When you tell your children to get ready for bath what do they do? Immediately they run into their room to find toys to play with in the water. The bath must be journey before they think it's fun. This is the issue in 'Tub Toys' - a cute and funny children's picture book co-written by Terry Miller Shannon and her son Timothy Warner.

The real 'star' in this book is Timothy Warner's son Liam who gave inspiration to the creation of this book. When the book arrived in the mail to me I showed it to my three year old daughter, and she LOVED it! The book is written in verses and has wonderful and funny illustrations done by Lee Calderon.

There is no limit of what the little boy in the book is taking with him in the tub. A bit sad about that he only has ONE bath duck; he takes revenge and throws all other animals in the tub, so his duck won't be lonely. How it all ends I won't tell you; but how do his parents handle this situation?

This book is the perfect gift for a young child. The illustrations are many and are the perfect affect for conversation with the child. I can tell you it was funny to see what my daughter got out of this book. It's a fiver!

When you tell your children to get ready for bath what do they do? Immediately they run into their room to find toys to play with in the water. The bath must be journey before they think it's fun. This is the issue in 'Tub Toys' - a cute and funny children's picture book co-written by Terry Miller Shannon and her son Timothy Warner.

The real 'star' in this book is Timothy Warner's son Liam who gave inspiration to the creation of this book. When the book arrived in the mail to me I showed it to my three year old daughter, and she LOVED it! The book is written in verses and has wonderful and funny illustrations done by Lee Calderon.

There is no limit of what the little boy in the book is taking with him in the tub. A bit sad about that he only has ONE bath duck; he takes revenge and throws all other animals in the tub, so his duck won't be lonely. How it all ends I won't tell you; but how do his parents handle this situation?

This book is the perfect gift for a young child. The illustrations are many and are the perfect affect for conversation with the child. I can tell you it was funny to see what my daughter got out of this book. It's a fiver!

Tub Toys is truly a terrific book by Terry Miller Shannon and son, Timothy Warner. I was reminded of my own tub time toy experiences as a child while reading. This book is delightful, fun, bright, witty, and even silly. I think a few of my favorite touches were the jacket and the cover design being different from eachother, what a thoughtful touch. I also enjoyed the authors' play on words as the toy search escalates. I thought the Mom and Dad turning into ocean creatures was a fun twist. As if the child's imagination was completely submerged in the water.
As soon as this book arrived I sat down and read it to my daughter. She has dozens of books and brought this one to me three times in a row so that she could hear the rhyme and see the lively illustrations. She's young now, but will surely grow up loving this book. Even now, at 14 months, bath-time is her favorite time of day, she gets so excited about her rubber duckies and her bubbles. I know that she'll be able to relate to the young boy in the story as she grows.
Terry, Timothy, and Lee, you have all done a tremendous job with this one! I look forward to your next collaborations with great excitement and I thank you on my daughter's behalf for sharing your amazing talent for writing and illustrating with the world! Cheers!!!

If you like cowboys and babies, or lawyers and orphans, or dumb damsels in distress, this isn't the romance collection for you. But if you like excellent writing, smart storylines, exciting --- and I REALLY mean EXCITING --- leading men, then you will love First Night!

This book was not what I expected. Being from a small press, frankly, I thought this book would be ridiculous. I was delightfully wrong. In fact, this book is miles better than the same-old same-old that the big publishers produce by the truckloads.

Each story is symbolic of a season of the year, but you aren't hit over the head by it. It's subtle. There are a total of four stories and each one has a very unique plot. Providence is a time travel about a woman running from the police, who manages to run into a love that transcends time and space. Honey Clover is about a scientist who blooms once she discovers that true love is perfect, even if the man you love isn't. Fate and Firecrackers is about a man and a woman who are so determined not to fall in love that they back into it anyway. Renaissance is about a woman who discovers her self and her life, after she's spent most of her life with a man who took her for granted.

These stories are all so different but they fit together magically.

I love this book and I look forward to seeing more books from these four authors. These people, particularly the talents and creativity of MaryAnn Mangini and Pauline Shannon, are what romance needs these days. I'm enraptured by this book.

I read a lot of romance, but First Night by far surpasses most of the others out there. It is one of the best anthologies in the genre I've ever read. It is four stories about four couples that are drawn together by the mystery and promise of New Year's Eve.

Using the seasons of the year, each story fits an aspect or idea of winter, spring, summer and fall.

Providence, the winter story, is a time travel. It is a nice story to read.

Honey Clover, the spring story, is utterly fantastic. The characters are so original and story is great. It is the story of Vivienne DeNoue, a scientist who is so logical and emotionally wounded that she can't trust her heart to do what's best for her when she meets Brian Cord. Brian Cord has been the subject of my daydreams since I read this book!

Fate and Firecrackers is hot, and I don't mean that figuratively. It's a good story about Bronwyn and Rick -- Bronwyn is a woman -- who are both stubborn about falling in love.

Renaissance starts off slowly, but builds to a terrific adventure into the heart, mind and soul of a woman.

First Night is like a box of chocolates. I didn't know what I was going to get, but everything was really good!

First Night is a thoroughly enjoyable and wonderful collection of four romance novellas, each of which represents a season of the year. These stories are mystical, yet grounded in a reality I wish was mine!

Honey Clover by Pauline Shannon and Providence by Bobbi Lerman are opposites in season (spring and winter) and in content (Providence is a time travel; Honey Clover is set firmly in reality with science as a supporting character.) Both stories share lovely writing styles and the authors have created heroines that are smart, alluring and complicated enough to be extremely interesting.

Fate and Firecrackers by Jen Safrey (summer) and Renaissance by Mary Ann Mangini (fall) are also opposites. Fate and Firecrackers is a fast, scintillating read that heats up quickly and explodes at the end. Renaissance is a longer, lanquid story that touches every sense.

The heros are fantastic, the heroines are cool, and the stories are unique. I sincerely enjoyed this book.

Shannon Miller, America's Most Decorated Gymnast is a great easy to read biography. Krista Quiner did an excellent job telling about Shannon's days in the former Soviot Union when she was just nine. This book goes through her first day at Steve Nunno's gym, Barcelona in '92, the days everyone was saying she was past her prime in the sport, right up until the '96 Olympics. Shannon's courage to never give up because she was older than most of her competition won her two gold medals in Atlanta, the team gold and her gold for her balance beam routine. This absolutly the best book written about Shannon Miller

This was the best book that I ever read on Shannon (i have read many). It tells you just about everything you'd ever want to know about Shannon Miller. She is the best gymnast ever and this book is great for fans of all ages. I loved it!

Here's another awesome gymnastics bio from Krista Quiner! This was a terrific, nice and detailed book about Shannon Miller's life. From the minute she was born to the end of the '96 Olympic Games, this book is the ultimate one to learn about Shannon Miller. The book had plenty of great information, and you learn tons and tons of stuff about her. There were also tons of awesome pictures too! This is a must-read for all gymnastics fans.

There are lots of books on ways to become "spiritual," but few so practical as this one. Just reading it makes me relax into a deep comfortable place where time seems to stop.

You can do any one of these practices in the moment. Oman Shannon makes all of them appealing by explaining each one with beautiful simplicity. "Abundance can be had simply by consciously receiving what already has been given," a Sufi proverb notes. What is given here is blessedly rewarding and full.

If you're looking to enrich the way you pray--no matter what your practice--this beautiful book is golden. "The Way We Pray" has become my constant companion.

Prayer may take many forms and be for an infinite variety of reasons. In The Way We Pray: Prayer Practices From Around the World, Maggie Oman Shannon provides a "compendium of prayer practices with enough context to acknowledge the cultural traditions behind them, while offering an invitation for further exploration."

Oman Shannon is a spiritual director, and founder of The New Story, an organization that helps people discover the deeper purpose to their lives. She's also a writer and editor, with a previous anthology of healing prayers to her credit.

Although many of us think of being on our knees with hands folded in front of us as the way to pray, practices as diverse as fasting, haiku, meditation, storytelling, and visual arts can all be a way of prayer. Oman Shannon quotes Catherine of Siena with the thought that "everything you do can be a prayer." What you physically do is of less importance than your sacred intentions. She says that prayer can become the "enfolding fabric in which we live our lives, and everything we do has the potential to be prayerful."

She describes over fifty ways of offering prayer. Each description details how that practice developed and how it has been used throughout time. Then Oman Shannon provides suggestions of how each method can be used in contemporary times, for contemporary difficulties. Each description is finished with a section containing several suggestions as to how individuals can explore that particular means of prayer to determine if it's something they can use.

An extensive resource section is provided to assist readers who want to investigate a particular practice in more depth.

Alan Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral, has this to say in the Foreword: "The Way We Pray offers us a treasury of integrating spiritual practices [and] they all have the power to open us up to a deeper and more generous reality." Readers will find the Oman Shannon has provided an invaluable resource for discovering the power of prayer in the way best suited to meet their needs.

Maggie Oman Shannon does such a great job of making devotion through prayer seen alluring, rewarding and even fun. I enjoyed learning about all the differnt methods of praying that I have heard about before but knew little about. Finding out about prayer bowls, tea ceromonies and prayer dancing was very interesting. Maggie shares many ways that whatever way of prayer we are interested in can become accessible to use immediately.

I enjoyed as the quotes from different traditions included and
learning about different cultures. The Way We Pray does a great job of giving the reader so many different ways to be spiritual that they can never get bored and always have more paths to explore. What an inspirational book.

This is the first of John Shannon's Jack Liffey mysteries I've read, though I see it's the fourth book in the series. It gave me a fascinating glimpse into the Vietnamese community of Orange County, LA, as well as introducing me to a central character I immediately want to more about. Jack Liffey is no super-hero, but a decent sort of guy trying to do his best in a crazy world (and some aspects of Liffey's LA are definitely crazy!). John Shannon is a great writer who keeps the reader interested throughout, and I can't understand why he isn't much better known. 'The Orange Curtain' is highly recommended.

The Orange Curtain was my introduction to John Shannon. I am now going to read the previous titles. Here is a writer with remarkable skills, both in narrative and in characterization. As well, his hero Jack Liffey is a man of such thoughtful intelligence that he stands well above the usual macho-jock types who play leading roles in so many series. The creation of Billy Gudger is something rare: a fully rounded view of loneliness personified and of how cruelty and isolation can shape a killer. Unlike the two-dimensional bad guys with incoherent rationales who kill people from some warped sense of personal satisfaction, Shannon has, in Gudger, drawn a portrait of a sad, even forgivable, young man with no social skills, and a deep and terrible thirst for knowledge and for friendship. It is to the author's credit that the exchanges between Liffey and Gudger are sadly revealing of the souls of both men; and the final section of the book is a fine example of how tension can be tightened, then tightened some more, then more, before something finally snaps.

Here is an author to watch; he is an extraordinary writer, with insight, wisdom, and great feeling for his characters.

Jack Liffey finds missing children and, in THE ORANGE CURTAIN, he must look into the strange (to him at least) culture of Orange County (formerly a bedroom community to Los Angeles but now a major center in its own right). The Orange County culture he investigates includes the ultra-rich, Vietnamese merchants and gangs, and an insane young man who flirts with genius.

It is the characters that make THE ORANGE CURTAIN stand out although certainly author John Shannon handles adventure well enough (with both physical and psychological challenges to Liffey). Both Liffey and insane Billy Gudger have their own challenges in dealing with others, rendering Liffey the one man who may be able to communicate effectively with Billy.

Shannon's touch for characters also applies to minor characters. Liffey's daughter Maeve, for example, is a delightful 13 going on 30.

THE ORANGE CURTAIN is less a mystery to be solved than it is a set of observations into human nature, the intermingled but distinct societies of Southern California, and the challenges a man must face to stand himself in the morning. Does that sound heavy? In this case, it isn't. The novel is a fast read with several great a-ha moments.

Highly Recommended.

It is hard to predict how the politically correct police will respond to the publication of this engaging children's book. While the lead character is an Indian (or Native American or whatever p.c. term is in vogue these days) which they generally view positively, he is also a Christian which they generally view negatively. The plot twist that has Squanto embracing the Christian faith should truly ruffle some feathers (so to speak) because faddish dictates say that all religions save Christianity and Judaism are beneficial. Obviously by finding his new faith, he leaves the old one behind.

Well, it's too bad that the censorious elites may go on the warpath over this uplifting true story, because they will miss out on a great read. While Squanto's name is relatively familiar, his biography is penumbral to even many well-educated Americans. His story should be better known because he personified the American Spirit before there was a United States.

Kidnapped as a boy of twelve and taken across the ocean as promising chattel in the slave trade, he was blessed to have been "purchased" by some monks who took pity on him. (In a truly irritating development to the p.c. crowd it is his liberators who are portrayed as religious while his evil captors are not.) The Italian monks strive to return Squanto to his family but the homecoming takes ten years. Sadly that is too late as a plague has wiped out his entire village before his return. The remainder of the story summarizes the famous part of Squanto's life--his mutually salvific interactions with the Pilgrims. Charmingly illustrated this American tale may not be the best for very young children because it deals honestly with depravity of the slave trade although that is a tertiary focus of the story. And though the target audience is much younger, adults will enjoy this salutary narrative of a remarkable life that knew devastating heartbreak and ultimately redemptive joy.

A wonderful and accurate children's book about the first Thanksgiving. In a society where 'primary source documentation' and truth do not seem to matter anymore, this book brings back the factual account of Squanto and God's mighty power and grace. The illustrations are beautiful and the book is short enough so a very young reader will not lose interest. This children's book will be an inspiration to all who read it. Every parent should read this book before their child reads it.

It's no mere coincidence that those who bought this book at Amazon also purchased titles by Rudyard Kipling and Hans Christian Anderson, for Eric Metaxas tells stories the way they used to be toldy. His knowledge of history and attention to detail are solid and thankfully for the reader he hasn't succumbed to the popular notions of political correctness and historical revisionism. There are things in American history to be ashamed of but there are many more things to be proud of and Metaxas reminds Americans of this. Both Native Americans and those who came later will leave this tale with a smile on their lips and thanksgiving to God in their hearts.

With a touch of "The Great Gatsby" and a touch of "The Big Chill" - Marcelle Clements "Midsummer" is a wonderfully sexy, interesting and full novel with a cast of characters that you will remember. The gorgeous setting of a Hudson River estate is a perfect backdrop for these amazingly different and yet intoxicating group of people that Ms. Clements brings together during the summer. 25 years after college, this reunited group deals with heartbreak, loss and that little thing we call life with humor, sex appeal and a good ole' dose of intrigue.

It's a fun and flirty book that makes for the perfect beach read. Give it a shot --- think you'll love the sexy and fun tone.

Cheers!

Just read this delightful intelligent tale of relationships. I enjoyed watching the social dance of summerhouse sharing strangers approach and retreat in a story told from the many points of view of a group of New York characters.

I loved this book. Clements is smart, funny, and incredibly insightful. I found each character completely engaging. A wonderful and satisfying novel.

I picked up this book because I have always found e-mail to be an effective way to begin and develop relationships with interesting people I would never have otherwise met. That's one of the many reasons I like to write reviews on Amazon.com. Since most books about the Internet are extremely simple and out-of-date, I had low expectations. Imagine how pleased I was when I discovered that this book not only answered many of my questions (such as how to get started with e-mailing to opt-in lists of people who have given permission to be contacted with information in certain subject areas) but also provided information that I did not imagine existed (such as sites for posting e-mail press releases and statements of competency to reach the media). Best of all, the ideas here take little capital and expertise so most people who are active on the Internet can use them.

Here is the table of contents to give you a sense of how the book is organized:

Chapter 1: E-Mail Newsletters

Chapter 2: Discussion Lists

Chapter 3: Online Networking

Chapter 4: Signature Files

Chapter 5: Autoresponders

Chapter 6: Customer Relationship Management

Chapter 7: Promotions and Direct E-Mail

Chapter 8: Online Public Relations

Chapter 9: Advertising in E-Publications

Chapter 10: E-Mail Marketing Rulebook

Chapter 11: Technical Know-How

Chapter 12: Measuring Results

Chapter 13: Opt-In List Brokering

Chapter 14: Worksheets

Chapter 15: 20 Recommended E-Mail Publications

As a result of reading this book, I began to wonder if I should also offer a free e-mail newsletter of more analytical and detailed book reviews covering those books I like best, with the reviews organized to be easier to access. Your opinions on that subject are most welcome!

The technical support in the book can save you some money on implementing by allowing you to do more of the work yourself. You are also directed to examples and organizations that can help you. I wrote down more than 30 web sites I want to investigate as a result of reading this book. That's about 27 more than I got out of the last 400 books I have read.

Another positive feature of the book is that it is anti-Spam. If you are like me, you get about 40 Spam messages a day that have no connection to any interest you have and seem to be created by people with little talent. One reason I have been slow to use more e-mail marketing is because I am very anti-Spam and didn't want to become a Spammer even by accident.

The best advice from the book is to build your own lists from people who reply to you and give you permission to contact them again, and use those to establish and maintain mutually supportive relationships. That makes sense to me. My web designer has been urging me on with this idea for years, but I never quite got the point before. Now I see what I should be doing. Even though I have read and liked Permission Marketing, the idea just hadn't clicked before.

Even if you don't plan to do e-mail mass marketing, the ideas in here for online public relations will make the book valuable all by themselves.

The authors also offer you access to their web site for more information and help.

A revised edition is planned for a few weeks from now, and I suspect that it would be a good idea to see what is in that edition as well. I wouldn't wait for that one, however, to get started. You can make significant progress in the meantime with this edition.

After you have finished reading this book, ask yourself what is the one thing you could do today that would help get valuable knowledge out to those who need it most. Then take that action. I also urge you to make that question and action step a daily process thereafter. This book should make you very capable of doing this!

I am a technoid (See my about me area) so when I first started reading this book and Kinnard described the tools I thought the book was going to be fairly boring. Later when I entered in the chapters on marketing I was thrilled with an entry level book.

I needed (and still need) good ideas to help me market my business. I used my highlighter a great deal in this book. In almost every one of the later chapters I found really good ideas. Also the structure of the book was wonderful. The beginning of every chapter is a series of descriptive or narrative paragraphs, case study, resources and a cheat sheet. The structure that Kinnard uses makes this a tool for reference as well as a good read.

Finally, I think Kinnard has an excellent style. I think one of the great tasks of writing a book like this one is that most of the audience really is not interested in reading the material. We just want to know it so that we can use it. So, time spent reading and learning about email is tiresome. Kinnard does a good job of making the paint dry quickly.

As a web designer for small businesses, the task of bringing visitors to a site often falls into my lap. It's a daunting task and with internet marketing still in it's infancy it's difficult to look to anyone as an expert. Ms. Kinnard is worth her weight in gold; demonstrating how to handle the new field of e-marketing and expertly giving how-to advice.

Many of my clients are regional shops and businesses that do not have the big business (big $$) marketing budgets. Not only do I often find myself referring to this book often, but I recommend it to all of my clients as well.

Business owners are often one of the biggest draws for a business; their personality, eye for detail, or craftsmanship is what attracts customers. By reading this book, my clients are able to market themselves, which my all accounts is a win-win scenario.

If you own a business or if you represent a business that is trying to increase their market share on the Internet, make this mandatory reading.

I Love Bad Boys is one of my favorite erotic anthologies . . . and I couldn't wait to read its follow-up, I Brake for Bad Boys. Lori Foster and Jannelle Denison haven't disappointed me. Their stories are quite provocative, romantic and witty.

Foster's Drive Me Wild is about Erica Lee -- a strong and assertive woman who couldn't be happier with her unattached life. Or is she happy? Her life takes some unexpected turns when she meets Ian Conrad . . .

Denison's Something Wilde is about Jill Richardson -- a woman who never mixes business with pleasure. However, her ordered life turns upside down in ecstatic proportions when she receives an offer she can't refuse . . .

I wasn't very keen with the third story -- Shannon McKenna's Touch Me. It wasn't as exciting as the first two stories. Thus, it is why I have given the book four stars instead of five.

I Brake for Bad Boys is one of the best erotic anthologies out there. I look forward to reading more stories from these talented authors . . .

This anthology is the second one of the 'Bad Boy' series of stories that Brava is releasing which are hot and sensual romance short stories. Like the first one (I LOVE BAD BOYS), this one features Lori Foster and Janelle Denison, and adds rising star Shannon McKenna. Like the first one, this one was hard to put down. It was great from page one to the end.

DRIVE ME WILD is the first one and is by Lori Foster, the hot star of Kensington/Brava Books. It is the last one of a series of stories featuring three girlfriends who had made a pact of asking out the first guy they spotted in the local porn shop shopping for wares that interested them. Ian Conrad had learned about the pact and wanted to be the one that Erica Lee chose. He was attracted to the standoffish and attractive Erica, but she was afraid of letting a man too close, because of situations from the past.
Ian doesn't know this, but is intent on breaking down her barriers. To achieve this, he agrees to be her sex slave and agrees to any demands she may make. Erica can't believe that she is attracted to the company electrician, but man, do the sparks ever fly. The scenes between the two just sizzle and the love scenes are sparkling hot.
What a fitting end to the Girlfriend Stories, as I enjoyed the whole series immensely.

SOMETHING WILDE by Janelle Denison is the first of a series of stories about the Wilde brothers. Eric Wilde is attracted to the comely Jill Richardson, with whom he is currently working on a project with. She is resistant to his advances, but he senses her attraction. He decides to act upon them while he can and embarks on a crusade to woo her. Keep ice close by'this one is hot. Another outstanding story by Janelle Denison.

TOUCH ME by Shannon McKenna is another hot, sensual and enjoyable story. It is about Tess Langley, a massage therapist, who is hired by one of her customers to provide services for a party he is throwing at a remote retreat. She learns upon her arrival that there is no party, that Jonah Markham wanted her alone so he can explore the sensual side of Tess. They both had an unsettled childhood, and must both overcome these before they realize that their attraction is love and not just lust. Of the three stories, this was darker, but still, I found it very good, and yes, very hot too.

If your idea of bliss on cold winter nights is to sit down with a book with sensuality that sizzles and scorches, then pick up I BRAKE FOR BAD BOYS. All three stories shined for me and make me look with great anticipation for the next book in the BAD BOYS series.

Fans of Lori Foster, Janelle Denison and Shannon McKenna won't be disappointed when they pick up this book! I know that some anthologies can have one or two enjoyable stories and the other will be a so-so read. Not true with this one! All three stories are totally hot and I never wanted the stories to end. Readers who haven't read these authors before will be kicking themselves for not finding them sooner!

Lori Foster's novella, Drive Me Wild is a wonderful ending to the three best friend series. Erica Lee and Ian Conrad heat up the pages in this story! I enjoyed the development of the relationship between these two and Ian was the perfect match for Erica. I could not put this one down. Lori Foster is an auto-buy for me and I would have bought this book just for this novella alone.

Janelle Denison's Something Wilde is hot, hot, hot! This is the first story in Janelle's Wilde series and it's not to be missed. Eric Wilde and Jill Richardson are coworkers who end up mixing business and pleasure in a whole new way!

Shannon Mckenna's Touch Me is so hot it will burn your fingers! Make sure you have a fan or a cool drink nearby while reading this one. Tess Langley is a massage therapist who helps Jonah Markham relax in new and enjoyable ways that will make you blush. Shannon McKenna is a newer author and she I've loved everything that she's written.