My Mystery Scene Review of 'Hit Me'

My review of HIT ME by Lawrence Block has been published in Mystery Scene Magazine. Click here to read the review.

Review of 'Perfect Hatred'

Title: PERFECT HATRED (Soho Crime 2013)

Author: Leighton Gage

Leighton Gage’s latest novel finds Chief Inspector Mario Silva and associates investigating a suicide bombing that appears to be the work of Islamic terrorists, as well as the assassination of popular political candidate, Plinio Saldana.

To complicate matters, Orlando Muniz, a man looking at doing hard time in the joint for murder, is looking for ways to get the charges dismissed by eliminating the prosecutor and witnesses, if necessary. Silva is the principle witness and poses the greatest threat.

Silva and his right hand man, Arnaldo Nunes, find their hands full investigating the two cases, even with the assistance of Silva’s nephew, Hector Costa and his associates, among them, Haraldo “Babyface” Goncalves and Danusa Marcus of the civil police. The story delves deeply into the intricacies of Brazilian politics, international terrorism and smuggling. Thus, Silva and the others must tread with care as they question suspects and witnesses about matters ranging from Paraguayan import/exports and the niceties of identifying plastic explosives to the relationships among various political players and Islamic community members.

As their investigation proceeds, Muniz makes his move on the prosecutor, then sets his sights on Silva. The story intensifies and builds to a shattering and heartbreaking climax. Leighton Gage has done himself proud with his latest installment in this always thrilling series. PERFECT HATRED is suspenseful, relevant to our times, and tells it like it is.

Better Living Through Bad Movies

BETTER LIVING THROUGH BAD MOVIES is one of the funniest books I've read lately. If you enjoy movies and MST3K and watching really bad movies just to laugh at them, you'll enjoy this book. If not, well too bad, huh? :) I highly recommend this book.

The Phantom Tollbooth

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH is one the best books ever written for children of all ages. Highly recommended.

'False Friends' is Suspenseful and Funny

REVIEW: FALSE FRIENDS (Hodder & Stoughton 2012)
AUTHOR: Stephen Leather 

This book, the ninth in the Dan “Spider” Shepherd series, starts off amid a raid on Osaba bin Laden’s compound that goes horribly awry. Spider witnesses acts committed by American allies during the raid that he believes are barbaric. His protests fall on deaf ears. Nonetheless, he comes away with the sense that the informers that MI5 is relying upon are at grave risk of exposure and death or a worse fate at the hands of al-Qaeda operatives.

Spider tells his boss, Charlotte Button about his concerns. Button is a strong, but not dislikeable, character, who knows her obligations. She informs Spider that he must do what’s necessary to protect MI5’s best assets, i.e., its information sources and moles, especially since they’ll be involved in a future assignment of great significance. In point of fact, signs indicate that al-Qaeda plans to pull off a huge terrorist attack within England. The question is, exactly where, how and when?

Spider’s challenge is to keep doing his job, protecting his country from terrorists within, while babysitting the two informants, Malik and Chaudhry, who are students who volunteered to infiltrate a terrorist training camp and pretend to be part of the cause. Now, they feel like they’re in over their heads. When Spider approaches them about the need to train them on taking extra precautions, their paranoia only increases.

Meanwhile, Spider is given an undercover assignment to catch a major arms dealer in the act, teamed with an old friend and colleague Jimmy Sharpe, aka “Razor”, now working for the Birmingham police. The story revolves around these two plot scenarios, and in each one, the reader sees Spider rise to the occasion with a marvelous combination of gritty fight, crackling wit, sheer determination, and a moral compass that guides him, apart from Queen and country.

One of the most suspenseful scenes involves Spider fighting bad guys on a boat and making wisecracks about the Pirates of the Caribbean. I wish I could tell you more, but as the old saying goes, that would be telling. Ha!

Let’s just say that Stephen Leather has a gift for writing stories that are suspenseful, action-packed, thought-provoking and funny, and leave it at that. I highly recommend this book, and have added all the other Spider Shepherd novels to my TBR list. Thank you, Stephen Leather! I think. Ha ha ha …

PS: Can you spot the loonie? :) Twice? Ha ha ha ...

Let's Pretend This Never Happened

LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED by Jenny Lawson is a truly funny and heartwarming memoir that has inspired me as a writer, a blogger and fellow survivor of life's hardships.

I recommend this book, which made me laugh and think about my own past.

My Mystery Scene Review of 'Resurrection Express'

Right! Here's the link to where you can buy this online via Indiebound.

And here's the review, which I've printed and scanned (finally!):

So ... as Stephen Leather once said wrote, there, I said it!

More MSM reviews to come ... including one that nearly gave me writer's block. ;) Get it? Ha ha ha ...

But then it hit me. There was a joke buried in there. And I found it. I think. Ha ha ha ...

Anyway, consider this an open invitation to join my readers on this blog. For this blog will eventually be archived. I'm in the process of rebranding or creating a whole new online presence. We'll see how this goes. I'll keep doing reviews for now, but I can't predict where I'll go from here.

Pin these! :)

My Next Big Thing, Which No One But Me Will Find Funny

This is me

Hi! :) I had planned to take a hiatus from blogging all week. But I didn't and I ended up blogging this post and this one, among others.

All the while, I was begging for spare change seeking contributions for my mysteries series campaign on Indiegogo (please click there, if you'd like to contribute).

Those are the books you'll get, if you make a contribution anywhere between $10 and $30. Or you can just give money. Whatever suits you. :)

So ... if you want to find out what's going on that isn't so funny, tune in to this blog on Monday.

And prepare for the surreal ... ha ha ha ...



Right, Miss Curlers? Ha ha ha ...

Carpe Fucking Diem! (Updated -- Twice)

I got up this morning, after lying around for a bit feeling like I couldn't go on living in the prison of my body being constantly tortured and having to choose to feel happy about it rather than die.

Here's the bottom line, since I can barely type and I have lots of work ahead of me.

My literacy campaign managed to raise the princely sum of $85 for the Red Cross.

One of my contributors was someone I actually met by way of someone I got to know through this blog.

The irony is that not one of the contributors is a relative, person I see on a regular basis, author who takes handouts from Mr. Smiley, or writer who gets paid in any other way, shape or form that I know of.

Mr. Smiley

This means I haven't been doing my job very well. I've been the lousiest online marketer ever, because I've been so busy making fun of myself on this blog, that the message didn't get out far enough. In fact, if I hadn't been so retarded dumb looking in the mirror my own worst enemy, I would've realized my mistake back here. :-O

That's why this blog will be incorporated into my new website as my place to post book reviews, but I'll post them when I can. I can only do what I can do.

That's one of the cool things I've pinned on Pinterest!

PS: Here's the final message I sent the four contributors to the literacy campaign, FWIW.

Hi,

I just wanted to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to this campaign.

Even though we didn’t meet the goal, we raised some money for the Red Cross. That’s better than doing nothing.

Happy holidays and best wishes! :)

Debbi



PPS: Okay, let's pretend this isn't an update, okay? :)


Here are a few links of possible interest.


Apocalypse now!





Oh, brave new world ...


Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. --Nietzsche

Pretend this is me

UPDATE: Just to make it clear, I still love print books. That's why I've extended this campaign until Jan. 31, 2013.  Think I can manage to collect 325 measly dollars US in 40 days? Ha ha ha ...

Before you answer, remember the Dude abides.

UPDATE 2: Okay, one more update and I promise to shut up.

Hurray for Queens, NY!

I grew up in Queens, until I was 12, in a place that looked like this ...

I blogged about that here, and there will be more to come I threaten promise you. Ha ha ha ...

I'm Still Tilting at Freaking Windmills

Well ... not literally. But I am continuing to beg and plead every day for contributions to my literacy campaign.

All this week, I'm going to be busy seeking contributions for my Indiegogo campaign for literacy and the Red Cross. All contributions are fully tax-deductible.

The deadline for contributing is Dec. 21, so please, pretty please contribute as soon as possible.

If you support Debbi Mack's Literacy Campaign as follows, here's what you get:

Give $10, and you'll get a paperback Lulu edition of the New York Times ebook bestselling novel IDENTITY CRISIS, signed by the author AND delivered to your mailing address. NOTE to international backers: extra charge for shipping may apply.

Give $20, and you'll get a paperback first edition of LEAST WANTED, signed by the author, delivered to your mailing address, AND all rewards listed above. NOTE to international backers: extra charge for shipping may apply.

Give $50, and a personalized thank you letter, a paperback first edition of RIPTIDE, signed by the author, delivered to your mailing address, AND all rewards listed above. NOTE to international backers: extra charge for shipping may apply.

Give $300, and you'll get to meet the author for coffee at a Baltimore-DC area cafe or restaurant that's mutually convenient, AND all rewards listed above. NOTE to international backers: I'll give you the books when we meet. You'll have to pay for transporting yourself here. What a stitch, huh? Ha ha ha ...

BTW, here's The Long Goodbye. ;)

PS: Bite me, Amazon! Ha ha ha ...

PPS: 30 blogs with the best holiday drink recipes via House Sitting Jobs.

A Fundraiser for the Red Cross and Literacy

All this week, I'm going to be busy seeking contributions for my Indiegogo campaign for literacy and the Red Cross. All contributions are fully tax-deductible.

The deadline for contributing is Dec. 21, so please contribute as soon as possible.

If you support Debbi Mack's Literacy Campaign as follows, here's what you get:

Give $10, and you'll get a paperback Lulu edition of the New York Times ebook bestselling novel IDENTITY CRISIS, signed by the author AND delivered to your mailing address. NOTE to international backers: extra charge for shipping may apply.

Give $20, and you'll get a paperback first edition of LEAST WANTED, signed by the author, delivered to your mailing address, AND all rewards listed above. NOTE to international backers: extra charge for shipping may apply.

Give $50, and a personalized thank you letter, a paperback first edition of RIPTIDE, signed by the author, delivered to your mailing address, AND all rewards listed above. NOTE to international backers: extra charge for shipping may apply.

Give $300, and you'll get to meet the author for coffee at a Baltimore-DC area cafe or restaurant that's mutually convenient, AND all rewards listed above. NOTE to international backers: I'll give you the books when we meet. You'll have to pay for transporting yourself here. Ha ha ha ...

I wish I had a real one of these ... :)

PS: For more details about my mission, click here.

5 Books That Help Kids Appreciate a Healthy Diet

I received this article by my website email, and it actually seemed like more than just the usual spam to offer some useful information. So there you go! :)

GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT is available for sale online through Indiebound, FWIW.

This post was sponsored by Become A Nanny.

Mystery Scene Review of 'The Jewels of Paradise'

As you can see if you read this post, changes will be coming at some point in the future. My book reviews will be incorporated into a special place on my new website, and I will have a more manageable blogging plan and schedule.

However, for now, I'm carrying on as best I can. So here's the link to my Mystery Scene Magazine review of The Jewels of Paradise by Donna Leon.

I love Venice! Just saying. :)

The Glass Castle

THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeanette Walls is one of my favorite memoirs. Eccentric parents are something I understand a little too well. I highly recommend this book.

Parnassus Books Cleans Up

The Amazing Ann Patchett

On Saturday, I'll be in Richmond giving a speech about why authors need to build their platforms and focus on their craft, rather than rely upon Amazon to make mere monetary profits for them, while they crank out shitty books as fast as they can. So, I figured I'd post this now.

Remember Ann? She owns Parnassus Books, an indie bookstore that I blogged about here.

Now ... according to Publishers Lunch: "Ann Patchett's Parnassus Books Sells $2 Million In First Year".

Isn't that amazing? Especially since so many other indie bookstores are dropping like flies biting the dust closing.

And now, as I once wrote on another blog:

This article is way too awesome not to quote, in part:

Literary novelist Ann Patchett‘s fight to save independent bookshops, which has seen her open her own shop in Tennessee and champion the importance of bookselling on American television, has led to her nomination as one of Time magazine‘s most influential people in the world.

Patchett, whose 2001 novel Bel Canto won her the Pen/Faulkner prize and whose latest book, State of Wonder, was showered with praise by critics, is on a list of 200 names of the world’s “most influential” selected by Time magazine. The list also includes Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, the Queen and Aung San Suu Kyi. Readers are currently voting for their choices among the 200, with a final list of 100 to be selected by the magazine’s editors and revealed on 17 April.

Patchett, said Time, “has demonstrated a singular ability to write smart literary novels that are also big bestsellers”. Opening Parnassus Books, an independent bookshop in her hometown of Nashville last year, shows the author has “put her money where her mouth is [when] it comes to literature and books in general”, said the magazine, “placing herself on the front lines of several ongoing battles for the fate of the printed word”. Patchett recently appeared on The Colbert Report, where she spoke out for the importance of independent booksellers.

Isn’t that awesome? I wonder if those awesome people know that you’re an Amazon author, Ann.

You’re the author of the book THE GETAWAY CAR, an Amazon Single.

Yes, Ann, I may be a happy fool, but I'm no techno-idiot. Not anymore! :)

Check me out on Pinterest now! Ha ha! :)