brandon’s home, two made it to the plane but were shot down, two more did escape with one injured. Those two will forever wish they had died with their friends for Brandon would not give up until he found them.
 
 
Police Detective Samuel Collier has the duty of trying to make Brandon talk. Who were these men? Where did they come from? Why were they at Brandon’s home? Why did they want to kill him? Brandon’s answer is plain and simple… I killed them. Before charges can be brought against Brandon, Homeland Security steps in and Brandon is released. Sam is assigned by his superior to stick to him like glue, not knowing what this assignment is going to get him into. His first taste of the dangers come when Brandon and Sam embark on a mosque that Brandon feels will lead him to the two that escaped him as well as their reason for the attack.
 
 
The Devil’s Garden is truly a man’s book but I have to admit that I didn’t want to put it down. I can’t say it is an enjoyable book due to the graphics but I can say that it was an extremely interesting book. Brandon is a strong minded, God fearing man. He trusts in God to see him through all dangers while serving as a Marine as well as living as a civilian. He also trusts in God to help him do whatever needs to be done to protect the innocent and to not allow him to shed the blood of anyone innocent that he may come across. The Devil’s Garden is a very intense book written by an author that served as a Recon Marine and has written about something that he apparently knows a lot about with a lot of it probably being through experience. I can just see this being made into a movie with a strong actor like Mel Gibson being Brandon.
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
]]>Wed, 5 Dec 2012 23:00:53 GMT<![CDATA[Psychs – A. H. Amin, Auothor]]>

Psychs – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
My parents are leaving in an hour for a visit and my little sister always sleeps late during vacations, I couldn’t wait anymore for them to leave. I looked at the spirits surrounding me and said. ‘Let’s talk’ I said, then closed my room’s door. ‘My name is Hassan what’s yours?’ They replied in turns. ‘Mine is Joseph.’ ‘Rodriquez, call me Rod’ Rod gave a wink. ‘Steven Chow.’ ‘Markus Reed, at your service.’ Mark took a bow and pointed at the female ghost to follow. ‘Nice to meet you Hassan, my name is Emma’, she smiled and waved. ‘Sorry for scaring you’ Emma said. ‘It’s ok’ I replied, then my eyes went to the one next in line. ‘Jack.’ ‘Mason.’ The last one to be introduced was a woman I had first seen behind the glass window, the one who had watched me sleeping when I was admitted. She looked different, they all looked military, and she was the only one who didn’t fit in the picture. And for some reason, she looked very familiar to me. ‘Sara.’ My eyes started to widen. ‘I am your mother dear.’
 
All through his life Hassan has felt there was always someone watching him. Now and then he would even see a quick movement out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t until he came to the rescue of a woman and child being beaten by husband only to have the husband bring him near death that he realized his images were real. At least as real as ghosts can be. They had always looked after him but couldn’t communicate, until Hassan came up with an idea. Sign language. That would give he and the ghosts a way of communicating without actually speaking. But Hassan’s ghosts were not only his guardian angels, they became his teachers. Through them he was able to lead a 2nd life that would prove most valuable in years to come.
 
Adam, also known as Shark, was a Navy Seal that had been held prisoner for years. His capturers were of the worse type. Torture was used more as an entertainment than to acquire information they might need and since Adam’s strong hold was his hands, their first form of torture was to remove his arms leaving him with no method of self-defense. They may have destroyed his body but they never destroyed his mind, soul and determination to live. So, after 13 years of torture, Shark meets Hassan and the battle begins.
 
Psychs is a book that brings out the strength of mind over body in its desire to live, both through Hassan and Shark. The stories of both that lead up to their story together is one that may sound impossible but with the author’s ability to write, you can see, feel and picture each line as it happens. This is a very well written book and an extremely interesting story. I can actually see this one being made into a movie with someone like Bruce Willis being Hassan. Now I’m impatiently waiting on the next book in the series ‘The Remnant.’
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
]]>Fri, 9 Nov 2012 23:12:47 GMT<![CDATA[Can We Come In & Laugh, Too? – Rosetta Schwartz, Author]]>

Can We Come In and Laugh, Too? – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds, A Book and A Dish
 
‘When I was very young the only transportation was street cars. There were o buses, elevated systems, or cars. Henry Ford was still working on his Model T. As for airplanes, I believe the Wright Brothers invented their first model in 1914. Also the only form of home entertainment was the Victrola. I remember that after my parents saved enough to buy a Victrola, every couple of weeks my brothers purchased new recordings and played them while dancing around the living room. As for radios, it was many years later when the first crystal set was invented. It wasn’t until around 1946 when my daughter Morgan was seven, and Phyllice was around two, that radios became very popular. We bought a very good radio set, encased in a lovely big mahogany cabinet, and after that we listened to many good programs. Don’t ask me why everyone clustered around that radio cabinet staring at it as thought there was something to see, but that’s what everyone did back then.’
 
Rose Schwartz was born November 18, 1909. She was the youngest of ten children born to her fun-loving Latvian immigrant family. She later became Rosetta after one of her sisters decided Rose just wasn’t classy enough so when she registered her for school she told them her name was Rosetta and that’s what she was known as from then on. Rosetta married All Shifrin in the 1930s and later Max Lachman. She passed on in 2006 just a few months short of her 97th birthday. In 1988 her daughter Morgan was able to convince her to write her memoirs so the rest of the world could share a laugh from the life of this beautifully, happy woman.
 
Rosetta lived through both WWI and WWI and gives us a few stories about the hard times created by war. She tells of the time she sold Al’s extra shoes only to find out that shoes were being rationed just a few weeks later. There were the blackouts that were mandatory in hopes that if the enemy flew over they wouldn’t be able to see Chicago in the dark. She tells us about her move to Florida and later to California where many of her brothers and sisters also ended up moving to. Her stories are all warm hearted yet cheerful. Whenever there was a problem, she looked at the bright side not the dark and always found humor in even the worse circumstances. She was truly a woman that anyone would love to know and call their friend.
 
At the end of Rosetta’s writings her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews all expressed their own feelings about this lovely lady. They added to the warmth by giving their memories of the woman that was never negative, always loving and always forgave whatever one might have done wrong. This is a very uplifting story about a very special woman. I personally wish I could have asked the question ‘Can We Come In and Laugh, Too?’


 

 
 

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat
]]>Tue, 6 Nov 2012 18:33:57 GMT