A Life Through Books

Literary / Women's Fiction

Date Published: January 26,  2015

A father's love. A family's tragedy. A daughter's revenge.

Honor student Emma knows more about galvanic cell diagrams than guns. College is the only way out of her gang-ridden hometown, but her parents can't afford it.

When her unemployed dad lands a job as a census taker, things start looking up. But he's sent deep into East Malo Verde, where gang members rule the streets and fear anyone with a badge who knocks on doors. One night, a gang member mistakes him for a cop and beats him savagely, leaving him for dead.

Her best friends, her chem lab partner, her mom, and the detective assigned to the case all try to convince her to focus on school. But school won't prepare her for a world that ignores a crime against a good man. Emma must decide what's more important: doing what's expected, or doing what she feels is right . . . even if it leads her down a dark and dangerous path of revenge.

The Red Road is about a girl in turmoil, coming of age as she discovers the depths - and the limits - of friendship, first love, and the bond between parents and their children.

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Jenni Wiltz writes fiction and creative nonfiction. She's won national writing awards for creative nonfiction and romantic suspense, including a 2011 Romance Writers of America Kiss of Death Chapter's Daphne du Maurier Award for her novel, The Cherbourg Jewels. She also writes thrillers, historical fiction, and paranormal romance, and you may have seen her short stories in The Portland Review, Gargoyle, and the  Sacramento News & Review. After earning bachelor’s degrees in English and history and a Master’s degree in English, she worked as a web editor, a copywriter, and a USAID grant program coordinator, which gave her the opportunity to travel to Kenya. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, sewing, running, and genealogical research. She lives in Pilot Hill, California and has not yet struck gold in her backyard. Visit her online at JenniWiltz.com.

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Contemporary Fiction / Humor

Date Published: December 16, 2014

   Twenty-three year-old Ally Forman, a $350 million dollar lottery winner with Down syndrome, is either cursed or blessed, depending on how you look at things. When professional wrestler Stryker Nash loses his job, Ally, his biggest fan, wants nothing more than to put him back in the ring. And she will spare no expense. Her mother, however, has other plans for Ally’s winnings and her life. SHORT BUS HERO is a darkly humorous look at life with Down syndrome, the rise of a wrestling empire... and angels. Yes, angels.

Recent praise for Short Bus Hero:

“SHORT BUS HERO has it all: Down syndrome, hoarding, suicide attempts, heart attacks, betrayal, redemption, angels, winning lottery numbers, and big time professional wrestling. A dark, sweet, and poignant tale about what happens when you follow your dreams.” — S. G. Browne, author of BREATHERS, BIG EGOS, and FATED
“If you were the big Lottery winner, what would you do first? Why, resurrect the career of your favorite professional wrestler, of course. Touching, violent, hilarious, tragic and surreal—Short Bus Hero is an inspiring and emotional story.” — Richard Thomas, author of STARING INTO THE ABYSS, co-editor of BURNT TONGUES
"From a mind-bending cornucopia of eclectic ingredients-troubled lottery winners, pro wrestlers on the skids, and restless angels are just the tip of the iceberg-Shannon Giglio has expertly crafted one of the strangest, cleverest, and, yes, sweetest, tales I have ever read. This wonderful novel has it all: ingeniously imagined characters, rousing and poignant adventures, and, perhaps most importantly, the true heart of a champion. Anyone who enjoys great storytelling will love this book." -- Bill Breedlove, author of HOW TO DIE WELL

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This was an interesting book to read about. I really felt like Shannon Giglio did her best to understand the world of PRO Wrestling so that her reader would. This is a wonderful emotional journey and the characters are absolutely lovable. As a reader I was 100% in their corner and so invested in the outcome. I loved that the more deep situations and themes in the novel were cut with the humor. It really helped give the novel a balance. 

Shannon Giglio, originally from Milwaukee, WI, graduated from Drexel University and Emerson College before going to work for Dick Clark, CBS, and Ridley Scott. She lives in Savannah, GA, with her husband, author Peter Giglio, and her two daughters. She is currently finishing her fourth and fifth novels.

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Juvenile Fiction

Date Published: June 1, 2012

 In the second book in the Night Buddies series, red crocodiles start popping up all over the city, creating confusion, committing crimes, and causing Crosley to go a little crazy at the sight of them. 

The impostors must be stopped, and Night Buddies John and Crosley are just the guys to stop them!
Stakeouts and wild chases in a fantastic flying machine, far-out schemes to snare the impostors, and a never-ending supply of Crusted Crème Fro-Madge frozen yogurt make for one totally super night.
These adventures after lights-out will delight any young reader who relishes an adventure/fantasy in the wee hours of the night. 
The Night Buddies series revolves around the nighttime adventures of a young boy named John, who is not ready to go to sleep, and a bright red crocodile named Crosley who turns up under John’s bed. 
Each book starts by having this unlikely pair sneaking out of John’s house using Crosley’s I-ain’t-here doodad, which makes them invisible to John’s parents. They embark on their Program, the Night Buddies word for Adventure, and make their way around the Borough chasing down enemies and cleaning up the mishaps at hand. 
Night Buddies, Impostors, and One Far-Out Flying Machine is the second book in the Night Buddies series, a 7-times award-winning chapter book series for kids. The first book, Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare was released in June 2012 and the third book, Night Buddies Go Sky High is due out in March 2015. The Night Buddies series is available in both print and ebook format. 

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This is a fun cast of characters and a journey that will keep younger minds throughly entertained. Sands Harrington has managed to create a wonderfully vivid novel for younger readers that can also keep adults interested as well. This is a fun series!

Sands Hetherington credits his son John for being his principal motivator. Sands raised his son as a single parent from the time John was six. He read to him every night during those formative years. He and young John developed the Crosley crocodile character in the series during months of bedtime story give-and-take. Sands majored in history at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and has an M.F.A. in creative writing and an M.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro. He lives in Greensboro.About the Illustrator:

Jessica Love grew up in California, with two artist parents. She studied printmaking and drawing at UC Santa Cruz, then went on to study acting at The Juilliard School in NYC. Her favorite way to work is collaborative, which is why illustration is such a treat.

Some of her inspirations are Maurice Sendak, Edmund Dulac, Lisbeth Zwerger and of course, the incomparable Hilary Knight. Jessica currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, toggling back and forth between her work as an actor and her work as an artist.

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Blood Red: The Complete First Season

Paranormal Romance

Date Published: January 15,  2015

Evie Williams lives a boring life – and she likes it that way. Her world is very black and white. Routine is good. Excitement is bad. She’s happy to play by her self-imposed rules. After all, they help her keep her abusive, stalker ex-boyfriend at bay. Or so she believes…

But there’s more to the world than Evie could possibly imagine. Elves, vampires, witches and pro-Humanity terrorists are very real – and she can sense the danger they pose to her and others. Worst of all, they just realized how precious Evie’s gift is.

As the world Evie never imagined possible closes in on her, Chris, the vampire in charge of studying Evie, is getting more and more interested in her… and it has nothing to do with his loyalty to his vampire father.

Blood Red: The Complete First Season is a story of unlikely heroes, damsels who refuse to be in distress and political conflicts solved by fights to the death.

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I love the banter in this novel. It was quite witty and had me laughing quite a bit which is great for a Paranormal novel. 

Vivian Wolkoff has done a great job of setting the characters and world up for the reader. I felt like I understood where the characters were and what they were dealing it. It really had a great pace to it. It wasn't rushed, but it didn't drag on either.

This is a great first season in a new Paranormal series and I can't wait to see what happens next.

            Vivian Wolkoff has always been in love with words – even before she could read them. So, it should be no surprise she turned to writing and reading very early in life. She first self-published a poetry book at the age of 13, followed by two honorary mentions in contests promoted by a small publishing house in her native Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Then, she decided to do some living and find out what else she loved. After college and moving cross-continent twice, Vivian decided to turn to self-publishing again. She is the author of Showmance, the first book in a trilogy about a fake celebrity couple and their crazy fans, and the psychological thriller Love You To Death. Blood Red is the first novel in her Preternatural Chronicles – a shared universe filled with unlikely heroes, damsels who refuse to be in distress, intrigue and epic adventures.

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Email: vivianwolkoffauthor@gmail.com

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