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My 18th Birthday, reviews

My 18th Birthday.....

By LAS Reviewer on March 24, 2012

Format: Kindle Edition

Today is the big day and Annie Jo is eagerly awaiting the arrival of six PM. Upon that magical hour, she'll be officially eighteen. In celebration, she's decided to pack up all that is important to her and hit the bus station - with a one way ticket out of her sleepy little town. Unfortunately, the universe has more in store for her than just a simple bus ride from Texarkana to Memphis. It's never quite that easy though, is it? Welcome to adulthood, Annie Jo, better hold onto your hat!

Annie Jo is a pretty uncomplicated character and her simplicity makes her endearing and likable from the start. Even while nursing a broken heart and carrying around the weight of things she can't change, she still manages to look life in the eye and see it for what it is - a rollercoaster ride of emotion and experience. Annie's a small town girl and it shows. She does the right thing for no other reason than because it's right. However, her small town outlook does lean towards naiveté at times, only reinforcing her innocence. Sometimes this makes her even more likable and sometimes it makes you shake your head. But she's always true to herself and that's a big part of why she's so interesting.

I enjoyed the way the author told Annie Jo's story leading up to her decision to leave Clover. She makes the flashbacks into instances of daydreaming while traveling on the bus. It was a creative and non-intrusive way to give us the back story we needed without slapping us in the face with it. I was also very impressed with the way she incorporated Annie Jo's awakening social consciousness into the story without making it overtly obvious she was doing so. There were two issues I did have with the story. One was the sometimes simplistic sentence structure and the other being the too often repeated descriptions and phrasing. However, it wasn't enough to completely distract you from the story, only slightly hindering your enjoyment for the moment.

My 18th Birthday is a great coming-of-age story set in the very turbulent times of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement. It brings the trials of the times front and center and shows you how one courageous, if a bit naïve girl, might have handled the situation. So much is packed into the twenty-four hours of Annie Jo's birthday, that you really have to read it to believe it.

Originally posted at LAS YA Reviews

 Julie Lence, author Western Historical Romance
Young Adult coming-of-age novel. Life in the small tri-states town of Clover, AR-LA-TX, was wonderful until the year 1960; then heartaches of the worse kind led the young guitarist, Annie Jo, to catch a Greyhound bus headed to the city lights of Memphis, TN—there she might be discovered by a talent scout. While riding through Arkansas, she tries to ignore the handsome man giving her more attention than he should. And soon action starts to pop. Annie Jo joins with members of the Civil Rights movement, gets stalked by a drunk, jailed, and kidnapped—all on her 18th birthday. Caption to photo: Patricia Lieb, former award-winning newspaper reporter, now spends her time writing novels, poetry, travel articles and just enjoying life. Reviews Annie Jo is a pretty uncomplicated character and her simplicity makes her endearing and likable from the start. Even while nursing a broken heart and carrying around the weight of things she can't change, she still manages to look life in the eye and see it for what it is - a rollercoaster ride of emotion and experience. Annie's a small town girl and it shows. She does the right thing for no other reason than because it's right… she's always true to herself and that's a big part of why she's so interesting. My 18th Birthday is a great coming-of-age story set in the very turbulent times of the 1960s’ Civil Rights Movement. It brings the trials of the times front and center and shows you how one courageous, if a bit naïve girl, might have handled the situation. - LAS YA Review My Eighteenth Birthday will draw you in to Annie Jo's teenage antics and mature heartaches and keep you turning the pages as she strives to forget and begin anew. With a cast of interesting secondary characters and a backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, it’s an enjoyable read and one book you won't forget. – Julie Lence, author Western Historical Romance

By LAS Reviewer on March 24, 2012

Format: Kindle Edition

Today is the big day and Annie Jo is eagerly awaiting the arrival of six PM. Upon that magical hour, she'll be officially eighteen. In celebration, she's decided to pack up all that is important to her and hit the bus station - with a one way ticket out of her sleepy little town. Unfortunately, the universe has more in store for her than just a simple bus ride from Texarkana to Memphis. It's never quite that easy though, is it? Welcome to adulthood, Annie Jo, better hold onto your hat!

Annie Jo is a pretty uncomplicated character and her simplicity makes her endearing and likable from the start. Even while nursing a broken heart and carrying around the weight of things she can't change, she still manages to look life in the eye and see it for what it is - a rollercoaster ride of emotion and experience. Annie's a small town girl and it shows. She does the right thing for no other reason than because it's right. However, her small town outlook does lean towards naiveté at times, only reinforcing her innocence. Sometimes this makes her even more likable and sometimes it makes you shake your head. But she's always true to herself and that's a big part of why she's so interesting.

I enjoyed the way the author told Annie Jo's story leading up to her decision to leave Clover. She makes the flashbacks into instances of daydreaming while traveling on the bus. It was a creative and non-intrusive way to give us the back story we needed without slapping us in the face with it. I was also very impressed with the way she incorporated Annie Jo's awakening social consciousness into the story without making it overtly obvious she was doing so. There were two issues I did have with the story. One was the sometimes simplistic sentence structure and the other being the too often repeated descriptions and phrasing. However, it wasn't enough to completely distract you from the story, only slightly hindering your enjoyment for the moment.

My 18th Birthday is a great coming-of-age story set in the very turbulent times of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement. It brings the trials of the times front and center and shows you how one courageous, if a bit naïve girl, might have handled the situation. So much is packed into the twenty-four hours of Annie Jo's birthday, that you really have to read it to believe it.

Originally posted at LAS YA Reviews

New cover for MURDERS IN THE SWAMPLAND, 3rd edition.... updated

           updated 3rd edition; new cover... newsroom
        

Cover Photo is of the Daily Sun-Journal newsroom where I was Crime Reporter.

Project Summary

Murders in the Swampland-- West-Central Florida True Crime Cases of 1980s & '90s: from a reporter's notebook

Authored by Patricia Lieb

List Price: $12.95

6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)
Black & White on White paper
506 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1493544158 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1493544152
BISAC: True Crime / Murder / General

Serial murders, hate crimes and torture... Who would have expected such violence in the quiet countryside of Hernando County, Florida? Initially covered by award winning reporter Patricia Lieb during her tenure with The Daily Sun Journal, she recounts these and other shocking true crime events in MURDERS IN THE SWAMPLAND. Putting a face on big crimes in the Nature Coast is what Patricia Lieb has done in her book, MURDERS IN THE SWAMPLAND. Chris Van Ormer, Citrus County Chronicle

...all of them are true. All of them terribly grizzly. All of them ripped from the front page headlines of area newspapers. Lara Bradburn, Hernando Today

CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4491231          

Aaryn of the High Islands available in print at Create Space

Aaryn of the High Islands
https://www.createspace.com/4767285
Published by P.A.L. Books
Now available in print from Create Space

Aaryn of the High Islands   Authored by Glenn Robert Swetman Edition: second publishing company There is treachery afoot in Randast. An evil plot to harm the Pantocrator, Alan the Just, is being hatched and Aaryn is summoned from the High Islands to thwart those involved. Using his various magical talents and powers, he must ferret out the conspirators and bring them to justice. Before he reaches the City, however, he finds himself rescuing a mysterious young woman, Jordana, and a dubious thief named Zompre from a band of vengeful gypsies. Together the trio entered the imperial city on the eve of the Banquet of the Gathering and Aaryn enlists the help of Zompre to gather the information he requires. But he soon learns the evil the pursues is more dangerous than he imagined. Publication Date: Apr 20 2014 ISBN/EAN13: 1499189788 / 9781499189780 Page Count: 108 Binding Type: US Trade Paper Trim Size: 6.14" x 9.21" Language: English Color: Black and White Related Categories: Fiction / Fantasy / General

Qaqortoq, Greendland

Amazing Greenland

Greenland, the largest Island in the world, is a country I never expected to visit but I am so glad I had the opportunity. Kindergarten children have a break from school to enjoy visitors from the Carnival Legend cruise ship. The beaded cape worn by the Eskimo woman shows her wealth.