Going Solo by Roald Dahl: Book Review

Title: Going Solo
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin Books, 1988, YA up
Pages: 210

Believe it or not, this was my first Roald Dahl book. Lucky me, it was geared more for adults, as I found the book in a Roald Dahl collection for children. Wonderful read. I highly recommend this memoir. 

Dahl tells the story of his life as a young twenty-something British employee in east Africa working for the Shell Company. The adventures with his sometimes dangerous surroundings and the people he meets along the way are daring enough, but with the outbreak of World War II, his life turns on a dime. 

With minimal training, he finds himself flying all makes of planes for the Royal British Air Force in active combat against incredible odds. Few in his squad survive. Told with humor in great detail you will laugh and marvel he even survived. He was one very "green" pilot. 

~Sharon

Sharon M. Himsl

Published: Evernight Teen 

The Shells of Mersing

 

This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills: Book Review

This Adventure Ends
Author: Emma Mills
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company, 2016

Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl

Age level: 15 up, Young Adult

Pages: 308


Sloane Finch is not sure what to expect when she moves with her family from New York to Florida her senior year. She’s never been all that close with kids in school, except for maybe in elementary school. Besides, her life is plenty full—voice lessons for one, and maybe music school next year. There is also her father’s “fic” to read. Dad, publicly known as Everett Finch, is a popular literary romance writer. Sloane reviews his work faithfully, even in his current writer’s slump. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad have urged her to make new friends.

To Sloane’s surprise, her sharp-witted and sassy personality quickly wins over a group of friends who adore her honest, frank manner. Among them are Vera and Gabe, the Fuller twins, who have been grieving over the death of their talented artist mother. It doesn’t help that they have a new twenty-something stepmom to boot. When Sloane learns from Gabe that one of their mother’s paintings had been mistakenly sold, it only seems right to locate the art. She gets another friend to help, determined to surprise the twins with the lost painting.

Problems develop, however, including marital strife between Sloane’s parents, which test her overall trust in relationships. Life is no longer tied up neat and securely like her dad’s fiction. Friendship and love in the real world do not come with guarantees. Being more open with her friends and accepting their love is hard at first, but a happy outcome follows with the budding romance between Sloane and Gabe. She has never been kissed by a boy before, not once, although that is about to change. The story itself is slow to develop, as Mills sets up characters, but the intelligent and witty dialog make This Adventure Ends enjoyable to read.

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Hideout by Watt Key: Book Review

Hideout
Author: Watt Key
Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2017
Ages: 12 up, Young Adult
Pages: 311

When Sam moves to Pascagoula, Mississippi, his parents buy him a small boat on his twelfth birthday to explore nearby King’s Bayou, a marshy delta that runs deep into the wilderness. For most boys, having your own boat would feel like a dream come true, and Sam might have agreed, had it not been for the day he was beaten up at school as the new kid in town. Now that summer is here, escaping the humiliation of that awful day is all he can think about. It doesn't matter that another boy, Grover, his only friend at the moment, also had been beaten up. Sam is certain of one thing. He feels like “a loser,” and being around Grover only reminds him of that fact. 

Sam explores King’s Bayou in his new boat alone, mulling over all that happened. Ignoring his Chief of Police dad’s warning not to go too far and to avoid certain areas, Sam meets a boy his age named Davey, who has been hiding out in a shack and living in despicable conditions. Davey claims to be waiting for his father and brother to arrive. Sam secretly helps Davey survive, bringing him food and supplies over the next few days, but as the friendship grows, a mystery unfolds. Sam begins to suspect a terrible crime has been committed by Davey's family. Faced with helping his new friend without betraying him, he wrestles with telling someone. Grover? His Chief of Police father? Dad won't be happy he traveled so far into the delta, but as events become life threatening, Sam is forced to act. 

A good book for middle grade and younger teen boys, on the level of Gary Paulsen's books. Enjoy!

 

Celebrate the Small Things: Setting Goals and Getting Ready for Fall

I don't know about you, but there is something about the onset of Fall that gets my creative juices going. I saw this challenge on Facebook at my publisher's author site and decided this was for me. 

You basically devote 100 days of activity to an artistic/creative endeavor between now and December 31, 2017. Mine is to finish outlining my new novel and actually begin writing chapters. You set the challenge, and ideally plan each day in advance. I plan to commit at least 25 minutes a day (by timer if necessary). I know the time will be longer if I can just put my butt in the chair, but it's how my mind works (I have to trick it into compliance). Of course, everyone does what works best for them. #SHOWUP100

Today was DAY 1. I worked on the synopsis and back stories, and boy did it ever feel good. As this is a sequel, I loved pulling in characters from the first book, deciding who would no longer play a role. It wasn't easy. I wanted to give them all top billing on the novel stage, but alas, some actors no longer fit. Anyway, wish me luck! Have any of you tried this method?

The challenge is necessary. My husband and I just spent the last two weeks painting our home. I haven't been writing at all. We managed to put on one coat, but it was good paint and should get us by till next spring, when we'll apply a second coat. Frankly, it's been too darn hot to accomplish much more, and it's smokier than ever here. VERY tired of the smoke! 

Nonetheless, the signs of Fall are already here. The leaves of our new service berry tree are already beginning to turn. The mums are starting to blossom. We have Fall planting to do as well, but not nearly as much as last year. 

I hope you are doing fine. I've been offline far too long, but had so much stuff to do this summer. I have book reviews piling up that I need to do as well. Eventually, eventually. It all comes together somehow, doesn't it?

Take care everyone. Remember to smile and take deep breaths. I look at the world and have days when all I can do is shake my head in the negative, but we saw some beautiful coming together by all in Houston. Made me proud. Still tough for those folks, but help keeps coming in. I try to remember, it could always be worse, and that celebrating the small things in life is what matters most. 

ALSO Celebrating my novel and reviews. Check it out: 
The Shells of Mersing 

"Come celebrate with us" 

To join "Celebrate the Small Things, visit Lexa Cain's blog

Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge 
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Celebrate the Small Things: Summer, Book, and YA News

Hi, I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer! Smoke from the Northwest and Canadian fires has finally cleared and the temperature has dropped to the mid-eighties. ~Breathing a huge sigh of relief~

'SHELLS' Watch. Another week and I haven't written my novel's sequel yet. Ha-ha-ha. I'm still trying to figure out how to promote the first one. Thankfully, sales are up for  The Shells of Mersing. Received my first box of printed copies in the mail and fell in love all over again. Here's another teaser, page 137:


CALLIE MEETS SAM:

"Samuel gives Lucas a high-five and starts to do the same with me, but hesitates. He smiles, a cute half grin, and shakes my hand. My hand melts into his, and his touch is as warm and velvety as any first kiss could ever be. For a moment the room blurs around us.

Irene clears her throat. “Samuel’s homeschooling with us for the summer, while his parents work on assignment in Indonesia.”  

I’m too speechless to say anything relevant in reply. I’d stammer and make a fool of myself if I tried.

Samuel pours himself a lemonade. “So what’s up? Why’s everyone in such a daze?” 

Writers' Conferences: 

• Rivers of Ink 2017 Conference - Kennewick, WA  Aug 18-20 (Sunday is free - Story Structure 1&2)
• Inland Northwest SCBWI Conference - Spokane, WA Sept 16

YOUNG ADULT NEWS: 
Interesting news in the Young Adult genre with the recent publishing of The Black Witch by Laurie Forest. Apparently, this new author is being skewered for being racist. Her stated attempt was to portray a character's transformation after growing up in a close knit prejudiced culture, and apparently she sees the light as an adult. Unfortunately, a critic ranted on Twitter about the racism and what she claims is the book's final effect. The book is 600 pages long, but readers are rejecting the book based on some 500 tweets! 

Here's an example of a quote in the review from pg. 163 in the book: "The Kelts are not a pure race like us. They’re more accepting of intermarriage, and because of this, they’re hopelessly mixed.” Seriously?? This was considered inappropriate? I thought this was fiction. I do not normally read fantasy, but I might make an exception. Perhaps the most compelling point is that the main character's transformation doesn't really begin until halfway through the book. That's a lot of reading with potentially repugnant material. It's possible the author went too far, but still.....

The article states that the tweeted review was  "— a clarion call for YA Twitter, which regularly identifies and denounces books for being problematic (an all-purpose umbrella term for describing texts that engage improperly with race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other marginalizations). Led by a group of influential authors who pull no punches when it comes to calling out their colleagues’ work, and amplified by tens of thousands of teen and young-adult followers for whom online activism is second nature, the campaigns to keep offensive books off shelves are a regular feature in a community that’s as passionate about social justice as it is about reading."

This is not about one bad review. It stirred up a hornet's nest for the publisher as you can imagine. My guess is the brew-ha-ha increased sales, but I'm bothered by the censorship, because the goal was to remove her book from readers and shelves. My question to any author or publisher is: do we really have the right? Parents do this all the time and that's their duty and prerogative. I did this with books (and media) too with my children and would do so again based on age appropriateness, but blackballing an author's hard-earned work riles me up. I may not like everything I read and have the right to express those views, but to embark on a censorship campaign feels just plain wrong. 

What do you think?

Click here for the full articles:  "The Toxic Drama on YA Twitter by Kat Rosenfield and "On Disagreement" by Vicky Smith

Last but not least, it's time to think about Painting the house and Fall Gardening. 

We tend to take on bigger than life projects!!!

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

"Come celebrate with us" 

To join "Celebrate the Small Things, visit Lexa Cain's blog

Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge 

Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate the Small Things: Just Another Good Day

Well, what do you say when life is zipping along and you are having a good day? I guess you could say you feel blessed

AND I DO! 

• Workmen are outside our door as I type, building our new pergola. Shade, oh blessed shade, Oh how I have missed you. We desperately need you in the desert sun. 
• Tomorrow my daughter arrives with two of our grandchildren to stay the week. We'll spend time at the lake trying to stay cool and probably play a board game or two.
• A blog tour for me at Laurisa White Reyes' blog 

 

"Come celebrate with us" 
To join "Celebrate the Small Things, visit Lexa Cain's blog
Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge 
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate the Small Things: A Fun and Safe 4th of July

I want to wish everyone a fun and safe 4th of July. I expect a lot of you will take today off, and Monday and Tuesday too. That makes for a nice five-day holiday. I remember those times. Working hard five days a week, with never enough vacation time. But when the calendar fell just right, we'd take a trip and go camping somewhere. Or barbecue at home, buy 'illegal' fireworks at the reservation, and have some old-fashioned fun.

Not sure what hubby and I will be doing. Company is coming, so I suppose that means hamburgers and fireworks at the park. We may participate in the annual golf cart parade. We live in a semi-retirement community, so there are a lot of golf carts!

Meanwhile.....I'm still promoting my new book, The Shells of Mersing, and could use some serious readers and Amazon Reviews. A FREE eBOOK COPY to anyone interested!

Did you know the story starts in Seattle in 1995? Email and the internet were brand new then, and cells phones were practically non-existent in the U.S. However, in Malaysia, where half the novel is set, cell phones were definitely in use and becoming rather popular. 

It was fun introducing my main character to Email and Cell phones for the first time, having lived in Malaysia myself in 1995. I remember my writer friends in the states were nervous about sending their manuscripts half way around the world over the internet for critiques (as was I). Our worries ranged from worrying about losing our work entirely to getting an enormous internet bill!! Boy, have things changed.

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

RELEASE DAY!! GOAL! THE SHELLS OF MERSING is HERE!

 Finish line. Made the Goal. Here at last. The Tortoise won the Race. The Big Tuh-duh!!   

SERIOUSLY, this is a big deal. My FIRST work of fiction published. HOLY MOLY!!

Party anyone? NOT. I'm a writer. I hole up in my office and play with words. That's what writers do. I never did learn how to party.

Butfor being here to Celebrate with me.

Okay, enough chatter. This is THE SHELLS OF MERSING'S big day. Callie is dying to tell her story and I'm going to let her take it from here ....

"I have a gun frozen in my hand, and a scream welling up inside. No one would believe me in a million years if I told the truth..."

25% off for two weeks starting today at Evernight Teen. Also available on Amazon. Print copies available in August. Pop on over and take a look and give me a CHEER. I'm over the moon, doing cartwheels, releasing balloons, filled to the max excited!!

Blurb:

When notorious Uncle Azman disobeys his boss’s orders, and sends Callie and Lucas to meet their mother's long lost family in Malaysia, fourteen-year-old Callie Davis believes their troubles are over. After all they've endured, what more could go wrong? Their American dad is dead, Mom is missing, and their foster dad in Seattle was murdered, with Callie falsely accused. If that wasn't enough, Callie stowed aboard a sailboat with her eight-year-old brother to escape, only to be targeted by their uncle’s boss in Hawaii upon arrival for immediate sale in Thailand’s human trafficking market. Disguised in Muslim dress, in case Azman’s boss sends someone after them, Callie believes it’s simply a matter of time. They need to find safety with family in Mersing and begin the search for Mom, but a shell box, a ruby, and a boy from Chicago named Sam are about to change everything.  

More Fun Facts at Author Page  

 

Poof! A Book is Born: Teaser Excerpt and Update

Happy to announce my novel The Shells of Mersing is ready for release June 23. Uhh.....that's next F-R-I-D-A-Y! It's really going to happen! I dreamed a story and POOF....a book is born.

The Shells of Mersing will be featured at 25% off on the landing page of Evernight Teen's website for one week upon release, but I'll remind everyone again when it happens. I made the below image and thought it might work in a book trailer  but I'm still working on the details. 

A teaser excerpt - The Shells of Mersing:


Groaning, his eyes flicker open. “What happened?”

“Don’t move, Mr. Pirone. I’ll get Judith.”

He grabs my wrist. “You’ll do no such thing. Help me up.” His face softens. “Please, I hurt my back.” I pull him to his feet.

He staggers to the door and stops mid step at the threshold, hanging there for the longest time. “What are you doing here?” he finally says.

“Benjamin, my old friend,” a male voice replies.

Benny inches backward. Glancing back at me, he speaks in a low deliberate voice, “Run, Callie.” He mumbles something else, but all I really hear are his first words. Run, Callie.

A muffled pop pierces the air. Benny falls to his knees and collapses face down. I cover my mouth, stifling a scream, afraid to move as blood gushes from a bullet hole in Benny’s temple. A crimson pool forms on the floor.

A flashlight beam travels over his face and the wound. I gasp, recalling the glowing moon eyes in my dream. The beam of light shines on my face next and goes out, blinding me at first.

“Who’s there? Please. Who are you?”

A cold, unmistakable chill travels down my spine, and then I see him, a man clad in black. He steps over Benny’s body, entering the room. A gun hangs loose at his side in his black gloved hand. I step backward. He flicks his black hair away from his face and moves closer. Two sunken cheeks dominate his long face. A red scar zigzags across his nose. He’s young, in his twenties, maybe thirties. He eyes Benny’s body, snickering to himself.

A toilet flushes upstairs. Please let it be Judith. I step to the side, eyeing the door and the stairs behind him. I can run for it. I can do this.

He snatches my hand. “Not so fast.” His steely eyes are those of a cobra’s. I can almost hear the hiss when his bony fingers clamp down, pinching me. He forces my palm over the gun handle, curving my index finger around the trigger. “You tell anyone about me, and I’ll kill you. Your mama too.”

My mouth goes dry. “My mother?”

He smiles, a cruel deliberate sneer. “That’s right, your mama in Thailand.”

My heart rips apart, a scream building inside. This horrid man knows my mother. He knows her!

His cobra eyes gloat. “Yeah, that’s right. I think you understand. Now don’t forget.”

I struggle to move the gun wedged in my hand. No, I’ll never forget your warning and cruel voice, or your snakelike stare and jagged scar.

He snorts. “Tell them it was self-defense.” He kicks Benny’s body as he leaves.

My knees shake as I watch him disappear. The soles of my feet are molded to the floor. I have a gun frozen in my hand, and a scream welling up inside. No one would believe me in a million years if I told the truth, because the only truth I could fabricate is an outright lie. Tell them it was self-defense, he said. But I can’t lie, nor can I live with the deadly consequences of the truth.

Judith rushes into the room. I have no idea when. Seconds, minutes, hours could have passed. I’m standing where the stranger left me.

******