Book Review: Lessons from the Set: A DIY Guide to Your First Feature Film, from Script to Theaters by Usher Morgan

Title: Lessons from the Set: A DIY Guide to Your First Feature Film, from Script to Theaters 

Author: Usher Morgan 

Stars: 4 

Review:
Usher Morgan isn't just writing a do it your self book but he is also giving you suggestions that future film writers might not have though of doing or tried but didn't quite go far enough.
The author expresses himself in a way that readers will be able to connect with as he works with readers though is book instead of face to face. 
The authors way to writing encourages readers to find success and the author seem want the readers to find their own success as well. The best way to explain this book is Usher Morgan wants to see everyone who reads this self help book to succeed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Library Tales Publishing for a copy of Usher Morgan Lesson from the Set.

Synopsis: 
Lessons from the Set is a comprehensive filmmaking guide that takes a cinephile’s “Do It Yourself” approach to low-budget indie film production and distribution. The book is peppered with filmmaking tips and tricks, as well as valuable, practical insight into the process of writing, directing, producing, and distributing commercial feature films on a low budget – whether you’re working with $1,000 or $1m. You’ll learn how to write, direct, produce, and release your film to theaters, tackle festivals and handle press, create a marketing plan, get reviews, and approach the filmmaking process with both an artistic soul and an entrepreneurial mindset. 

After releasing his debut feature film to wide acclaim, filmmaker Usher Morgan (Prego, Windblown, Pickings) decided to write a filmmaking book which detailed his approach to writing, directing, and producing his own work, as well as the steps he took to distribute and market his film, Pickings, and release it to theaters across the nation. 

Lessons from the Set: A DIY Guide to Your First Feature Film, from Script to Theaters is the perfect gift to any aspiring filmmaker, it’s an essential guide for anyone who wants to tell stories and make movies for a living. 

Kindle Edition, 311 pages

Published December 15th 2018 by Library Tales Publishing

About The Author:

An award-winning screenwriter, film director, producer and studio executive residing in New York City. I started my career in book publishing and later became involved with film production and distribution. Produced my first documentary film "The Thought Exchange" starring David Friedman and Lucie Arnaz in 2012, followed by my directorial debut, the award-winning short film "Prego."

My first feature film, "Pickings" was released to wide acclaim and received a limited theatrical release via AMC Independent in March of 2018. My writing and directing style is influenced primarily by film-noir and spaghetti westerns. The Los Angeles Times calls me, "a talent to watch".

Book Review: Hello Again by Stan Schatt

Title: Hello Again 

Author: Stan Schatt

Stars: 2 1\2 Stars

Review:
Hello Again can't seem to decided what it wants to be. Paranormal? Mystery? Thriller? The story doesn't really take any of those genres far enough.  While the basic story line is interesting and the author creates some interesting twist to keep readers pushing though the confusing parts. The author is able to write but he lacks the focus to be able to create a cohesive story that readers can enjoy. The Bill and his best friends are what people would consider typical men with the desire to find the perfect 10 of a man while they lack the perfect 10 themselves.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Stan Schatt Hello Again.

Synopsis:
Bill Eisner escaped the high-powered world of dog eat dog and opened a neighborhood coffee shop. His high-maintenance girlfriend stayed behind. Now all he wants is a second chance in life, a chance to do something he enjoys and meet someone who can love him for who he is, not what he can buy her. The community loves him, the press loves him, and even the homeless think he’s one of the nicest guys around.Finally, he thinks he’s found true happiness with the woman of his dreams. Until she’s murdered. At her funeral, Bill discovers that the woman he loved had a lot of secrets and told him a lot of lies. But does it matter? She’s gone forever. Or is she? Her text messages say otherwise.The police don't believe Eisner and he might be responsible for his girlfriend's death. Meanwhile the text messages become more and more threatening. When a car bomb blows up his car he is forced to accept that someone or something clearly wants to kill him.

Paperback, 266 pages
Published November 13th 2018 by Tell-Tale

About The Author:

Stan Schatt has written forty books on a wide variety of topics including science fiction, mysteries, a chapter book for children, a YA novel, biographies of Michael Connelly and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and books on technology and career changing. His love for teaching is reflected in outstanding teaching awards he received from the University of Southern California and DeVry Institute of Technology.

Rather than having one career, Schatt has had several. He has worked as an autopsy assistant, an English professor, a software trainer, a law enforcement administrator, a market research executive, and a sales manager. He spent the last two decades as a technology analyst or 'futurist" trying to figure out what future technologies will be successful.

Book Review: Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3) by Susan Stoker

Title: Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)

Author: Susan Stoker 

Stars: 3 

Review:
Susan Stoker has always been a hit or miss with her books. This one is a miss for this reader.  The writing is basic the story line while interesting it is ruined with the lack of background information as well as character development.  The characters are flat under developed which leaves the story sub par and a forgettable book. 

This book doesn't show the author creative story telling.

Defending Morgan is a forgettable interchangeable with any other basic romantic suspense novel. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Montlake for the advance copy of Susan Stoker Defending Morgan.

Synopsis:
Dispatched to the Dominican Republic to rescue a kidnapped child, former Navy SEAL Archer “Arrow” Kane makes a startling discovery: another hostage—Morgan Byrd, a very beautiful and very well-known missing person who disappeared off the streets of Atlanta a year ago. She’s brave, resilient, and unbroken. All Arrow wants to know is why she ended up in a shack in Santo Domingo. All he feels is the desire to protect.

Morgan is done being the victim and is determined to find out who hates her so much that they want her gone—but not dead. Until then, she has Arrow, an alpha stranger who’s offering a warm and safe place to hide. But as the passion between them flares, so does the fear that whoever took Morgan will do anything to get her back. For Arrow, protecting this woman with a mysterious enemy is the most dangerous mission of his life. And it’s worth every beat of his heart.

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 282 pages

Expected publication: March 5th 2019 by Montlake Romance

About The Author:

New York Times, USA Today, #1 Amazon Bestseller, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Tennessee where she lives, but this all American girl has also spent the last eighteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, Indiana, and Texas. She's married to a retired Army man (and current firefighter/EMT) who now gets to follow her around the country.

She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in. 

Connect with her at www.StokerAces.com

Book Review: Body Thrive: Uplevel Your Body and Your Life with 10 Habits from Ayurveda and Yoga by Cate Stillman

Title: Body Thrive: Uplevel Your Body and Your Life with 10 Habits from Ayurveda and Yoga

Author:  Cate Stillman 

Stars: 5 stars

Review:

I will admit I am a beginning when it comes to Yoga as well as Ayurveda .  This book is perfect for beginners looking to find balance and a health habit in your every day life.

Everything is simply laid out for the common person who has no idea where to start with Yoga.  It is perfect for kids to grandparents.  

The author has the ability to pull readers in giving them a starting point and able to create a simple habit for their bodies to be able to accomplish and feel successful.  Her website connect with readers with easy to print out workbooks that are simple and easy to follow.

The book is beautiful and simply perfect for beginners  

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Yogahealer Press for the advance copy of Cate Stillman Body Thrive.

Synopsis:

Body Thrive applies the most essential teachings of Ayurveda into a modern life by decoding the teachings into habits. Ayurveda is the perennial body wisdom tradition that co-arose with yoga, the path of living awake. Here lies a simple body habits curriculum that every person can learn as a child, master as an adult, and refine as an elder for their body to thrive. Check out more at www.bodythrive.com

The messages in this book are strong and simple. When we embody the 10 core habits of Yogis, based on the wisdom of Ayurveda, we thrive. By becoming vibrant, dynamic human beings on a growth path, we are a boon to ourselves, our families, society, and the planet. 

Ayurveda is based on living in sync. When we synchronize our bodily rhythms to nature’s clock, our physiology harmonizes. We experience balance, ease, and flow. When we live against nature’s body clock, we experience stress, rapid aging, and dis-ease. 

he success and the efficacy of the Body Thrive method came from my search as an innovative Ayurvedic practitioner and yoga teacher. I wanted a more effective path to guide my clients towards their desired health breakthrough and wellness goals. We now have 100 Yoga Health Coaches using the Body Thrive method around the world. As you’ll see in the book, Body Thrive is innovative, practical and results-focused. In a poll of 150 clients working in a group during a 10 week Body Thrive™ program with various Yoga Health Coaches (in training) we discovered:


89% Developed better self-care habits 
79% Feel better in their bodies. 
59% Are eating a healthier diet 
51% Are sleeping better and feel well rested.

Based on this practice lab, the 3 core components taught in this book are
1.Ayurveda
2.Behavioral science
3.Dynamic Groups + Relationship Evolution

Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Published October 22nd 2015 by Yogahealer Press

About The Author:

This book grew out of my online Body Thrive™ coaching program, where my Body Thrive Coaches and Yoga Health Coaches™ guide their pilot groups into 10 specific, habits from the teachings of Ayurveda in 10 weeks. That's one essential, daily habit upgrade per week for a few months. This book guides readers through a entertaining and insightful journey into better body integrity.

http://yogahealer.com/

Book Review: The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets

Title: The Last Woman in the Forest 

Author: Diane Les Becquets

Stars: 4 stars

Review:
This is the first book I have read by Diane Le Becquest and I am not sure what to say other than I am going to pick up all of her mystery books from now on.  The book isn't perfect and I found things that had me wondering if it was the story or the authors writing style but I will admit readers will not be disappointed  as they follow Marian Edgnstom as discover the man she loved wasn't the man she thought he was.  The story moves though different time tables which is difficult for any author who is telling a story.   Which is way I said the story isn't perfect and story might not be for every readers.
The author is very descriptive and details the scenes and animals in the story. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Diane Les Becquets  The Last Woman in the Forest


Synopsis:
Marian Engström has found her true calling: working with rescue dogs to help protect endangered wildlife. Her first assignment takes her to northern Alberta, where she falls in love with her mentor, the daring and brilliant Tate. After they’re separated from each other on another assignment, Marian is shattered to learn of Tate’s tragic death. Worse still is the aftermath in which Marian discovers disturbing inconsistencies about Tate’s life, and begins to wonder if the man she loved could have been responsible for the unsolved murders of at least four women.

Hoping to clear Tate’s name, Marian reaches out to a retired forensic profiler who’s haunted by the open cases. But as Marian relives her relationship with Tate and circles ever closer to the truth, evil stalks her every move.

Hardcover, 352 pages

Expected publication: March 5th 2019 by Berkley

About The Author:

Diane Les Becquets is the author of THE LAST WOMAN IN THE FOREST (March, 2019) and BREAKING WILD, both published by Berkley, Penguin Random House. BREAKING WILD, an Indie Next Pick and a national bestseller, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist. It was also the recipient of the Colorado Book Award in Fiction, the New Hampshire Outstanding Work of Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Reading the West Book Award in Fiction. Les Becquets is also the author of three young adult novels: THE STONES OF MOURNING CREEK (Kirkus starred review); LOVE, CAJUN STYLE (Booklist starred review) and SEASON OF ICE, the latter being the recipient of a Pen American Fellowship. Other awards she has received include a BCCB Blue Ribbon Award, the Maine Lupine Award, ALA Best Book of the Year, Foreward Reviews Gold Winner Book of the Year, Volunteer State Book Award Selection, and Garden State Book Award Finalist. 

A former professor of English, Les Becquets has served as a judge for the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the Maine Arts Commission, and has taught writing workshops at venues across the country, including the University of Mississippi, Auburn University, the New Hampshire Writers' Project, the Department of Forestry, Writers Conference at Ocean Park, Writers in Paradise, the Arkansas Literary Festival, the Telluride Arts District, and at shelters for Katrina victims. She is a volunteer at Back in the Saddle Equine Therapy Center and an avid outdoors woman, enjoying archery, bicycling, snowshoeing, swimming, and backpacking with her dog, Izzy. Before moving to New Hampshire, where she now resides with her husband, she lived in a small ranching town in Northwestern Colorado for almost fourteen years, raising her three sons.