Enter to win digital copies of Dan DeWitt's novels, Orpheus and Odinsons!

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Title: Orpheus
Author: Dan DeWitt
Genre: Horror (Zombies)

Synopsis: Cameron Holt is fortunate enough to survive the initial outbreak that turns his New England island community into a hive of the undead. So is his son, Ethan. Now, the only thing keeping Holt going is the determination to rescue his son from the undead...or remove him permanently from their ranks. Unfortunately, zombies aren't the only thing getting in his way.

Reviews

Orpheus received two five-star reviews from The Masquerade Crew.

• Sharon's Review
• Bec's Review

Also up for grabs in this giveaway are digital copies of Odinsons, another of Dan's novels. Click here to learn more about it.

An Interview With The Author—Dan DeWitt

What's your writing background?

Nothing too exciting. I have a Bachelor's degree in English, which means next to nothing when it comes to writing fiction. Still, I took a bunch of creative writing classes and really enjoyed them. Before that, I dabbled in short stories here and there, but wasn't ready to try and make a career out of it. I wrote one screenplay in 2001 that advanced to the second round at Austin (and I'm about ¼ of the way into its novelization). I've always been a voracious reader, and I got really serious after participating in NaNoWriMo in 2006. Since then, I've published a couple of short stories in e-zines and one non-fiction profile in a local magazine. But I'm really just a guy who loves to read fiction and tell a story from time to time.

To read more of this interview, click here.

Connect with the author:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Smashwords
• His Personal Blog

Enter to Win!

The Dazzling Book Report, by Jane O'Connor

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Fancy Nancy likes to use fancy words, so when she gets to write a book report, she chooses one with the fancy name of Sacajawea. Nancy spends most of her time creating a dazzling book report cover that reflects her artistic talent. After all, she is the second-best artist in her class. Writing two sentences is all she can muster before she falls asleep. Crestfallen, she admits to her teacher her error in spending too much time on the cover. Her teacher becomes her heroine when she asks Nancy to tell the class about the heroine, Sacajawea.

This story is a learning lesson about time management with a tiny bit of history. The colorful illustrations are bright and fun, and defining the fancy words within the story was a great idea.

Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library
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Grandma's General Store: The Ark, by Dorothy Carter

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The book is highly recommended as an enlightening and refreshing read set in the Depression Era of the South.

Grandma owns a small colored general store that serves as a gathering place for hard working coloreds. When her son loses his job as foreman at the sawmill, he and his wife decide to head North to look for a better life. They must leave their children in Grandma 's care. The story unfolds as a heart rending story portraying the importance of family bonds and hard work.

This is a wonderful eye opener depicting the hardships that bring us closer together in life or break us apart.

Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library

View or Place Hold in Library Catalog

The End of Your Life Book Club, by Will Schwalbe

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I have just finished reading "The End of Your Life Book Club," a non-fiction book by Will Schwalbe.  I found the title of the book intriguing enough, but on further examination realized that this would be a perfect book for book lovers:  a book ABOUT books!  More importantly, it's about two people who love each other, and find a way to show it by a shared love of books. It is a mother and son, and the mother has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Each chapter discusses a different book, and the family members' reaction to it--and to each other, in terms of the mother's illness.  There are 28 chapters in all, but some mention more than one title--most of which are familiar, but I regret to say that I've read very few of them. ( I will be doing so now.)

Along the way the author and his mother make some statements that I found very profound. With regards to "People of the Book," the mother says, "…Every great religion shares a love of books, of reading, of knowledge.  The individual books may be different, but reverence for books is what we all have in common.  Books are what bring all different people in the novel together."

That line, more than any other, was important to me, and kept me reading even when the discussion of the mother's cancer and impending death made me uncomfortable.  She remained mentally alert throughout the illness, and you could almost share the growing bond between mother and son even as they shared the books they read.

Near the end, the author makes the observation that his mother's bedroom is filled with the books they have read, with their colorful spines and dust jackets, and that "they were Mom's companions and teachers.  They had shown her the way.  And she was able to look at them as she readied herself for the life everlasting that she knew awaited  her.  What comfort could be gained from staring at (the author's) lifeless e-reader?"

Though I have an e-reader of my own, I could not have said it better myself.
I encourage you to read this book.

Reviewed by Miriam, First Regional Library
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A Million Heavens, by John Brandon

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I am not always a fan of books with many narrators. With A Million Heavens I did not have that problem. John Brandon made me care about all the characters in this story. Even the wolf who roams throughout the novel and the chickens who live in someone’s backyard.

Set in a suburb of Albuquerque, the uniting force of the novel is a child who has fallen into a coma. His father waits for him to wake up. The parking lot of the clinic where the boy is a patient has become a vigil spot for a group of people. A wolf wanders during the night. A musician who died young is in a sort of purgatory. A gas station owner decides to journey into the desert to find himself. And the Mayor of the town is ready to turn his life around.

This all might sound odd, but John Brandon has a talent for making the different stories flow together. By the time you have met each character you are ready to know what happens to them next. A Million Heavens will be found on the Oxford Staff Picks shelf until it gets checked out!

Reviewed by Laura Beth, First Regional Library
Viewor Place Hold in Library Catalog

The Dazzling Book Report, by Jane O'Connor

To contact us Click HERE
Fancy Nancy likes to use fancy words, so when she gets to write a book report, she chooses one with the fancy name of Sacajawea. Nancy spends most of her time creating a dazzling book report cover that reflects her artistic talent. After all, she is the second-best artist in her class. Writing two sentences is all she can muster before she falls asleep. Crestfallen, she admits to her teacher her error in spending too much time on the cover. Her teacher becomes her heroine when she asks Nancy to tell the class about the heroine, Sacajawea.

This story is a learning lesson about time management with a tiny bit of history. The colorful illustrations are bright and fun, and defining the fancy words within the story was a great idea.

Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library
Viewor Place Hold in Library Catalog

Grandma's General Store: The Ark, by Dorothy Carter

To contact us Click HERE
The book is highly recommended as an enlightening and refreshing read set in the Depression Era of the South.

Grandma owns a small colored general store that serves as a gathering place for hard working coloreds. When her son loses his job as foreman at the sawmill, he and his wife decide to head North to look for a better life. They must leave their children in Grandma 's care. The story unfolds as a heart rending story portraying the importance of family bonds and hard work.

This is a wonderful eye opener depicting the hardships that bring us closer together in life or break us apart.

Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library

View or Place Hold in Library Catalog