New Website, New Blog

Hello all.  I've moved to a new website, Word By Word, and hope to see you all there.

You can also join my mailing list, Woven Threads Post, and gain access to lots of goodies, including free flash fiction and short stories.  I've also included a sign up form below.  Hope to see you there.

Thanks for hanging out with me at blogger, and I look forward to seeing you at my new site.

Cheers,

S. M. Pace

The Life of Ling Ling by Jerad W. Alexander

"Sergeant Square bought a blow-up doll. It was called the "Backdoor Beauty" and it cost $49.99 plus shipping. He did it impulsively, for sheer amusement, and openly admitted to himself that he would have had neither the time nor inclination to look for it at all if only his wife had been home to take his call. He was completely comfortable with that excuse."

In The Life of Ling Ling, the Marines of Combat Outpost Bordelon are weeks away from going home. Buried fantasies of a peaceful future rise to the surface as returning home from Iraq alive suddenly seems real. But for Sergeant Timothy Square, his own destructive bravado and eagerness to embrace the warlike culture where he thrives may have cost him the one bit of peace he has waiting for him: his wife Crystal. Only after confronting an act of wretchedness involving a young Iraqi girl does Square finally learn the brutal fallacy of his worldview, though it may be too late.

Purchase Links 

Amazon Ebook 

My Review
   
I really enjoyed this novel.  From the first sentence I was pulled into the world and fascinated by the different characters.  The novel follows several marines at Outpost Bordelon, mainly focusing on Sergeant Square, who bursts to life on the first page as a man frustrated, and afraid and determined to not show it, especially to the men in his company.  As the story progressed, I wanted to learn more about his life situation and I rooted for him to find some sort of resolution.  

In the end, I would say he does, and everything comes together with the last page of the book.  The only issue I had was one of time.  I had a few moments where I wasn't sure when something was supposed to have happened in relationship to the two most distinct POVs.  
  
I strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a strong character read, or who really enjoys war novels, especially in regards to Iraq.  

Promo - Over the Rainbow by Brian Rowe

About the Novel 

16-year-old Zippy Green never meant to fall in love with a girl, but when she does, her ultra-conservative father tries to send her to anti-gay camp. At the Kansas City airport, however, she hides inside a giant suitcase and sneaks onto an airplane headed not to the camp, but to Seattle, where her online love Mira lives. Halfway through the flight, the plane barrels out of control and crashes into the ground, knocking her unconscious. 

When Zippy awakens, she finds that most of the passengers have vanished. She doesn’t know what’s happened, but she’s determined to find out. She begins a quest on foot toward Seattle, and along the way, she meets a teenager with a concussion , a homeless man with a heart condition, a child without a shred of bravery, and a terrier named Judy. Together the group discovers that more than two-thirds of the world's population has mysteriously disappeared. But that's only the beginning...

All Zippy wants is to find her Mira, but before she can she has to contend with two outside forces. The first is her homophobic father, who does everything in his power to keep her from the girl she loves. And the second is extinct creatures of all shapes and sizes, including living, breathing dinosaurs, which have replaced the missing population.

Purchase Links 

Amazon Ebook 
Amazon Print  

About the Author 

Brian Rowe is a writing fiend, book devotee, film fanatic, and constant dreamer. He's written nine novels, dozens of short stories, five feature-length screenplays, and hundreds of film articles and essays. His fiction has appeared in Dreamspinner Press, Mobius Magazine, and Wilde Oats Literary Journal. He is one half of the YA book blog Story Carnivores, where he reviews the latest in books and film. He is currently pursuing his MA in English at the University of Nevada, Reno, and is hard at work on his first New Adult novel, which will be released in November 2013.

Website: brianrowebooks.com
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