Book Review: No Turning Back by Dan Burns

No Turning Back

By Dan Burns

Chicago: Chicago Arts Press: pp 253 

$24.95

10 short stories in one book by Dan Burns

 may be just the thing to get your mind off the world or decide to engage just a bit more. Thought provoking, the sometimes Twilight Zone reminiscent or Bradburyesque tales transport the reader to another place.

The ten stories are: Cone Out Wherever You Are, At the End of the Day, Out of Touch, Letting Go, The Dark Side, For a Few Laughs, Adios Amigo, An Unexpected Guest – A Fantasy, The Pass, and No Turning Back. Will keep you turning pages through the quick paced prose.

Come Out, Wherever You Are takes one path on an apocalyptic day. What would you do if you were the last man standing? You may think differently when you’re done with this one. I particularly liked the descriptions of the location and how what was expect just wasn’t what was found.

Adios Amigo is particularly disturbing in that funny Twilight Zone sort of way. While it reminded me of one of the tele-plays it was distinctly different. The differences included a 21^st century taste for the ew-factor. By the end, we’re not sympathetic to the main character and yet… ew.

An Unexpected Guest is the answer to, if you could have dinner with anyone, absolutely anyone, who would it be? Dan Burns’s guest is simply delightful, and if it is based completely on fantasy, it’s just how I would imagine his guest would be. No spoiler here. But when you read it you’ll know why he included this vignette with this collection.  

The last story No Turning Back is thought provoking especially with the announcement of the end of the warfare in Afghanistan; it gives us food for thought before we send any other young men to foreign countries.

If you like SciFi stories without the gore you’ll enjoy this collection of short stories and commentary from author Dan Burns.

Thank you Dan for the opportunity to read and review your latest book: No Turning Back. 

For more information go to: http://www.danburnsauthor.com or http://www.chicagoartspress.com

Book Review: Stop, Drop, and Wiggle by Gaia Shawna Morrissette

Stop, Drop, and Wiggle

by Gaia Shawna Morrissette

2014: Balboa Press: Hay House. 103 pages $28.95

Pulling from her own experience, Gaia Morrissette offers detailed seven steps to lift yourself out of depression by wiggling. Can't be bummed if you're giggling and wiggling is the philosophy.

Step 1: STOP!
The beginning asks that you check in with your emotions. How are you? Really.

Step 2: OBSERVE
What's the universe telling you? The messages are there if you look for them.

Step 3: DROP
Take control of your feelings. They belong to you, not the other way around.

Step 4: WIGGLE!
Shake it baby!

Step 5: GRATITUDE
Find something to be grateful for. This exercise will help you feel better, no matter what.

Step 6: LOVE
List those things that make your life worth living.

Step 7 SHIT or get off the pot
Time to put it all into action.

The rest is simple but not necessarily easy: practice practice practice.

It is absolutely impossible to stay bummed out if you're wiggling your tush, as my grandma used to call it. Try it.

Blue Moon

Blue Moon or an extra full moon in the season or an extra moon within a calendar month was once called the betrayer or liar’s moon. At one time priests decided to use the extra moon, the thirteenth moon to relate the story of Judas the betrayer, the thirteenth follower of Jesus.

Since the medieval time, superstitions have come and gone to explain the moon and it's effects on the tides and people's hearts.

• Superstitions about blue moons include an old farmer belief that the full moon pulls the plants up from the ground. The extra full moon symbolizes the promise of a bumper crop on the way.
• Underground vegetables such as carrots or potatoes grow better if they’re planted by the moon.
• For the romantic, the full moon is as good as a green light to take your relationship to the next level. Many a young woman hoped to receive long stem roses and a ring by the light of the full moon.
• For the sick, the full moon represented a time for curing illness. As doctor’s know now, if a patient believes something is a good omen or the sign of healing, the belief often works it’s placebo effect and the patient does exhibit improvement.

Poets often write about the moon as did JRR Tolkien in the following:

The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon

There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.

The ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays a five-stringed fiddle;
And up and down he saws his bow
Now squeaking high, now purring low,
now sawing in the middle.

The landlord keeps a little dog
that is mighty fond of jokes;
When there's good cheer among the guests,
He cocks an ear at all the jests
and laughs until he chokes.

They also keep a hornéd cow
as proud as any queen;
But music turns her head like ale,
And makes her wave her tufted tail
and dance upon the green.

And O! the rows of silver dishes
and the store of silver spoons!
For Sunday there's a special pair,
And these they polish up with care
on Saturday afternoons.

The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,
and the cat began to wail;
A dish and a spoon on the table danced,
The cow in the garden madly pranced
and the little dog chased his tail.

The Man in the Moon took another mug,
and then rolled beneath his chair;
And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,
Till in the sky the stars were pale,
and dawn was in the air.

Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:
'The white horses of the Moon,
They neigh and champ their silver bits;
But their master's been and drowned his wits,
and the Sun'll be rising soon!'

So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,
a jig that would wake the dead:
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:
'It's after three!' he said.

They rolled the Man slowly up the hill
and bundled him into the Moon,
While his horses galloped up in rear,
And the cow came capering like a deer,
and a dish ran up with the spoon.

Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;
the dog began to roar,
The cow and the horses stood on their heads;
The guests all bounded from their beds
and danced upon the floor.

With a ping and a pang the fiddle-strings broke!
the cow jumped over the Moon,
And the little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
with the silver Sunday spoon.

The round Moon rolled behind the hill,
as the Sun raised up her head.
She* hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise
they all went back to bed!

The next blue moon will arrive August 21, 2013.

)0(

Inklings ~ A Writer's Group

JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Roger, Green, Humphrey Havard, Lord David Cecil, Owen Barfield, Adam Fox, Hugo Dyson, Nevill Coghill, John Wain and other members attended regular sessions of the Inklings.

The Inklings met to discuss and read aloud the bits and pieces that would become some of our favorite literature. These heavy hitters met in the sitting room of the innkeeper at the Eagle & Child or the the Lamb & Flag pubs in Oxford England.

Imagine the fabulous conversations between these great authors. Mentioned by some of the other members were the sighs when Professor Tolkien brought a piece about elves again! Such was the sentiment about the crafting of his epic novels.

Comforted by the fact that productive writers encourage each other, I’m pleased to consider myself a member of such a group. Local to my area, the Coffee House Writers Group is my home base much like the Inklings were to some of my favorite authors.

Pleased I am with the banter of an honest critique. I’ve found that in spite of authors’ egos, there are some writers who thrive in the energy of other similarly creative writers. We’ve found that technology only enhances the connections between we who are 21st Century writers.

If you are a writer, or wish to be, find your nesting group of other writers who will encourage and critique your work. We need only look to the productive nature of the Inklings to see that there is value in bouncing ideas off other writers.

More information:

Inklings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklings

Coffee House Writers Group http://www.meetup.com/CoffeeHouseWritersGroup/

JRR Tolkien http://www.tolkiensociety.org/

CS Lewis http://www.cslewis.com/

About the Author

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What two things do you always have with you? cell phone & business cards
4. What is your favourite TV show? I don’t watch TV
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Oatmeal
6. What is your favorite book? There are so many… Tao of Pooh
7. What is your middle name? Noneya
8. What food do you dislike? meat
9. What is your favourite CD? Korn
10. What type of car do you drive? My car is a Truck
11. Favorite sandwich? Grilled Cheese & Tomato
12. What characteristic do you despise? No honor
13. Favorite item of clothing? Cozy sweaters
14. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Any Warm Peaceful Tropical Island, I’m not picky.
15. What color is your bathroom? Green
17. Where would you retire? By choice, that warm tropical island
18. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 45… who knew I’d live this long??
19. Furthest place you are sending this? WWW
20. Who do you least expect to send this back? Don’t know
21. Person you expect to send it back first? Should be interesting…
22. Favorite saying? Can I say that here??
23. When is your birthday? December
24. Are you a morning person or a night person? Neither, I prefer afternoons
25. What is your shoe size? 8
26. Pets? 2 dogs
27. What did you want to be when you were little? A Good Mother
28. How are you today? Besides the pain/agony…stressed & bummed…it’s a vicious cycle
29. What is your favorite candybar? Dark Chocolate Godiva. although lately, I've enjoyed Milky Way Dark
30. What is your favorite flower? Whatever is blooming. Right now, Yarrow, Chamomile, Rose
31. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Tomorrow, it’s Summer!
32 What is the last thing you ate? Peanut Butter & Crackers
33. What are you listening to right now? Lawn Mower/Blower
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Black
35. How is the weather right now? Humid
36. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Client
37. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes! :-)
38. Favorite soft drink? Coke on Crushed Ice in the Summer, Dr Pepper in general
39. Favorite restaurant? Roasted Garlic, just outside Atlanta, Georgia
40. Hair color? Grey
41. Sibling(s)? You could say that…
42. Favorite day of the year? Today
43. What was your favorite toy as a child? Stuffed dog
44. Summer or winter? Summer!
45. Hugs or kisses? Hugs from Friends & Family, Kisses from My Man
46. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate straight up, Vanilla shakes
47. Do you want your friends to email you back? Sure
48. When was the last time you cried? Today, during physical therapy
49. What is under your bed? The floor
50. Who is the friend you have had the longest? My Man
51. Favorite smell? Trees & Flowers after the rain
52. What are you afraid of? Been there, done that…
53. Plain, butter or salted popcorn? Butter, real butter not the fake stuff
54. How many keys on your key ring? Ha! Which key ring?
55. How many years at your current job? Ha! Which job?
56. Favorite day of the week? Today
57. How many towns have you lived in? Too many to towns to count…7 states
58. Do you make friends easily? Depends on the friends
59. How many people will you be sending this to? Blog Readers Only