Make a Choice: Read the Noticer and Change your Life

The Noticer is a small book filled with hope. Who can't recognize themselves at one time or another in the people helped by Jones. The story that I found most relevant was the one about the lovers. Unable to perceive the loved expressed by the other because of different communication styles, each felt abandoned and abused. Too often people grow angry and apart because of the way they perceive and misperceive the communications of others. It's a truism that we see what we expect to see, but if we can step outside the circles that enclose us, our perspective changes. What a great gift to help someone reorient his view of the world to move beyond anger, worry, or a feeling of uselessness.

In the character of Jones, Andy Andrews has given us all a great gift. Although none of us may be lucky enough to find Jones standing beside us in our dark hours, we have this elegant little book. Rereading the chapter that describes our anguish can open our eyes to the beauty of life. Life is a great gift; not one to be lightly tossed away. Today is the perfect day to notice someone important to your life and to become important to someone else by lending a helping hand: the way Jones would.

Vivian Zabel's Midnight Hours – A can't put down crime story

While struggling to recover from a debilitating gunshot wound, homicide lieutenant Martin Rogers discovers an online "interest" may be a serial killer, responsible for the death of several disabled men. Martin's interest changes from that of a man for a woman to the interest of a homicide detective for a suspect when Midnight attaches a photo of herself to an email - identical to that of one folded in the pocket of a dead paraplegic. Confusion reigns when an Assistant District Attorney is discovered to be the unknowing model for the face in the photo. Lt. Rogers and friends set up a sting to capture Midnight, but she disappears like wisps of fog. Every lead results in dead ends and more confusion. Midnight brings death on the internet. Preying on helpless men, she offers love but gives them a grave, but who and what is Midnight? Martin must find this killer before she can add him to her list of victims.


Hey, look who showed up -- Midnight herself!

Message from Midnight:

I might be willing to visit with you, but I don't usually have much to do with women. Now if you were a man ...

I don't know what all the hype is over some boy or prairie dog. Huh, not interesting at all. Me, on the other hand, I'm interesting. Oh, the stories I could tell --

As far as making some crippled detective a hero ... the idea makes me fume. I had him twisted around my finger. Odd, I still don't know what turned him away from me. I never thought he was smart enough to catch on. Him suddenly getting bright enough to know I was after him, and not romantically, didn't change my plans, just caused me to move his time for death from later to sooner.

You seem intelligent, though, wanting to meet and visit with me. After all, without me, there wouldn't have been a book. Hey, look at the title -- Midnight Hours, not Martin Hours or something like that.



Sure Hope she likes my review -- or I'm in big trouble!




Review:

While recovering from an accident that confined him to a wheel chair, Police detective Martin Rogers finds an interest in life through an Internet connection with a lovely woman. Or is she what she seems? She has given Martin a reason for living, but when she sends a picture of herself that is a duplicate of one found in the pocket of a dead paraplegic, Martin and his police buddies wonder if she's given him a reason for dying.

The author makes you believe in the reality of her characters. Details of the investigation are true to life. The Oklahoma countryside is beautifully described and gives the novel a strong sense of place. The plot is filled with surprising, but thoroughly believable twists that keep the reader guessing up to and beyond the last page.

Zabel has created a fast moving plot with characters you come to care about, a satisfying romance, and suspense that keeps you reading. Readers of crime fiction will appreciate Zabel's latest novel and will be hoping for more. I love a good murder mystery. I recommend this one highly for readers who are looking for interesting and believable characters, a tension filled plot, and a realistic setting.

Meet Kevin McNamee - Writer and Poet

Kevin McNamee is a writer and poet living in Yonkers, NY. He primarily writes for the children’s market. His work has appeared in Beyond Centauri and he has several children’s picture books being published by Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. His first book, “The Sister Exchange” is due to be released in 2009. He is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

When Kevin isn’t writing, he spends his time playing hide and seek, at the insistence of his four year old daughter, and at his day job, at the insistence of his wife. When time permits, Kevin also enjoys fossil hunting, home-brewing beer, and gardening. He is currently engaged in an epic battle against roving gangs of crazed squirrels who are digging up everything in sight. Kevin notes that the squirrels are winning.

To find out more about Kevin, visit his website at http://www.kevinmcnamee.com or visit his blog at http://kevinmcnameechildrensauthor.blogspot.com/

I asked Kevin a few questions about his writing.

What is going on with your writing these days?

Right now, I have several stories in various stages of completion, one story that has been finalized and critiqued and needs a final revision, and a few that are finished and have been sent out to various publishers.

What are your future goals for your writing?

I’ve been focusing primarily on picture books and I would like to branch out to middle readers and Young Adult novels. I have two middle readers in various stages of completion.

Can you describe a typical writing day for you?

There’s no such thing as a typical writing day for me. I try to do something writing related every day. But what I’m doing may vary. Sometimes I’m writing new material, sometimes I’m revising, sometimes I’m critiquing, sometimes I’m researching, sometimes I’m promoting. Due to the demands on my time, I’ve needed to adopt the philosophy of doing what I can, when I can.

Why do you write?

I first started writing in the second grade. I wrote a poem that was displayed outside the classroom and I liked seeing my poem and my name in public like that. I found that I took to writing naturally. Growing up, I was a constant daydreamer and would construct stories in my head all the time. Eventually, I started writing them down. Throughout my teenage years and throughout adulthood I always felt compelled to write. Although there were many, many times that I put creative writing on the back burner, I found that I was still writing at my day job; memos, procedures, proposals, requests, and I was receiving recognition for it. I realized that writing had been a constant in my life, but I wasn’t writing what I wanted to write. Now I make sure that I write what I want as well.