The author of this book is my sister. However, the book is a delightful, imaginative romp on a poor sidehill farm in Vermont. It describes a farmer at his wit's end for lack of money for his family. A miraculous rolling hay "tumble" or drying pile gets him out of his tough times, believe it or not by helping with the chores, and the world suddenly looks better. It's a tale that youngsters all over Vermont have loved when my sister gives presentations at one-room and larger elementary schools around Vermont.

The title of Mary Emma Allen's little reference, "Writing In Maine, New Hamshire & Vermont" indicates a very narrow focus. It would be a mistake to assume that this book is not useful for any freelance writer or writer living outside these states.

Although it is true that many entries are useful and/or available only for residents of this tri-state area, the percentage of these restricted entries is not large.

For those of us who live in the other 47 states there is plenty of information that we can use. The really amazing thing is that much of this information is not found in periodicals that most of us use. like Writers' Markets.

This little volume makes an excellent addendum to any book an author might presently be using as a resource. There are lists of bookstores and contests and publishers and grants and markets, and colleges and...you get the idea. I'd be willing to bet that most of these sources are not in the average writer's Rolodex.

Sooo...what are you waiting for?

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

This book was such a waste of time. After pages and pages of reading about the mother worrying about her son and nothing else I had to stop reading it. I would not suggest reading it unless you are in the mood for a great bore.

Instead of calling this novel, "The Boy on the Bus," the author should have called it, "The Crazy Mother!" This book was NOT, as I was led to believe, a story about a woman whose child is missing. This is a story about a woman who seems a little mentally unbalanced. As I was reading this book, not once did I truly believe that the boy on the bus was not Charlie. I kept thinking, "what is wrong with this mother???" She seemed overly concerned about Charlie's physical safety, always asking if he was sick or hurt, making a mountain out of every molehill. I even wondered if the woman was supposed to have Munchaussen's-by-proxy disorder! By the end of the book, I figured out that the woman was just having some sort of identity crises. Her life partner (he and she never married) and she were estranged (who knows why?), her older daughter and she were also estranged (probably the woman had pushed her daughter away because she was slways hovering over poor, asthmatic little Charlie), and now the woman discovers that Charlie is no longer a sickly little boy. He has outgrown his asthma and is perfectly healthy! He simply milks it for all it's worth to get attention from his family. Now the woman does not know what her role in life is anymore, now that she no longer is wife, caretaker of the sickly, or idol to her daughter. She does not know who SHE is, and she projects that onto Charlie, seeming not to know who he is.The woman is a nutshop. A very bizarre story, and one I would not recommend to other readers out there.

The boy that Meg put on the school bus this Vermont morning was her asthmatic 8-year-old son, Charlie. The boy who comes home in the afternoon is not. Sure, he almost looks like Charlie, almost acts like Charlie, almost knows the things Charlie should know, but not quite. As Meg sits on the bus studying this boy, the bus driver, Sandy, tells her, "We looked back out the window and there you were, reappearing at the front door when you had been standing there only a second ago." The sheriff arrives, with questions. Meg's partner, Jeff, is summoned from his job in Toronto. Meg's daughter, Katie, a 13-year-old very full of herself, is retrieved from boarding school. The boy is taken to Charlie's doctor for tests, where it's discovered he no longer has asthma. He's taller, stronger, more adventurous. Everyone asks the same question: Is this Charlie? And no one knows.

Because the book jacket made the mistake of calling THE BOY ON THE BUS a mystery, I expected a different sort of ending and was disappointed by the lack of resolution. Had Schupack used Meg's identity crisis to resolve the questions, I would have been satisfied, but as it was I enjoyed every moment up until the last several pages, then felt cheated. Still, this little novel is an excellent psychological portrait of a family in limbo. All of the characters except Charlie are well drawn (Charlie comes across as shadowy at best, but perhaps that's intended), the prose is beautiful and descriptive, the dialogue realistic, and the resulting impression very surreal. Although at times I had trouble with the plot -- if my kid came home in Charlie's condition I'd be screaming for conclusive evidence -- I also appreciated the fact that Schupack didn't turn this story into a thriller but instead kept the search very much inside the family's heads. Even as Meg no longer knows her own son, she finds herself a stranger to her partner and daughter as well. And even herself.

Although certainly not a mystery as claimed, THE BOY ON THE BUS is a clever and expertly crafted search for identity and can be appreciated as such.

Anna Klein

Very good book! I have never read a book on where the point of view was from a Loyalist. I think that this is very important, to show that they are human beings too! Phoebe Shows courage and impluse as she rushes off to deliver a message with only the river for direction. She meets Jem Morrisay on the way and learns even more, about love and life. I won't spoil the ending for you, but expect the unexpected. AN altogether successfully told and written story. I totally recommend it for you historical fiction lovers (thats me!)

it was so interseting!! you never know whats going to happen next!! there is so much going on you really have to pay attion!! You just can't put the book down!!

I found The Hollow Tree to be a wonderful but sad book. The book got more and more interesting as it went along...I also found it interesting because it relates to American and Canadian history. The book was exciting throughout...

"A Day No Pigs Would Die" is about a young boy at the age of twelve named "Robert". He lives in the town of Learning, in Vermont, on a farm. I believe this is a good book, but in my certain interests, not the best of its kind. In the beginning, Robert describes his life and how he left school for a bully who was picking on him, while later he helps a mother cow who is giving birth while chocking to death! You can say that his life is no ordinary one at all! The real interesting thing is that his father is a pig butcher/killer and that he comes home every night smelling of death. That somewhat bugs me. The confusing part is when he receives a piglet as a gift for helping birth a neighbor's cow's calf. From then on, the story is about a bond and battle between the father and son, and how a piglet can change a many thing. The author of this book is the main character in the book and I wonder if this truly occured in his childhood.

The novel A Day No Pigs Would Die is a good book for Middle School students. Robert Newton Peck's novel about a young farm boy from Vermont is written in a slow moving, laid back manner that makes it easy to imagine yourself living on a farm. "Can't keep swine and kine under the same roof," is one example of how the author uses farm language dialogue to help the reader relate to the characters' life styles. In addition, the author also wants to show the similarities of a young boy raised in the country compared to a young boy living in the city. For instance, a young boy in the novel, Rob, lives in the country and attends school every day. This is very similar to an average city boy who attends school. One highlight of Rob's summer was when he attended the grand annual Rutland Fair. Entertainment events, such as carnivals and fairs are also popular for children living in the city. Throughout the book, the reader learns about the hard work and dedication to run a farm. Even considering the workload involved, many farm children tend to carry on the family tradition of farming. After his father's death, Rob was forced to mature quickly by taking over his dad's responsibilities. Through his fathers training, Rob was now able to run the family farm. Rob shows his admiration for his father by stating, "I want to be like you, Papa." Family commitments and traditions of farm life helped Rob become a responsible adult. Middle School students can learn from Rob's experiences and relate them to their own lifestyles.

"A Day No Pigs Would Die" is a well-written book that is representative of the time-period in which it was set. The book had very good descriptions that helped you see what was happening in the story. However, in some cases, these descriptions were not necessary, and made sections displeasing. In some sections, this made it rather enjoyable. "The wear of his labor had made them [the tools] smooth and shiny, where his fingers had held each one." The theme of maturity in this novel made it relatable to those who are coming of age. Robert's parents accepted him as an adult through his maturing behavior as he witnessed tragic events. "A Day No Pigs Would Die" uses dialect and events that are true to the time period in which it was set, making it more realistic to when Robert Peck was a child. The book is usually slow-paced, and description is unnecessary in some parts. In spite of this, this comical novel is realistically based on a true part of the author's life. This novel will have you crying on one page and laughing on another. I recommend this for those who like realistic events, and can handle tragedy.

This was an interesting read. Savvy McKinnon is a reporter for a gossip paper much like The Globe. She has been doing an artice on Count Yorga, a self-porclaimed vamipre. Savvy get's a call from the Count, and he's not pleased. The next thing that Savvy know's is that she's on her way to do an "interview with a vampire". Then the Count drops dead, and bites her in the process, Savvy's life will change. She is getting pale, and smack dab in the middle mystery. Savvy had to find out who killed the Count, why he was killed, and how can she stay alive. Alls in a days work for a reporter.

The char were weak and not really developed. I felt that most of the char's could have been in a Film Noir movie, complete with the cheesy dialouge and the predictible (in the Film Noir world) situations that the chars found themself in.

This is a shrt book of just under 200 pages and is a quick read. If you're looking for a detailed vampire book, this isn't it. Granted, this isn't a bad read, just don't expect to much.

Condider this as a book that starts off as a watered down vampire book with an X-Files ending.

You might want to give this book a chance. There was a lot of toung and cheekness to it.

Savvy (Savannah) Mckinnon is a reporter for the tabloid "Global Query". As such, she often finds herself pursuing bizarre events barely qualifying as news. In this installment of the NEWS FROM THE EDGE series, Savvy is on the trail of a self-proclaimed vampire. When she travels to meet Count Yorga, she expects a quickie interview and easy story; what she finds is a murder mystery and conspiracy with herself smack dab in the middle of the action.
This is a light, quick read and at just under 200 pages, I was able to finish it in one sitting. I truly enjoyed the wry humor laced throughout the story, but I never felt as if the characters are fully fleshed out. This might be a good one to finish up by the pool or on the beach. But if you're looking for hard hitting vampire fiction, skip this one.

If you have been watching The Chronicle on the Sci Fi Channel then you know that these are the books that the series is based on. What you may not know is that the books are different than the series! The books have a girl reporter named Savvy and the paper she works at is not the World Chronicle. In this book Savvy investigates a story about a vampire. The story is exciting with some violence and a lot of strange things happening. but dont expect to see Tucker or the other people from the Chronicle! I can see how they got the idea for the tv show from these books but they changed a lot of things. The book is funny and I will read more of them.

Robin Cook's "Fatal Cure" is more of the same from this best-selling author. As is standard, Cook takes a development in health care that is disturbing and expands it into fantastic proportions. In this case, the disturbing element is the increased emphasis on cost at the expense of patients' health--all courtesy of HMO's.

"Fatal Cure" tells the story of two young doctors (Angela and David Wilson) who move to an idyllic Vermont town when they are able to land jobs, one at a hospital and another working for the only HMO in the area. David's patients begin dying at an alarming rate, and the deaths defy diagnosis. At the same time, they turn up the body of a doctor in their basement. The dead man had disappeared relatively recently, and the Wilsons (Angela, especially, as she becomes obsessed with the matter) seek to unravel the mystery surrounding his death. Their efforts, however, do not please the town, which responds with threats, vandalism, and hostility. And as if these two problems are not enough, there's the rapist who has been claiming victims in the hospital's parking lots.

The story is thoroughly transparent, and while the precise identity of the culprit might not be obvious, the reasons behind and causes of the patients' mysterious deaths should not be any surprise (and shouldn't have been a surprise to the Wilsons). The lack of surprise is due largely to the transparency of Cook's political message. The characters' motivations do not seem to be entirely consistent with reality, especially as the two young doctors repeatedly endanger their daughter's life by taking her into high-risk situations. Angela, for example, takes the girl with her when she goes in search of her missing husband rather than leaving the child with her grandparents. That factor, more than the political intrusion, is especially disturbing. Cook does know how to string together dramatic events, but the characters are too dull to figure out what is obvious, and the writing is rather poor. For Cook's fans, though, none of these problems will come as a surprise or present any difficulties. For people in search of realism or intelligent and multi-dimensional characters, look elsewhere.

Dr David Wilson and his wife Angela Wilson(also a doctor) seek employment at Bartlet Community Hospital,Bartlet desiring to live a quiet and peaceful life in the countryside away from the hustle and bustle of Boston only to find out later that Bartlet is not the mini-heaven they had made it out to be.For Bartlet Community Hospital is a place where people are actually killed by radiation ! This time Cook has truely constructed a horrifying piece of fiction which seems easily possible in reality,considering the technological progress made by this world.Gawd !! I would be real scared to be hospitalized after reading this book.

This is the kind of books that I like of Dr. Cook, of course I am not a doctor so I don't understand many things about medicine, but this book is definitely a medical thrillers, and as all of his books you will think twice before you go to a doctor or a hospital.
The story of the hospital that want to save money instead of save patients is not out of reality, in other words I can believe that these things could happened in a small town or a place that are not to many hospitals.
It has one or two mistakes with their daughter, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be real.

When my daughter decided to get married in Southern Vermont, we were concerned about finding the resources we would need to plan a wedding outside our home area, but The Vermont Wedding Resource Guide promised to solve that problem. When the book arrived, it was difficult in some cases to tell where vendors were located (the town names were not always on the map provided), but eventually we figured out that most of the resources listed were for the Champlain and Burlington regions and the Manchester area (where our wedding is taking place) was sorely neglected. Also, the guide failed to provide the editorial information that would have helped us to find the vendors who fit the theme and tone of our wedding. This is not a guide, but a very limited "yellow pages" of resources.

Being a Vermonter who is about to get married I was hoping to get a comprehensive listing of potential sites for receptions. Given the many wonderful locations available in our beautiful state, I was quite surprized to see that most were missing, and the ones listed were done based upon a paid listing. Consequently, if a potential location, no matter how special, did not pay the author, they were not listed. To my mind a resource guide is just that, a listing(and review) of every potential site in the state.

Ms. Palmisano's book the Vermont Wedding Resource Guide is the most comprehensive wedding guide availabe. It is a complete wedding planner that saves an incredible amount of time. My fiance and I are planning a Vermont wedding in the fall. Being from Boston, we were looking for the most efficient way to research churches, reception sites and vendors in Vermont...this is what the Vermont Wedding Resource Guide does. We found the reception site listings especially helpful, giving great detail in addition to the contact information, so we could determine easily the site that best suited our needs. We have visited several of the sites listed in the resource and spoken with many of the vendors and have found the information contained in the guide to be very accurate. There is not a detail regarding the planning of a wedding that is left out of this outstanding book. Given that most of us are planning a wedding for the first time, it is invaluable to have an expert to advise. Many thanks to this talented author!

Anne Stuart is a great novelist, whether she's writing suspense, historical, or contemporary romance. However, STILL LAKE, while a good book, doesn't in any way compare to what I expect from a writer of Stuart's caliber.

The rundown of the plot is that Thomas Griffin was arrested twenty years ago for the murder of his girlfriend--a crime he has no idea whether he committed or not. Finally, in 2002, curiosity gets the better of him and he returns to the scene of the murder, only to spend the majority of his time butting heads (and other things) with his neighbor, Sophie Davis.

The main problems with this book is that the suspense is not suspenseful, and the romance is weak at best. These are major flaws in a romantic suspense novel. I guessed who the real murderer was almost immediately--it's blindingly obvious, and one of the biggest disappointments in the book--and the relationship between Thomas and Sophie seems to be based almost entirely on sex and a mutual love of classic cars. While there were some nice moments between them, I wasn't really convinced they were compatible personalities, let alone in love.

Overall, STILL LAKE was okay, but the story was incredibly weak. It simply did not grip my interest in the way that THE WIDOW, which was an excellent book, and SHADOWS AT SUNSET, also very good, did. I hope Stuart returns to her usual brilliancy with her next novel.

When one has written such masterpieces as Moonrise (my favourite Stuart) To Love a Dark Lord and Nightfall...it is hard to keep that level of superpower quality book after book. And this one sadly just misses. It seems rather rushed, almost like she did not have time to fully form the lead characters in her mind.

She still delivers a powerful read!! Anne Stuart's 2nd best are still away ahead of the pack!!

When Sophia buys a rundown inn, she moves her overly rebellious 19 year old half-sister and her mother, starting to lose control of her memory, into what she hopes it to be the answer to her problems and an island of peace. But that peaceful dream is shattered by echoes of murders commited 20 years ago. A man has rented the cabin across the lake, John Smith, and from the start, Sophia resents his presence, resents his virile attraction and would like him to leave.

The tension builds as we are told he was convicted of the death of the three girls who were murdered two decades ago, though released from prison after only 5 years. We learn John has few memories of that night and recalls nothing until he awoke covered in blood in the cabin.

John feels it is time to stir the embers of the past, find out who really commited those murders - even if it was himself, and finally put the past to rest once and for all. Stuart never convinces us he could have been guilty, so she throws away that bad to the bone Alpha male she conjures so deftly in Moonrise and others.

Stuart's tension between Sophia and John is excellent, but I don't think she had full grasp of just who John was because there are numerous conflicting errors in descriptions (shame on the editor, too!!) - which leads the reader to not fully know John either. The rebellious teen grated on my nerves - I read to escape the pains-in-the-rumps of the world, so this character really wears thin. But in a way, I guess that helps you empathise with Sophia - through it is with slightly gritted teeth!

I applaud Stuart for giving us a down to earth 'real' woman in Sophia who is more than willing to eat that second or third muffin, to give a sweet, tragic quality in her mother facing growing less and less able to live by herself. However, some readers just might think all of this is a little too real....lol

It is still a fine book, I just wish it could have been tightened up and not have that rush feel about it. There is no one better at giving us the bad-boy we cannot resist. Just think this one would have benefited from finetuning before being sent to the publisher (or an editor that took his job seriously and caught these mistakes before they got into print).

Even with the flaws, I truly enjoyed it and remain a loyal and devoted Stuart fan!!

Sophie Davis, according to her sister Marty, is known as the poor woman's Martha Stewart. Taking her skills as a homemaking columnist to a higher level, she's decided to convert an old farm house into a bread and breakfast. Stonegate Farm on Still Lake, in Colby, Vermont is Sophie's choice for her undertaking. Unfortunately, the area has a grisly history. Twenty years before, the murders of three teenaged girls occurred there. But, Sophie's determined, since her new farm will make a good home and project, for herself, her mother Grace, and teenaged sister, Marty.

John Smith, alias of Thomas Ingram Griffin, was convicted of the murders of the three girls. On a technicality, he was released from prison just a few years after his incarceration. John decides it is time to find the real murderer of the three girls. Or, did he really do it? He can't remember what happened the night the third girl was killed. As fate would have it, he returns to Colby to rent a cabin neigboring Stonegate farm. And, as fate would have it, Sophie and John will meet.

STILL LAKE is a fast-moving read. The descriptions of the beautiful countryside in Vermont, put me there. The relationship between Sophie and John is fascinating. While they appear as opposites at first, I understood their attraction, felt the sexual tension, and enjoyed their lustful, then loving, romance.

Secondary characters in STILL LAKE entertain also. Grace seems befuddled, Marty an angst-filled teen, and yet each contributes to the fast-moving pages.

While I think most readers would find the villian pretty obvious, I thought the real mystery was how and why the murders happened. Also, feeling the menace that comes from the villian throughout the book, adds to the suspense.

STILL LAKE is the kind of book I look for. It's a great story with a sexy romance, and page-turning suspense.

I read this book at the suggestion of a business school professor. It was supposedly a great illustration of the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurs.

I found that the book tried more to be humorous than to convey any business knowledge to the reader. Everything seemed to be an inside joke. Rather than producing a well thought-out account of a business experience, the book fell flat with dumb humor. I was very unimpressed with how the company was run, and I don't feel like I got much from the book.

It's a chronicle of the intriguing journey of junior high friends who split the $5 cost of a home study course in making homemade ice cream and turn it into a $237 million company (1999 sales). Ben & Jerry's antics of giving away ice cream so they can 'get the ice cream into people's mouths so they will buy it,' take on some unusual situations. Free cones are offered to folks who register to vote, donate books to Head Start, or send postcards to elected officials for a variety of causes, and to celebrate at Fall Down Festivals with block long stilt walking races, music and other amusements. Solar-powered mobiles are used to transport the ice cream and a show on the road. They still sponsor customer appreciation day once a year when free cones are dipped all day.

It's hard to resist a bowl or cone of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Cherry Garcia as you read this humorous show and tell of two guys who really want (and do) make a difference. You'll be ready to book a snow shoe tour of the Vermont plant by the time you finish reading about these guys' mission. Their values-led business (in addition to having fun) is to produce the best ice cream from Vermont dairy products, to increase the value of the of the company for the stockholders and create career opportunities and financial rewards for employees, and to improve the quality of life for the community. (They donate 7.5% of pretax profits to Ben & Jerry's Foundation that supports a variety of causes that improve the quality of life for children.)

I'm using this book as a project for an organizational communications course and enjoyed the reading (and eating) more than I ever expected. It was the most fun I've had doing homework!

This was a really good book that shows "How Two Real Guys Built a Business With a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor." This should be required reading for MBA's along with Hawkin's Growing a Business.