Thursday, October 31, 2013

A Review of the Book "Story Tellers: In Pursuit of Happiness" by: Thomas Jerome Baker

I just finished reading another short book that kept me on the edge of my seat called "Story Tellers: In Pursuit of Happiness." by: Thomas Jerome Baker. This book was extremely good! I felt like I was really in the story myself. The idea of having Elydian be the kingdom of heaven was an interesting yet good one, as well as the head Storyteller's real name be Solomon. I won't ruin the story--you'll have to read the book for yourself--but suffice it to say that it is a book well worth reading!
I have been doing a lot of reviews for other authors lately, but I am still writing for both Textbroker and in my "spare time." Yeah, I have none. lol. Part of being an author meant that I would be constantly writing something somewhere. Not that it matters to me...I enjoy reading and writing. I consider it my luck that I am able to share my stories and poems to others throughout the world. It's getting easier and easier to do too. The world of publishing and books is becoming so different from what it used to be. I have a great idea of how much has changed since I have been published in an anthology before. I had to work with another company or third party in order to get my work published and printed. Many authors pay for their work to be published, and that is a common huge mistake that is made. Any publishing company that asks you to pay for the right to print your work is scamming you. They receive more money off of it than normal from this. It isn't right, but it happens. Enter how hard it is to get published. I had to win my way to publication, f course, by applying to be in the contest in the first place. I had to make sure that I had the document a specific way and everything. I was excited that my poem was one of the many poems chosen to be put into the anthology!
I must admit, however, that I thought being published would mean a lot more in the big scheme of things than it does in actuality. It makes sense though. Well, I am going to get some more reviews done for people and then write some more before I go to see a friend in Evansville. I also have to make some press kits for my books. I haven't done that yet, and I need to. I'm going to stay over there for 4 days, so I won't probably be able to blog or anything for awhile. I am going to get more of my research done for my books. I love my readers, and I am trying to get the stories as accurate and precise as I can! Until then, I hope that you have a great Halloween! Stay safe and dry, as where I am, it is pouring down rain and I don't think the rain is going to stop for quite awhile. Hopefully it will stop soon, but who knows? So do make sure to stay warm and cozy!

Write on!

Kelsey Harris

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Serving Time by: Nadine Ducca and Margo Collins Waking Up Dead

I really enjoyed this book...it was one of the most interesting and entertaining reads that I have had the pleasure of enjoying in my whole lifetime. Highly imaginative, and incredibly descriptive. I recommend this book to older people, and to teens with discretion. I was glad to have been able to read and review it, and suggest it to other lovers of science fiction stories.

I also read a book by Margo Collins these past few weeks called "Waking Up Dead." This story was still a good one, but the format was a little distracting to me. I felt that the beginning could have been a lot more exciting and gripping, but the storyline was a cute one for sure. This girl has to deal with being a ghost, that's all I'm going to say! ;) I enjoyed it as well--perfect books to read for the Halloween season! What books have you all been reading that you would recommend? Just let me know in the comments below! Have a great Halloween, and

Write on!

Kelsey Harris

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Pssst...Chapter 1 Preview of "Cassie"!

Chapter I

Some things are not easy to forget. I know that extremely well. Sure, you can forgive someone else for what they have done to you, and how they have treated you in the past, but there still is the pain that lingers long after you attempt to bring closure. Cassie had a feeling she would never be able to truly forget what her friend and lover, Mark Cohan, had done to hurt her. She was so glad that she never got married to the dude, the more that she thought about it. Mark Cohan was a prominent pimp, and he was known for being the guy to go to on
the tough streets of New York City.  Of course, there were other rough men and guys out in the streets of New York City, but Mark was the one that everyone looked up to. Mark made them like him just by the way that he presented himself. There were millions of girls who would’ve killed for the chance to be with Mark—literally. Not that it mattered a lot to Cassie. Cassie was a simple girl, born and raised in New York City. She had never really been one of the roughest girls or most prominent girls of the street, but she had secrets and an attraction that all of her down that simply could not be denied by anyone. All the people who were around Cassie agreed on this point.
Sometimes, Cassie wished for a lower status in the streets of New York City. For many years, Cassie had kept away from men for that very reason—they demanded so much of her that it made her crazy, and seldom was it worth it in her eyes to be with someone who just made her status bigger. There had been a time in Cassie’s life when giving some of her power up to a guy, which she had done with Mark. As long as it was her choice, she did not mind at all. She felt misunderstood by many of the guys. Cassie had accepted that she was going to be watched after she chose not to be a snob like some of the people around her were, but now that everyone was growing up, people were continually coming back and seeing her real worth. That made her laugh, as she had acquired some great people around her that loved her for who she was, and that truly cared, compared to the friendships that they had made for themselves most likely. Mark had been one of those friends to her, but he had also betrayed her. By lying, Mark had gotten her to have sex with him, and Cassie was understandably furious about it. Why not just tell the truth?? Was she not worth that much?? Cassie snorted in derision. Perhaps not. After all, she was merely a girl, a simple object to many men and boys that could easily be manipulated. She had thought that he was different, that he would never lie to her. She put him on a pedestal that he never deserved to be on in the very first place.  Now she could hit herself. How could she have been so stupid? She was clearly another option, just for when he got bored. She was pushed and pulled in every direction, wanting so badly to be able to forgive and forget, but alas she could not.
The circumstances would truly never allow for it. Otherwise, she would be a total fool. And Carrie was anything but a fool. She wasn’t about to let others make a fool of her either. She was a strong, independent woman who had the Irish spirit of the O’Connor’s in her. She took a lot of pride in that, and of how far her family had come.
Cassie sat on a brown sofa by a window inside her apartment, where she was living by herself at the moment. The walls around her were plain, a basic white color painted on them. Cassie had a sofa by her small bedroom, and had a small kitchen for cooking. The place was not much, but it was something, and she was proud of every last thing that she had because she worked for all that she had, including all of the cooking utensils, pots, and pans that were needed in the kitchen. Cassie sighed aloud, and stared out of the window, watching cars go by her small apartment complex in the city. She did not have a lot of time to waste before she had to get to her movie shoot. Cassie had recently acquired a job playing the role of Titania in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream. The Warner Brothers © were attempting to use this classic play in order to get their big comeback. The Warner Brothers © had not had very many successful movies out lately, and they were hoping that doing a modern version of the Shakespearean play would help them to make more money making their movies. Roger Collins, the director, was one of Cassie O’Connor’s friends from way back. As way back, actually, as high school. Inheriting The Warner Brothers Studio ©, Roger Collins had taken it upon himself to create movies for the studio for as cheap as possible.
Of course, that meant that Roger had to do the directing for the studio’s movies. He seemed comfortable doing this, and had done this for as long as he had full control of the studio, up to the present day. The studio was doing well under Roger, but had lately put out a movie, Kissed In Seattle, that had not done as well as had been hoped. Cassie had been a shoe-in for the leading part, as she was experienced in acting in Shakespearean plays. It also did not hurt a bit that she was small and petite, with pretty blue eyes. For all it was worth, Cassie could have been a fairy and not realized the fact. Cassie had a lot of competition during the tryouts, however, each person also appearing to be appropriate and good for the role of Titania, but luckily, since Roger knew her personally, he had been inclined to pick her for the part. As a struggling actress, Cassie was glad that she had this aspect to her advantage. It was sorely needed. The bills for her house needed to be paid soon, and Cassie had been out of work for a while. She had taken up odd jobs just to make sure that she could make ends meet. Not that this was desired, but it had to be done. You would not hear any complaints about it. However, it did depress Cassie that she had to work so very hard and for so very little pay while looking for another acting gig. Jobs were almost impossible to come by in the economy anyways.
Cassie had always dreamed of being on the stage and performing for other people, but she also found her dream one among thousands and even millions of other people who had the same dream that she did. This gave her a lot of competition, sometimes exceptionally fierce. Getting any advantage on the rest of the competition was not an easy thing to do, but it was what kept careers from failing or succeeding. Cassie took a look at the old wooden clock that was up on one of the walls of the apartment’s house and her eyes widened quickly as she realized that she would be late for work if she did not get in her car and head to work soon. The car that she had currently was an ancient, ruby red color. It functioned, but only to the point where it got her to one point to another. Right now, that was enough. Money was tight, to the point where purchasing a grander, better functioning car would be phenomenally expensive. Cassie snapped quickly to attention, and walked outside to her parked car. She got inside and put her keys into the ignition and started to drive.  The weather was great outside, not too hot and not too cold-one of those rare and precious days that did not come around all of the time. The clouds were not gray or stormy looking at all. Unfortunately, the oncoming traffic was a different story. New York City traffic was always a hubbub. However, the amount of traffic that was currently on the road was massive. Too massive, truly, for Cassie’s actual predilection. At this rate, she lamented to herself, I will be too late for my job! Cassie had only so many days off and days that she could be delayed or else she risked losing it. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to calm herself down a little. Fortunately, Cassie was able to. It would have been a bad situation otherwise, as time was ticking by at a lightening pace. Oh well, Cassie thought candidly to herself, I’ll have to use one of my sick days or one of my days that I can be late…
            The thought repulsed Cassie to no small degree, but as she sat through the next grueling hours of waiting for all of the other cars to get to where they also wanted to go, it became a firm reality that she had no other choice but to accept. Without her encouragement, the situation would have to simply be embraced. It was happening, whether or not she cared for the situation to be occurring momentarily. Cassie felt queasy to her stomach. She was not sure that she would be able to accept peacefully in her subconscious that she was going to be tardy for work. She wished with all of her might internally that she could, but it just was not going to happen. Simple as that. The inner strength that Cassie had was just not strong enough for it. Call it a bad habit, but there were definite reasons for her train of logic. Even if, as she admitted to herself, the logic itself was cooky.
(c) Kelsey Harris

Saturday, October 12, 2013

NEW POETRY BOOK!

Hey, guys, I just put in Amazon another poetry book. Okay, I know what you all are thinking...who needs another poetry book anyways? And I have to say, I love writing poetry, but there are some poets who use too many big words. It gets distracting, and I can't enjoy the poems that they write a bit. I don't know about you, but that is how poetry is for me. It is a gift to find a good poems, much less well written poems that are not too big worded and that express emotions well. I think my poems do just that. I have been writing poetry ever since high school, so I have personal experience in writing them. I knew you all are waiting on the release of the ebook Cassie. I decided to give you all a treat while you are waiting for the next ebook to come out! And if you have not yet checked out my ebooks, why not do it now? Both of my poetry books are specifically written for people who don't like poetry. Anyone will find a poem that they enjoy! 
The new ebook is called Of Branches and Trees: A Poetry Book for People Who Don't Like Poetry. 
Check it out! And don't forget to add me and follow me...comments and questions are always welcomed! I will be reviewing some new upcoming authors' books as well that they were kind enough to give me advanced readers copies of. 
All that is coming up later. Until then, write on! 

Kelsey Harris 

Monday, October 7, 2013

Review For "Breaking Free: From Pain Pill & Opiate Addiction" by: Amanda Jenkins

I just finished yesterday Amanda Jenkins' "Breaking Free: From Pain Pill and Opiate Addiction". The story of her life is inspiring, and will be so to many others in my opinion. I have never personally had any trouble in abusing pills or opiates, but I am a proud supporter of TWLOHA-To Write Love on Her Arms. To Write Love on Her Arms is a depression, addiction, and self-cutting support group that grew out of one person's need for the help. The story, although short, is well written, and many good tips for people trying to get off pain pills and/or opiates. 

If you would like me to do a review on a book, please let me know. I am more than happy to swap books for reviews. Have a great day! 

Write On! 

Kelsey Harris 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

An Unexpected DeveIopment (well, sort of..)

Hey readers, this was unexpected, but I just recently published an ebook called 5 Poems on Amazon yesterday. Although the poems are pricey, they are of  high quality, I can assure you. I have been a published poet ever since I was in high school in my hometown. Very much worth getting! I almost have the new story teaser ready to put up on here for you, but not right at the moment. I'm continuing to get lots of love from people who have read my published works, and my sincere thanks goes out to them. If you want to swap books and need a review for yours, I would be more than happy to hear from you. I am in the process of reviewing a couple ebooks myself at the current moment. Subscribe to me or leave a comment, it's nice always enjoyable to hear from people! Here is the link to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Poems-ebook/dp/B00FJPG9WO/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1380641508&sr=8-8&keywords=kelsey+Harris

Write On!

Kelsey Harris