Sunday, December 21, 2008

Book Review: A Reason To Hope

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A Reason To Hope

A.L. Marquardt

 

2008 Booksurge
ISBN: 978-1-4392-1626-2

 

www.ALMarquardt.com

 

"Hope comes in an unexpected way, but not without a price."


"A Reason to Hope" is an inspiring debut novella by A.L. Marquardt, inspiring not only because of its genre, Christian Science Fiction, but also because it's one of the best indie efforts I've yet seen.

The story of a female assassin thrown from her job by a disfiguring accident leads to themes of perfection vs. misfits, sexuality, acceptance vs. condemnation, drug use, and salvation. Atypical for Christian fiction, homosexuality is portrayed as a main issue and dealt with as a question more than as a definite answer.

Pulled right into Preeah's journey with a hard yank that refuses to let go, a reader is opened to thoughts and ideas but left to come to her own conclusions. Right and wrong is pondered, but not "settled," in the vein of John Irving. "A Reason to Hope" gives us a reason to stop and think. It ends softly, giving us the feeling it is not an ending, but a beginning.

Other than a minor criticism of wanting more varying sentence structures and less use of "she" instead of the character's name (which I heard from early critiques of my work), Marquardt's prose is smooth and well-edited (a big plus for indie work), with pacing that keeps a reader well into the story.

The back cover states the author is seeking an agent for her full-length novel. I hope that happens soon, as this is an an author to watch!


** Side note: a signed copy of "A Reason to Hope" is included in the raffle below.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Raffling to Support Injured Servicemembers

 

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My new bookmarks!

photo by LK Hunsaker
(my website is not on the front of the actual bookmarks)

 

  As my front page shows, I'm an affiliate of Books 4 Boots, a program helping to provide funds for family members of injured servicemembers to visit them in military hospitals, since many can't afford to do so. They also provide books to help fill their time while recovering.

I'm going to be sending along books at the beginning of the year and would like to involve any interested readers. So, I'm holding a raffle where I give the gifts to anyone participating!

Yesterday I received new bookmarks with a photo of trees over a lake and an R.L. Stevenson quote on one side with my info on the other. As I'm quite happy with how they turned out, I'm anxious to share them.

Anyone donating $1.50 to the B4B donation fund will receive 2 signed bookmarks from me.

Anyone donating $3.50 or more receives the bookmarks and is also eligible for the raffle. So far that includes:

1-- A copy of the brand new book by A.L. Marquardt, A Reason To Hope, signed by the author, with bookmark! See www.almarquardt.com for info on her work.

2-- A custom made pumpkin pie candle by SchoolCornerCrafts.com

3-- A printed and signed excerpt of Off The Moon by LK Hunsaker, expected to be released in fall of 2009

4-- One custom image with theme of your choice (PG-13 rated or lower only) to use on Myspace, Facebook, your site, Blogger, or wherever you like. There are a few examples here:
http://www.writing.com/main/portfolio.php?folder_id=1068637
(I'll use my own photos and art so no copyright issues.)

If something else comes up, I'll post an update. If any of you artists out there, writers or otherwise, would like to join in, let me know!

Funds for raffle prizes do not come out of the donations!

Donations are through Paypal. Be sure to mark the amount and your mailing address. Addresses will not be shared or used for other purposes. Feel free to include a brief note of support for the troops and I'll send them all along with the donation.

Raffle ends midnight, December 31st.

In case you'd like bookmarks without donating, see my website for the address to send a SASE.

Click to pay via Paypal

www.booksforboots.org

 

Friday, December 05, 2008

I'll hold my own, thanks.

 

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Elephants at Disney

LK Hunsaker

Pointing to the dismal economic forecast, Brown sees Obama’s success as an exception, not the beginning of a trend. "Obama was able to put together a team that could make his presence felt," Brown says of Obama’s literary and political success. "But everybody who wants to have a book published can’t put together a team like that."

http://www.theroot.com/id/49013?GT1=38002


Certain black authors are looking for an extra shove to the top of the publishing game. Why? Because we’ll soon have a black president who wrote a couple of books.

Huh?

Um, hasn’t pretty much every president put out a book or two either before or after his service? Why is this getting made into a "hey, maybe we can get extra help now" issue? I do realize not all black authors would lower themselves to seek extra assistance because of their race. I believe most would not.

I’m left wondering why those spouting this sentiment think they need extra help. I don’t get extra help. Heck, I get no help other than from a few loyal family members and good friends. And I’m an indie. Shouldn’t I be able to ... oh, I don’t know, apply for a government grant to fund my writing since I’m an underdog in the publishing world?

No thank you. If I get there, I want it to be on my own merits, on my own hard work and time. Do these authors not see how they are debasing themselves? Why do they need extra help when none of the rest of us get it (other than celebs and politicians, who are pretty much the same as celebs these days). I walk into a bookstore and see a whole separate rack for African American authors, making their books much more visible than most of the other books in the store.

Wait. If we want actual equality, shouldn’t things actually be equal? All we’re doing is telling a certain group that they need extra assistance because they happen to be of a certain race. That’s so extremely degrading to them.

If Obama has taught us anything, it would be that blacks certainly don’t need an extra hand up. Heavens, they can become president if they work at it (and have that certain ’team’ that all politicians have to have to get anywhere).

Several members of a writing group and I were talking about this issue before the article came out. One of the white ladies mentioned the guilt she carries for her ancestor’s actions. Another said no way did she feel guilty because she did nothing to anyone else. I have to agree with the latter. None of us should have to take on guilt for something we didn’t do. If someone’s father or grandfather goes to prison for murder, we don’t convict his whole family.

My ancestors are Christian northerners who fought to end inequality based on race. Of course, one of my ancestors also worked for Al Capone and I would imagine several of my ancestors from Sicily could very well have been mafia. Does that make me part of the mafia? Not hardly. I’ve never in my life caused physical harm to another human on purpose. Many of my ancestors were Scots-Irish, the ones treated like non-humans when they came to America. Should I push for extra help based on the fact McCain has Celtic ancestry and ran for president and ... doesn’t he have a book out also? (not sure on that one)

No. I don’t want extra help. (Good thing since that won’t happen!) I don’t want anyone telling me I need extra help because I can’t do it on my own. I won’t allow anyone to degrade me that way. I won’t be looking for grants for women or for indies or for any other separatist type thing. I’m not afraid of the competition with everyone else of all genders and races and creeds. I can hold my own. So can anyone else in America if they’ll stand up and do it.

It’s a very unhealthy thing, this white guilt attitude that’s going around. It’s bad for our children to think they are innately evil and need their hands slapped for what happened in the past. And yet, that trend is being propagated. White kids in inner cities try hard to act "black" so they can be "cool" and try to alleviate their guilt at being white. Very sad. Our children, any of them, should have guilt only for things they have done personally, and only to the extent they become responsible for their actions. They should never have to be responsible for the actions of people many years ago. It is unhealthy. And we wonder why so many of them are becoming such unhappy people.

Do we not realize that there were black slave owners in America? Or that many of the slaves sent over here were sold by black slave traders? Do our children hear this in their history books, also? I don't think so. I didn't.

Do we not remember that there were Native Americans who sided with the whites against other Native Americans to help decimate the tribes? Do we not look back and see that slavery and injustice toward certain groups has gone on from the beginning of time? It didn't start here, by any means. It started to end here. Maybe that's what we should be focusing on. (more of that in another blog)

Equality will only happen when we stop giving extra help to those who are really quite capable of standing on their own.

One of my writer group friends is white and has black and bi-racial grandchildren. It makes her and their parents furious to think that anyone sees them in such a low value that they need special help. They refuse to allow it or to let their children think they do. Those kids will do well and go far.

While we’re at it, let’s abolish the "ethnic" genre. It’s separatist, based only on race. But think about this ... we are all ethnic. Every one of us. So what? Let’s stop making an issue of the whole thing and really start moving ahead.

Authors, if you want a hand up in publishing, look for it at the ends of your arms.

 

People weren’t talking about Barack Obama’s own books, Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope, which both sold over 100,000 copies in less than one week after the election. No, the Obama effect that many authors of color, myself included, are hoping for is much more personal. Bernice McFadden, the award-winning author of Sugar and This Bitter Earth, posed the simple question on her blog: "Will a black president help me, a black writer?"
(link above)