Review of, Eternal Road: The final Stop, by John W. Howell

Happy Wednesday! Spring has sprung up in the Great North! It seems like one day we went from towering sticks to fully green flora in a blink. Our newest additions, a couple of ‘cluckers,’ named Ruby and Marshmallow are loving their new digs. Always busy greedily pecking at the yard for whatever morsels they can find.

Spring is about new beginnings, and that’s the main theme of the story I’m reviewing today. So, I’ll leave Ruby and Marshmallow to their barnyard banquet and tell you all about it.

The Deets:

James Wainwright picks up a hitchhiker and discovers two things 1. The woman he picks up is his childhood sweetheart, only Seventeen years older. 2. He is no longer of this world.

James began a road trip alone in his 1956 Oldsmobile. He stops for a hitchhiker only to discover she is his childhood sweetheart, Sam, who disappeared seventeen years before. James learns from Sam falling asleep miles back caused him to perish in a one-car accident. He also comes to understand that Sam was taken and murdered all those years ago, and now she has come back to help him find his eternal home.

The pair visit a number of times and places and are witness to a number of historical events. The rules dictate that they do no harm to the time continuum. Trying to be careful, they inadvertently come to the attention of Lucifer who would love to have their souls as his subjects. They also find a threat to human survival and desperately need to put in place the fix necessary to save mankind.

The question becomes, will James find his eternal home in grace or lose the battle with Satan for his immortal soul and the future of human life with it? If you like time-travel, adventure, mystery, justice, and the supernatural, this story is for you.

Here I Go:

As you can imagine, this is a road trip like no other. It’s a journey into tragedy, time travel, love, heart break, redemption, and joy!

As the wheels of that classic car turn, James and Sam square off against some of the nastiest people in history, but they’re just the puppets of Lucifer himself, who makes a number of guest appearances.

The tale is a unique and lively spin (yes, pun intended) on the classic, “good versus evil.” I was fully engaged with the plight of these two, rooting for them at every turn. I think the biggest surprise came at the end, as it should, but I’m gonna’ keep mum about that.

If you’re looking for an entertaining, introspective, and alternative perspective take on the after-life, look no further!

Meet John:

John began his writing as a full-time occupation after an extensive business career. His specialty is thriller fiction novels, but John also writes poetry and short stories. His first book, My GRL, introduces the exciting adventures of the book’s central character, John J. Cannon. The second Cannon novel, His Revenge, continues the tension. The final book in the trilogy, Our Justice, launched in September 2016 concludes the thriller series. John’s fourth book Circumstances of Childhood, launched in October of 2017 tells a different thriller story of riches to rags, football, Wall Street, brotherly love, redemption, and inspiration with a touch of paranormal to keep you riveted. The fifth book is a collaboration with the ​award-winning author, Gwen Plano titled The Contract. Heavenly bodies become concerned about the stability of the Earth and send two of their own to risk eternal salvation in order to save the planet. The Contract achieved number one status in its genre. John’s latest book is titled Eternal Road – The final stop and launched in September 2020. In search of their eternal home, Sam and James discover a threat to human existance. They also encounter the prince of darkness. The question is; can they save humankind and their eternal souls. All books are available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.

John lives in Lakeway, Texas with his wife and their spoiled rescue pets.

Grab your copy!

Amazon.com

Website

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The things I Think

Hey, is it just me, or when you hear a new or weird word, does your brain conjure some off kilter image that’s NOTHING like reality? Here’s a few words accompanied by an image that pops into my kooky mind. Well, at least the closest ones I could find. First up, we have Argle-bargle: What it actually means: copious but meaningless talk or writing What I imagine: Two eye-patched pirates, nose to nose on a dock, yelling at each other. I mean, the spit is flying! Bad breath and all! How’d you ever come up with that, Bierman?

I’ve watched enough pirate movies to know that “Argh!” means the guy’s pissed about something. Usually accusatory and may or may not lead to a fight. “Bargle,” is the rum-soaked, garbled, and accepted response to said accusation. Could mean a variety excuses or denials, such as, “No! I didn’t use your glass eye as the cue ball in last night’s pool game!” Sorry the pic is not an action shot. Perhaps this buccaneer is spoiling for an argle-bargle. Next up, we have a term that may be more familiar to some of us. Perhaps it’s been applied to us, or we’ve labelled someone else? Lackadaisical What it actually means: lacking enthusiasm or determination And what pops into my head?

You come upon a field of daisies and are suddenly overcome with the,“Mehs’.” You flop your fanny on the ground and lie amongst the flowers, shirking your duties and not caring about the bugs entrapping you like the tiny folks of Lilliput in Gulliver’s travels. The boss, or dishes, can wait until you’ve snapped the tiny ropes and roar like the giant you are!   And for our finale: Xiphoid What it really means: sword-shaped Yep, this really comes up.

An ultra sophisticated, intelligent, and scaly alien life form. Not necessarily hostile, but don’t wake her when she’s sleep walking!

Photos With Captions To Make You Smile And Think

It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these. I hope you enjoy and have a great weekend!

Last night one, or both, of our cats, Sage and Charlie, busted into the catnip stash. I’m gobsmacked that no matter how much I question them, neither will lift a paw to rat out the other. They don’t always get along. More solid than Canadian soil in February, those two. I managed to intervene before either one could eat too much. Though I swear I caught Sage grinning at me like the Cheshire Cat. 🤨🤪😂

When you forget to tip the snowplow driver. 

That goes double if you drink from this mug! 🙂

Review of, The Haunting Of Chatham Hollow, by Mae Clair & Staci Troilo

After a warm spell, winter’s back with her arm’s spread wide to give a chilly embrace for anyone who ventures outdoors. Speaking of chills, I had to crank up the electric fireplace and huddle under my blanket as I dove into this delightfully spooky tale.

Amazon’s take:

Ward Chatham, founder of Chatham Hollow, is infamous for two things—hidden treasure and a curse upon anyone bold enough to seek it. Since his passing in 1793, no one has discovered his riches, though his legend has only grown stronger.

In 1888, charlatan Benedict Fletcher holds a séance to determine the location of Chatham’s fortune. It’s all a hoax so he can search for the gold, but he doesn’t count on two things—Victor Rowe, a true spiritualist who sees through his ruse, and Chatham’s ghost wreaking havoc on the town.

More than a century later, the citizens of the Hollow gather for the annual Founder’s Day celebration. A paranormal research team intends to film a special at Chatham Manor, where the original séance will be reenacted. Reporter and skeptic Aiden Hale resents being assigned the story, but even he can’t deny the sudden outbreak of strange happenings. When he sets out to discover who or what is threatening the Hollow—supernatural or not—his investigation uncovers decades-old conflicts, bitter rivalries, and ruthless murders.

This time, solving the mystery isn’t about meeting his deadline. It’s about not ending up dead.

My take:

Personally, whenever I hear the word, “Hollow,” in a place name, I’m immediately intrigued as to its potential for supernatural events. Whether it be from a famous story I’m sure we’re all familiar with, or the fact that I grew up near a place called, “Plum Hollow,” which was storied to have a ‘seer’ back in the nineteenth century.

The title is but one link in the chain that rattled my enthusiastic anticipation each time I opened my Kindle. For me, this story had two key ingredients that I thoroughly enjoy; a good mystery and a rapid eye reading brush with the paranormal.

While I’m more familiar with Mae’s work and I know that Staci is also an excellent writer, when I bought this book, I wasn’t sure how well the two voices would blend. I can now testify that my concern was unfounded as their collaborative voices melded to form a flawless flow, even during the transition between several timelines.  

Though all the characters brought something to the séance table, I especially enjoyed the banter between Aiden and Greer.

I highly recommend this book for those who relish a twisty tale, infused with history, humor, and netherworld antics, sans gore and slash.  

Have I enticed you to learn more and grab a copy? Yes? Then please read on to meet Staci & Mae, and click on the links.

Staci grew up in Western Pennsylvania writing stories and poetry in my free time, so no one was surprised when I became a writing major in college. After receiving creative and professional writing degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, I went on to get my Master’s Degree in Professional Writing, and I worked in corporate communications until I had my children. Now I’m a freelance writer and editor and spend many of my days happily immersed in fictional worlds.

Website

Mae:

They say everyone has a story to tell. I wrote my first childish “masterpiece” at six and was immediately bitten by the writing bug. Since then, I’ve been composing nonstop, and have dabbled in multiple genres over the years, writing everything from fantasy, westerns, and horror to inspirational fiction, romance, and sci-fi.

It took me a while to find my niche, but I’ve settled comfortably into the mystery/suspense genre. I have a passion for folklore, myth, and urban legends and that attraction often factors into my writing. You’ll find threads of archaic tales, cryptids, and mysterious places woven throughout many of my novels.

Professionally, I am a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and a past president of the Central Pennsylvania Writer’s Organization. I’m also proud to be one of the founding members of the award-winning writing blog Story Empire.

If I’m not camped out at my keyboard or have my nose buried in a book, I’m likely looking up blurry images of cryptids on Google, sorting through vintage photographs, or imagining life as a cat.

Website

Wacky Words Unveiled!

Happy Saturday! Sheesh! The kids are having a four-day weekend. Yesterday
was unplanned, as Mother Nature treated us with a wee but of freezing rain.
Monday is Family Day, here in Ontario, and several other Canadian provinces.

My oldest daughter, Amanda, turns 16 on February 22. Wait? What happened to
that toddler who used to waddle around like a starfish in her snowsuit, and
LOVED, Dora The Explorer?

But like time, I must press on, because yours is valuable and I just know
you’re dying to know the answers to these crazy words. It’s not all fun and
games on this blog; you are about to learn some highly transferable
wordsmithing here. Pshaw! No . . . it’s fun and games.

If you haven’t had a chance to do the quiz, you can either scroll down to
the last post, or click on this link.  Wacky Word Quiz   

First up, we have the one that would get the best reaction should you ever decide to call someone it. Have your cell phone camera ready, because the face may look something like this: 

FARTLEK: A: an activity runners do when they switch between sprinting and jogging

Did you get that one? I mean; how did they come up with that? Maybe the certain displacement of gases produced by the runner’s efforts? 🙂

Next up, we have Bumber Shoot: C: umbrella

What a downer, unless it’s raining. I was expecting some voracious carnivore of a weed, launching up from a jungle floor to snatch unsuspecting prey.

Ummm . . . moving on. Do you think the woman in the photo below just might be an

Abecedarian?

NOPE! Unless she’s a C:  anyone currently learning the alphabet

“Hey! Are you calling me a skirl?”

“We’d never dream of it, Betty, um, I mean, Sparkle Twirl.” (Ya, I don’t get the nickname, either, I think she gave it to herself.)

SKIRL = A: the loud wailing sound produced by bagpipes

So there you have it! Go forth and use these words liberally, in whatever context you’d like, for not many will know what the heck you’re talking about!