Review of MONSTERS AMONG US

Review of MONSTERS AMONG US: AN EXPLORATION OF OTHERWORDLY BIGFOOTS, WOLFMEN, PORTALS, PHANTOMS, AND ODD PHENOMENA by Linda S. Godfrey

I'll admit to being creeped out by parts of this book, but it was so cool, I couldn’t put it down.Author Linda S. Godfrey has compiled accounts of encounters with both cryptids of various kinds and unexplained phenomena. For anyone who doesn’t know, cryptids are legendary or supernatural creatures like Bigfoot, the Lock Ness Monster, wolfmen, etc. They are the focus of the field of cryptozoology. These creatures might exist, or they might not, but if they don’t, it’s surprising how many people claim to have seen one.

Godfrey starts her book with wolfmen/dogmen/transformation stories. My favorites include the dog-headed guy who was sitting in the backseat of a limo. He looked like a normal German shepherd, until he raised his human arm and propped it on the car window. I also liked the woman who transformed into a wolf-like creature in the middle of a Sunday church service. Church Lady appreciated showmanship.

There are lots of other cryptids represented throughout this book, including everything from Bigfoot to werewolves to UFOs. There are plenty of odd phenomena, too, like footprints appearing in the middle of a snowy field, all manner of unusual lights, and portals that allow creatures from who-knows-where to appear and disappear at will.

MONSTERS AMONG US uses a consistent approach when examining the cryptid and unusual phenomena stories. Typically, the author has been contacted by someone who claims to have seen something unexplained, and she interviews that person. Sometimes the incident was witnessed by multiple people, in which case, the stories from all witnesses are compared. Each incident is catalogued with its date, time, location, weather conditions, etc. in an effort to provide as much information as possible while ruling out alternative explanations for the phenomena. For instance, the sighting of a doglike creature that occurs at dusk might be easier to misinterpret than the same creature in broad daylight.

This is an intriguing collection of cryptid tales that has crept into my subconscious. This morning, when I accidentally dropped a spoon, my first thought was the old superstition that says dropping a spoon predicts that a child will be visiting. My second thought was that I hoped the visiting child wouldn’t be some supernatural monster that tumbles out of a portal onto my front porch. 

There’s another book on my to-be-read list called BLACK EYED CHILDREN  by David Weatherly. I can’t wait to read it, but the inevitable sleepless nights are worrisome. Almost as worrisome as uninvited cryptid kids showing up because of one stinking dropped spoon….

Walk Up Not Out

The Walk Out movement is an effort on the part of kids to keep attention on the problem of shootings in American schools by walking out of class. Students feel they must try to stop these assaults, since adults haven’t done anything to end them

An alternative that's been suggested to walking out is walking up. The idea behind Walk Up is that students should walk up to a fellow student and offer friendship and kindness. It’s that simple. Invite a kid to sit at your lunch table; pick the kid for your gym team who never gets picked; say something nice to the kid who seems upset. The hope is that these actions might keep others from feeling isolated and angry.

Regardless of its ultimate impact on school violence, I love the idea behind Walk Up. Ten years ago I wrote a novel for young readers called FULL TO BURSTING that’s about a seventh grade boy who moves to a new city and uses Walk Up-style strategies to make friends and improve life for kids at his school. It’s a hopeful novel about the benefits of thinking outside the box to make your small corner of the world better.

I’ve always loved this book, but after some near-misses with traditional publishers, I eventually self-published it under a different title. The other title and the old cover never worked for me, and I never did much promotion. Finally, a few months ago, I decided the book needed another chance, so I gave it a round (or three) of edits, added a new cover, and went back to the original title of FULL TO BURSTING. It’s now available as a free ebook download on Smashwords.com. Here’s a direct link to the page https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/210724 where you can use the coupon code and download for free. It’s on Amazon, too, but it’s not free. It’s not a Kindle exclusive, so I can’t make it free on Amazon. The best I can do is 99 cents.

I’m also trying to figure out how to offer it as a free download on my website, but right now I’m nursing a sinus headache, so that will have to wait for another day. The advantage of Smashwords is that you can choose which format you want to download. (Kindle, PDF, etc.)

If you know any kids (or adults) who would enjoy a funny novel about how an average 12-year-old managed to improve his life and his school, please download and share. I’m in the process of putting together a print version of the book, although that one can’t be free because it costs something to have it printed.

Please be kind to each other.

Cinder: The Book Review

Lately I’ve been obsessed with reading Young Adult fantasy novels. This genre has a special place in my heart because the first novel I ever published was a YA fantasy story called Stones of Abraxas. Now I’m about to release another YA fantasy story called Bigfoot CSI which (spoiler alert) is about Bigfoot. I’m enjoying the YA novels that I’ve been reading, so it seemed like an ideal time to write some reviews of these excellent books.

Cinder is the first book in a four-volume YA science fiction/fantasy series by Marissa Meyer. The series is  loosely based on the fairy tales Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. This is an engaging series that focuses on the exploits of a 16-year-old cyborg girl (i.e. she’s human but has some metal body parts) living in a futuristic version of China. Or maybe it’s Japan. It’s hard to tell because the world is very different in this future where there are only six countries which all live in peace after they signed treaties to end the wars that decimated the world as we know it today.

Through an unlikely series of events, Cinder the cyborg girl meets and falls for the handsome young prince, who is being pursued for a marriage alliance by the evil (and much older) queen of Luna (i.e. Earth’s Moon). Did I mention there are people living on the moon in this version of reality? The Lunars, as they’re called, have developed mind control abilities that allow them to manipulate the weak-minded (including all humans living on Earth) into doing their bidding.

In addition to the evil queen, there’s also an evil stepmother, an evil stepsister, and a kind stepsister. And there’s a dreadful plague that’s killing off humans by the thousands. Cinder’s only real trusted friend is an android who seems to have more humanity than any actual human we meet in this story.

Cinder’s life is pretty crummy, and she’s eager to escape. But if she escaped, that wouldn’t make a compelling tale, so instead she has to stick around and try to solve her problems. And, boy, does she discover that she has problems! Big, ugly, Luna-sized, cyborg, traitor-to-the-crown problems. And the prince she’s crushing on doesn’t help matters. In fact, his poor judgement and absurd decision-making skills only exacerbate her long list of challenges.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and was eager to dive into Book #2 (Scarlet). It was disappointing that Cinder’s love interest was basically a useless pretty boy, but as a 16-year-old girl, Cinder can hardly be expected to withstand the charms of a rich, powerful, handsome guy who is clearly smitten with her.

This novel draws readers into a new and intriguing world as it sets the stage for the remaining books in the series. You’ll find yourself cheering for Cinder and reaching for Book #2 when you turn the last page.