Unemployed: A Memoir (Inner Cirlce Publishing)
by Reginald Goodwin

No doubt exists in the minds and moods of many would-be workers; the economic recession hurts. Those of us who lucky enough to have held on to a job usually know someone who hasn't been as lucky. So, Reggie Goodwin's memoir about his battle with unemployment couldn't have come at a more needed time to touch the perspectives of independent artists who never have employment guaranteed anyway.

This thin, yellow book holds much needed sentiment, advice on taking it easy and letting it all go. The poem, “Code Orange”, answers to the underlying fear with creative escapism concerning job-hunting. Throughout the memoir sidebar poems and inspirational quotes lead us through the battle of wanting to get an answer back about an application; wanting that last little piece of dignity when the jobs slip away and wanting the self-certainty to start following through with dreams.

Crafted lines shift meaning in works which show off the frustration and feeling of the author like the poem, “Laughing Through Wormholes”. “I wanted one door to close and another to open”, leads off a stanza of “I wanted” lines which slacks from hopeful and sinks deeper until culminating in the line, “I wanted to stop it”. To out-of-work Americans, these poems say to take deferred dreams and put them into action because staying creatively inspired reminds us who we are inside.

As a memoir, “Unemployed” craftily balances poetry, prose, letters and narrative accounts the best part of which is the chance to truly connect with another struggling artist longing to inspire himself as well as his audience. To read a memoir like this fills one with the idea that every thing has a reason for it and though Goodwin's unemployment caused him frustration, it also allowed for creation and inspiration. This is an empowering and motivational read I recommend to anyone without a day job. Find that anger at feeling outsourced and use it to reconnect with the art inside. Goodwin resolved to live well by his talents; here comes the starving artist fueled by the fury to succeed and the faith that he will.

Review by Ellen Eldridge

Listen to Unemployed Poetry spoken by author Reginald Goodwin on BlogTalk Radio

Murder by Association (Eternal Press 2007)
by Gary Starta

Filled with spine-tingling suspense, this mystery novella of seventy-one pages is easily a one-sit read, for you won’t want to stop reading it once you start! Having read Extreme Liquidation first, I was curious to read this book which actually introduces the character of Caitlin Diggs (she’s also a character in Extreme Liquidation and Blood Web). However, this novella is a not a science fiction read, unlike Extreme Liquidation. Although it’s of note that Caitlin Diggs’ future supernatural powers are perhaps hinted at a couple of times in Murder by Association, as I recall, so it sets the stage for her character development in Extreme Liquidation.

Moreover, Caitlin Diggs isn’t even introduced untill over halfway through Murder by Association, so there are other equally important main characters setting the stage of this novella. Characters like Lt. Detective Stanford Carter, C.S.I. Jill Seacrest, Mayor Schroeder, etc., as well as an assortment of killers all associated in one way or another, as the title suggests. There are lots of different plotlines all somehow connected and neatly tied up by the book’s end.

There’s an organized crime storyline, a steamy politician and actress affair storyline, a serial killer/possible copycat killer/other killers storylines, etc. that all affect the others either directly or indirectly. Yet, it also has a surprise ending that will keep you guessing right up until the end. In closing, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this novella, and I look forward to reading Blood Web soon, as Gary Starta has turned out to be what I’d call a “Red Hot Writer”!
To pick up a copy, visit Eternal Press or www.fictionwise.com. To learn more about Gary Starta, visit www.garystarta.net,.

Review by G.L. Giles

Drowned Sorrow
by Vanessa Morgan

Drowned Sorrow brings an original twist to small town ghost stories; it pulls the reader in different directions so that when he thinks he knows just what to fear the truth has all but suffocated him.

This short, gripping tale combines the universal need for hope and faith in miracles with the unrelenting horror of drowning. Like the characters in it, this novel will grab hold of its readers and will not let go until all imagined details course through the mind like rivers of consciousness.

When Megan Blackwood finds her less-than-attentive parenting skills lead to the loss of her son, she attempts to escape the pain and reconnect to her daughter in what would seem a small town with a "fountain of youth". Other travelers arrive in Moonlight Creek seeking solutions to medical ails, but something about the locals and the town stirs deep within the sense of security. The lake which seems to possess potent powers of healing also contains the residents of the village and they don't want to be left alone or have their secret let loose.

Some will go willingly while others may fight, but Drowned Sorrow will drag each reader on an emotional undercurrent.

Review by Ellen Eldridge