13 1/2

By Nevada Barr

A family is murdered, a mother, a father, a little girl. The murder scene is gruesome and blood-soaked, but there are two survivors, 11 year-old Dylan Raines and his older brother, Richard.

Dylan doesn't have a scratch on him, while Richard's leg has almost been severed. Dylan's inappropriate behavior at the crime scene and during the trial leads the police investigating the murder, the news media and everyone else to the conclusion that Dylan is the murderer. He is called "The Butcher Boy," and convicted.

The significance of the title: One judge, 12 jurors, half a chance.

The book traces the life of Dylan and Richard Raines from the night of the crime, through Dylan's incarceration, to the time when Dylan is released and the brothers start a new life in a town where nobody knows them.

Polly Farmer grows up in a trailer park with a mother who drinks heavily and drags a series of boyfriends home. Polly runs away to New Orleans to escape. The novel traces Polly's journey from sexually abused teenager in a trailer park to her success as a respected professor and mother of two.

In mysterious New Orleans paths cross and broken pasts collide at a breakaway pace. No one and nothing is what it seems. Murder is once again a part of the scene. Who will die? Who will live? Who is truly guilty?

Wow, this stand-alone novel from New York Times Bestselling Author Nevada Barr kept me turning the pages. I love to read and discover what's on the next page. I couldn't read this book fast enough! This is a brilliant story with so many twists and turns of plot, you will be intrigued from page 1. What do you think?

To hear my interview with Nevada Barr on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ on webtalkradio.net, click on the link:

http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nason

All shows are available on-demand, so you can listen when you want to. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

IN THEIR BLOOD

by Sharon Potts

Rachel and Daniel Stroeb are murdered in their palatial home on Lotus Island, a gated community where this sort of thing just doesn't happen.

Their son, Jeremy Stroeb, is a free-wheeling young man who likes to avoid responsibility and has been living "the good life" backpacking around Europe. He is suddenly faced not only with the death of his parents, but he must take care of his little sister, Elise.

With steely, urgent resolve, Jeremy vows to find out what really happened to his parents. His mother, Rachel, is a respected CPA and senior partner in her firm. His father, Daniel, is a college professor. On the surface there appears to be absolutely no reason that either of these respected members of the community should be killed so savagely, but as Jeremy digs into the background of his parents, he finds he didn't really know them at all.

A tangled web hides the killers true identity and as Jeremy unravels the web, he learns lessons about mortality, family, and the lines between perception and reality as he is taken on an extraordinary journey into adulthood.

This is an excellent novel filled with suspense. If you like a good murder mystery with lots of "red herrings," you will enjoy this one. What do you think?

To hear my interview with Sharon Potts on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ broadcast on www.webtalkradio.net, click on the link:

http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nason

All shows are available on-demand, so anyone anywhere in the world can listen any time they want to. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

CHOOSING ME BEFORE WE: Every Woman's Guide To Life and Love

by Christine Arylo

Male/Female relationships are always a topic of interest. Too many women spend countless hours analyzing, complaining about and crying over finding the "right man." Far too often, women "settle" for the guy who seems like "Mr. Right," only to find out that he will never become their true partner.

Christine Arylo wrote this book with the knowledge of an insider. She almost married the wrong man for all of the wrong reasons. She shares her insight and wisdom about how it is possible to discover love, and live for "me" instead of starting with "he" or "we."

The author teaches women how to stop settling and/or to stop desperately seeking the fairy tale. Women need to start exploring and understanding what they truly want in themselves before they can begin to look for someone they want to be with.

• Know the truth about the real woman living inside you
• Find Truth and get honest about the lies an illusions influencing your life
• Love the woman you are today, was yesterday, and will become tomorrow
• Trust your bff - hello intuition!
• Honor your dsires so completely that you never settle again
• Manifest the partner and relationship you really want

Interesting and helpful, this is a book for all women and a topic of conversation women talk about more than any other subject ... our relationship with the men in our lives. What do you think?

To hear my interview with Christine Arylo, on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ broadcast on www.webtalkradio.net, click on the link:

http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nason Shows are available on-demand, so anyone anywhere in the world can listen at any time.

If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

LONGING FOR DAD: Father Loss and Its Impact
by Dr. Beth M. Erickson, Ph.D.

I think when a reader sees a title like this one, they tend to interpret the title from their own experience. I interpreted the "father loss" in the title to mean the natural death of my father because that is my own experience. In truth, however, the book identifies seven different causes of father loss: death, divorce, single mothering, adoption, addiction, abuse and traditional fathering. The common element in all but one is that it is the father's choice to absent himself. A father's death, unless it is a suicide, usually is experienced differently by a child or an adult because usually it is not the father's choice.

The book discusses how the loss of a father affects child development. Also, how adults are better equipped to deal with the loss. The book is filled with real stories used to illustrate each cause of father loss. There are Action Exercises that are interactive for the reader. Suggestions for recovery and several appendices are used to address the role of a therapist in dealing with issues brought about as the result of the loss of your father.

This book is informative and down-to-earth in approach. Suggestions for dealing with the loss of your father, at any age, make sense and are "doable" by real people who may be struggling. A must read for anyone.

To hear my interview with Dr. Beth M. Erickson, on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ broadcast on www.webtalkradio.net, click on the link:

http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nason All shows are available on-demand, so anyone anywhere in the world can listen at any time. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

MAKEOVERS CAN BE MURDER: A Fat City Mystery by Kathryn Lilley

Plus-sized TV news reporter Kate Gallagher finds herself in the position of exposing more than a murderer. She must bare her plus-sized body in a bikini on-camera or risk losing her job to her studio rival.Kate is always fighting the battle of the bulge with her weight, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. Currently, she is working on an assignment to expose expose weight loss scams.

While attending a meeting of the Newbodies, a women's weight loss support group, she renews an acquaintance with an old friend who winds up dead under circumstances that just don't make sense. It seems someone may be targeting the Newbodies membership. Apparently the killer has an appetite for curvy victims. Love gone bad and the pursuit of a killer become ways for Kate to trim down.

The Fat City Mystery series and the character of Kate Gallagher are favorites of mine. The stories are a nice mixture of humor, and who-done-it. This is another of the books that work really well for me. The plot is interesting and lets me escape all of the bad news in our world. What do you think?

To hear my interview with Kathryn Lilley, on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ broadcast on www.webtalkradio.net, click on the link.http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nasonAll shows are available on-demand, so anyone anywhere in the world can listen at any time. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

Buy the Book: Makeovers Can Be Murder: A Fat City Mystery

CURING THE BLUES WITH A NEW PAIR OF SHOES: Because Nothing Beats A New Pair of Shoes by Dixie Cash*

Texas' most dynamic due, Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin, are celebrated hairstylists in Salt Lick, Texas as well as pseudo-celebrity sleuths and co-owners of The Domestic Equalizers.Their latest case finds them caught up in a mystery involving none other than The King, Elvis Presley. Salt Lick is having an Elvis celebration with all the trimmings.

The trouble starts when a pair of blue suede shoes worn by Elvis is brought to town and mysteriously disappears. Debbie Sue and Edwina participate in a "cover-up" to disguise the missing shoes only to discover a mysterious figure, Adolf Sielvami, the Keeper of the King Museum in Las Vegas who loaned the shoes, doesn't exist! What's happened to the shoes and who is Adolf Sielvami? To complicate matters there are reporters in town from the Dallas Morning News (Sam Carter) and the Fort Worth Star- Telegram (Avery Deaton) sniffing around covering the Elvis celebration and sniffing around each other.

Love and lust is in the air in Salt Lick! The Dixie Cash novels are especially important right now. They make me laugh. In this day and time of chaos, the value of a good laugh can't be slighted. The plot of the book is fun and Elvis lovers will enjoy it. The whole idea behind the story and the characters in it is a winning combination. I give this novel an A+. What do you think?

*The pseudonym for the sister writing team of Pam Cumbie and Jeff McClanahan.

To hear my interview with Pam and Jeff on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ on www.webtalkradio.net, click on the link.http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nasonAll shows are available on-demand, so anyone anywhere in the world can listen any time they want to. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

COMFORT FOOD: A Novel

By Kate Jacobs

TV cooking-show host Augusta "Gus" Simpson is about to celebrate her 50th birthday. She is a widow and the mother of two high maintenance daughters. She is the consummate hostess both on and off the air. But, for the first time, Gus does not want to host her annual birthday party. What's worse, Gus's shows ratings are sinking like a flat souffle.

Gus makes the decision to re-create her show as an on-air cooking class, drafting members of her family, extended family, and staff to participate in this "reality" cooking show. Gus gets more than she bargains for when she is forced to also include as a co-host a Spanish bombshell who wants to take over. It's a food fight where the characters not only learn lessons about cuisine, but about love and life too.

I really enjoyed the novel. It's a great escape and more than a few laughs with a message. What do you think?

To hear my interview with Kate Jacobs on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ on webtalkradio.net, click on the link:

http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nason

All shows are available on-demand, so you can listen when you want to. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

HEIRLOOM COOKING WITH THE BRASS SISTERS, Queens of Comfort Food

by Marilynn Brass and Sheila Brass

Marilynn and Sheila are the guardians of the universal tradition of home-cooked meals. They do their research by scouring yard sales, used bookstores, and antique shops collecting original, handwritten recipe books know as "manuscript cookbooks," and loose handwritten recipes known as "living recipes," which represent nearly 100 years of cooking. These treasured recipes are updated for the modern kitchen and then put into the pages of their cookbooks, hence the title HEIRLOOM COOKING.

The recipes in HEIRLOOM COOKING come from all over the United States and Canada, and include many different styles of home cooking. The origins of the recipes and stories of the families from which they come are included, which makes this cookbook a treasure in itself. Reading the recipes and their stories is a culinary history lesson.

To hear my interview with Marilynn and Shelia Brass on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ on webtalkradio.net, click on the link: http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nason

All shows are available on-demand, so you can listen when you want to. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A DIABETIC TO LOVE THIS COOKBOOK

By Chef Tom Valenti

Chef Tom Valenti is a diabetic himself, but he is also a chef. He owns two restaurants in New York, Ouest and West Branch. Food and Wine Magazine named him as one of America's Ten Best New Chefs.

His wonderful cookbook feature 250 healthy, delicious recipes prepared with the diabetic diet in mind, but anyone wanting to improve their diet should have this cookbook in their kitchen.

I think this quote from Chef Tom Valenti sums up his philosophy, “There’s a common misconception out there that … diabetes is a virtual death sentence for your dining pleasure. I’d like for this book to obliterate that way of thinking.”

From breakfast to hors d'oeuvres to desserts, the cookbook focuses on fresh ingredients and cooking at home. The photographs are amazing and will make your mouth water. The book is beautifully done with nutrition information for each recipe as well as plan ahead tips and exchanges.

For information about diabetes, visit www.diabetes.org.

To hear my interview with Chef Tom Valenti on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ on webtalkradio.net, click on the link:

http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nasonAll shows are available on-demand, so you can listen when you want to. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.

THE DIABETES SEAFOOD COOKBOOK: Fresh, Healthy, Low-Fat Cooking

by Barbara Seelig-Brown

Barbara Seelig-Brown is the host of the cable TV cooking show, Stress Free Cooking. Her latest cookbook introduces more than 150 heart-healthy, low-fat seafood recipes.

Even though the cookbook is published by the American Diabetes Association and written with the glycemic index in mind, it's a great cookbook for anyone who wants to eat a healthier diet. Naturally low in fat and calories, and packed with protein and vital omega-3 oils, seafood is an important part of any diet.

From perfect party appetizers to delightful dinners the whole family will enjoy, the cookbook features recipes and tips to create great food. All of the recipes meet the nutritional guidelines of the American Diabetes Association. Each recipe also has caloric exchanges and breakdown for the amounts of fats, carbohydrates, sugars, and proteins in each dish, so it's easy to keep track of what you're eating.

To hear my interview with Barbara Seelig-Brown, on my internet radio show INSIDE THE WRITER’S CAFÉ broadcast on webtalkradio.net, click on the link:

http://webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-hosts/3213-inside-the-writers-cafe-hosted-by-cheryl-nasonAll shows are available on-demand, so anyone anywhere in the world can listen whenever they want to. If you find an interview with a favorite author or one you particularly like, you can go to I-Tunes and download it free.