Book Review: The Charmed Life of Matt Draper: From Riverboat Gambler to Frontier Banker by John Rayburn.

Book Review

Basic Details:

Book Title: The Charmed Life of Matt Draper

Subtitle: From Riverboat Gambler to Frontier Banker

Author: John Rayburn

Genre: Western

Part of a series? Unknown

Order in series:

Best read after earlier books in series? No

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42094289-matt-draper

Overall score:

I scored this book 3/5 reluctantly, it felt more like a 2.5 stars to me.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

This book tells the story of Matt Draper, a young man who gathered money as a gambler on a riverboat. Through luck and determination Matt gathers more money, learns the trade of a banker and moves to an area to start his own bank. Scenes of fighting, luck and love are added to the book.

What I liked about the book:

I liked a few of the scenes and the fact he came out on top.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I wasn’t impressed by the pace set in the book, the fluidity of the narration was stilting at times and I at times was tempted to give up on the attempt to read the book. To be honest, I was glad when I had finished reading the book.

My favourite bits in the book:

I loved where Matt finally owned up to the fact he had fallen in love.

My least favourite bits in the book:

I didn’t like it when at several points the flow of the narration was poor and it felt more like a book for children starting to read. The subject, however, did not fit with a childrens’ book.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

I am not aware this is part of a series. He has, however, written several other books.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This book reminded me of children’s books in the lack of fluidity of the narration.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would (hesitantly) recommend this book for the following readers:

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

If you like Westerns this book might the book for you but be warned the flow of narration is halting at times.

I don’t think I’ll be reading more books by this author.

Book Description by Author:

Settling The West Post Civil War Took Guts … And Luck!

In 1866 Matt Draper is full of ambition but without money or family to help him succeed. On the western frontier of an ever-expanding America, toiling as a riverboat gambler seems like the best option to raise enough capital to realize his dream of opening a small-town bank. Though gambling is lucrative for Matt, it is also an unsavory enterprise fraught with danger. Fortuitously, before any harm befalls him, Matt and his friend Charlie discover an abandoned Confederate gold cache in a fake grave, which gives him the stake he needs to leave the treacherous gambling world behind. From then onward his life’s purpose becomes evident as all roads lead to Neosho, Missouri, where he opens The Bank and becomes a major influence on its growth and prosperity. Matt’s exciting and uplifting saga captures the day-to-day reality of life in the tumultuous post-Civil War era, including the hardships, relative lawlessness, and indomitable spirit of settlers bent on creating a good life for themselves and their neighbors.

Book Review: Miao shan, The Awakening by G.A.M. Morris

Book Review

Basic Details: 

Book Title: Miao Shan

Subtitle: The Awakening

Author: G.A.M. Morris

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology

Part of a series? Yes

Order in series: 1st

Best read after earlier books in series? N/A

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18528892-the-awakening

Overall score:

 I scored this book 5/5 

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Short Summary of book:

This book tells the story of a ten-year-old girl who witnesses the murder of her parents from a washing basket she has been placed in by her mother for safe-keeping. She is found and raised by her grandmother and struggles with anger issues, wishing to bring those who killed her parents to justice. She is educated in Kung Fu at her insistence and later enrolled in a school to become a nun. Eventually she finds out what her destiny is but she encounters several trials before she does.

A great book to read.

What I liked about the book:

I particularly liked the love she shared with her grandma and with her friends. It was heart-warming to read. The pace of the book was good after the initial few chapters.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I liked the entire book. Although the pace in the first one or two chapters was a bit slow, it picked up after that and it was difficult to put the book down. I just wanted to know what was going to happen next.

My favourite bits in the book:

I loved where Miao Shan discovered who she was and where she found friendship and love.

My least favourite bits in the book:

There were some upsetting scenes in the book. But whenever Miao Shan was put in the face of adversity, she came out stronger.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

I believe this author plans any further books to follow on where he left off. I could see the opening for a next in a series and I understand he plans several more.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This book reminded me of some other books about mythology, although this work of fiction did bring the mythology to live in a living person.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book for the following readers:

Children	NO
Young Adult	Maybe
Adult	Yes

If you like fantasy with a bit of mythology, this book is the book for you.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Book Description by Author:

When ten year old Chow lei witnessed her parent’s brutal murder at the hands of Hong Kong Triad members she was emotionally scarred for life. Follow her journey to justice!

When ten year old Chow Lei witnessed her parent’s brutal murder at the hands of Hong Kong Triad members she was emotionally scarred for life. Her grandmother adopted her and attempted to help the child heal emotionally, but only when Chow Lei joined a Shaolin Kung Fu school did any emotional healing occur.

After a year of training her grandmother reticently agreed to sent her to the Shaolin Temple. Lei had continued to do prove at the Temple an aptitude for martial arts and a lack of compassion. At the Temple she was renamed Miao-Shan, from a legend about the Chinese Buddhist Goddess of compassion, Guan Yin.

Once she had reached enlightenment she returned home to her grandmother, only to discover that she too had been brutally murdered by the Triads.

In her search for Justice against the Triads she discovered that her soul was made of a shard of Guan Yin’s soul and a shard of Guan Yu’s, and that she was a new Bodhisattva (Living Godess), of Justice!

About the Author:

Born in London, The United Kingdom

Website http://gary-a-m-morris.tumblr.com/

Genre Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thriller

Influences Lord of The Ring, Star Wars, Neil Gaiman, Eric Van Lustbader, Dr. Who

If only...

Most of us will find times where we think "If only.."
Sometimes this will be because we wished we had done things differently. Sometimes we wish people who have passed on were still here to discuss things with.
At the moment I'm in a situation where I think "If only there were more hours in the day, or more left-over time"
The trouble is, at the moment I have a full-time job to content with. This seriously impacts on the time I can spend on my writing and most days since the start of December I have had little or no time at all to write. I'm talking serious withdrawal symptoms here.
So, what can I do about it? Lose the job? An option I guess, but I don't think my boss and husband would thank me for it (they are one and the same).
No, I think there is only one option. I need to reorganise my life in such a way to leave time for writing as well.
How? I'm not quite sure yet. Perhaps all that is needed is to get up a little earlier. I have been lying in a little lately. Only getting up at six am to get my husband's lunch ready before he leaves for work and to do some of the necessary housework. Occasionally it leaves me some time to sort out marketing (read tweeting and re-tweeting etc) but there is no time left to write.
Today I got up at half past four. After the ironing was done I finally had a chance to take the Christmas tree and decorations down. Yes, I know, it's a disgrace it was still up. When the family is in the living room it's not so easy to get that sorted.
With that job out of the way the only time left was to check any messages/tweets/emails and write a quick blog post. I will need to leave for work in fifteen minutes again. Another busy day will likely lay ahead and we'll see what it will bring. Our youngest son also needs to be picked up from school and this means I certainly won't get home until half past five.
Then it will be time to prepare tea, eat, do the housework and put the bins out. If I'm lucky, I might be able to check emails before it's bedtime again.
Tomorrow I'll get up at 4.30 am again. Hopefully, now that the big housework jobs are out of the way, I'll have a little time to write tomorrow. We can only hope.

And what will I be writing? Tomorrow it'll be time to work on editing my sixth book. Remember to get in touch if you would like to become a beta reader. I would love to have you on board.

Joni

Still looking for beta/advanced readers!

Evening all,

I'm still looking for beta/advanced readers for the two books that are nearing their completions.

The first is a non-fiction book entitled 'Diary of a Female GP' and describes a week in the life of a female GP (family doctor) in the UK. Although it does not contain any real life cases as such, all these cases are examples (mixtures) of cases a GP would see in real life. In this book you can read about the work life and the private life of a female GP as you follow her during a typical workweek.

Please, don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to read, review and comment on this book. Your comments could be exactly what helps the book become polished enough for publication.

The second book needs a little further work to it. Another chapter or three to be written before editing. Once this is completed, I will also require beta/advanced readers for this book. This book is the sixth in the 'Friends, family and love' series and continues where 'Holiday Love' left off.
Freya and Joshua developed a relationship during a holiday in France where they unexpectedly ran into each other. Their love flourished and 'Holiday Love' ended on a bit of a cliff hanger.
A little surprise throws their relationship in the balance and what will happen next? Will this surprise break them or make them stronger? You can read all this and more in 'Growing Love', the sixth book in the series. All books in the series are written in such a way they can be read as stand-alones. However, you probably will enjoy them more if you read them in the correct order.

And for this book I would also love it if you would get in touch with me.

You may think, "What's in it for me?" So here are the benefits for my beta/advanced readers:

• You get to read the book before anyone else
• You get to read the book for free
• You can have a valuable role in polishing the book for publication
• Once the book(s) are published, you will receive a free mobi version of the book as thanks for your help.

Ways to get in touch:

1. Contact me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/joni.martins.543)
2. Leave a comment below.

Joni

Become a Beta reader in 2019!

What is a beta reader?
Not everyone knows what a beta reader is or does.
However, beta readers are very important to #IndieAuthors. These readers have access to new books prior to their publication. They are the first to 'test-read' a book and give valuable feedback to authors on the subject of their books, any plot holes still remaining and suggestions of how to improve the work.
For my fifth book, HOLIDAY LOVE, I had the benefit of having two talented people who acted as beta readers and I am still very grateful to Rin Hoshigumo and Cheryl Schroeder Basile for their valuable help.

At the moment I have two books nearing completion. One is the sixth book in the 'Friends, family and love' series: GROWING LOVE. This book still needs the last few chapters before it is complete. However, my first non-fiction novel, DIARY OF A FEMALE GP, needs a final edit before it will be ready for beta readers.

So, please contact me if you are interested in becoming my beta reader. This book follows a female general practitioner in the UK for a week, giving a look behind the scenes of how life for a GP is in reality. Are GPs as lazy as the government has made them out to be? Are they as hard-working as they believe they are? Read the book and judge for yourself.

Now, don't be shy and let me know if you would like to read the book before it is released. Your comments on the work in progress is valuable and can make the difference between the book succeeding and being a flop.

All the best for the New Year. I hope it will be the best one yet.

Joni

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! I hope 2019 will bring you all you wish for without disadvantaging others.

Why don't you start 2019 with a great new habit?

Support #IndieAuthors and buy their books.

Then, once you have read their work, why don't you leave a review. All they wish for is your honest review. In other words, be kind but also be honest.

I, for one, intend to continue writing and publishing my books while reading and reviewing books by other Indie Authors at the same time. This year will be more challenging than last year was. I now have a full-time job to contend with too and this means I won't be able to write as much as I would love to.

So, what are my good intentions for 2019?

Well, other than the above I also want to fully finish GROWING LOVE and DIARY OF A FEMALE GP. I intend to publish them in the first half of this year.

Anyone out there who would like to be a beta reader? Please, do let me know and we can arrange to work together in getting these new books published.

As for your good intentions, why not start with CAPTIVE LOVE?

This short read tells the story of Lydia, a 24-year-old GP receptionist who gets abducted following a night out with her friends. Her housemate, who is also her best friend's older brother, finds her missing and worries about what could have happened to her. Will Lydia need to get used to living according to Sam's dreams or will she be able to escape his clutches?

Read this short novel for free. You can find it here: books2read.com/u/mYogEV

And if you like it, please leave a review. Reviews mean so very much to authors. Thank You! and all the best for 2019!

Joni