Obviously, it was another productive year for Birds readers who also happen to be authors. Congratulations to those of you who have sold books or published your own. You deserve a lot of credit for taking the leap.
I always plan to put up this list earlier in the year, then fail. Sorry, I've done it again. I know it's close to Christmas, but don't let the holiday get in your way. Buy now, read later. Or save this list for a favorite someone's birthday or unbirthday in 2014. Any day is a good day to purchase a book for yourself or someone else.
Let this list help you decide how to spend some of those cold winter nights or rainy spring afternoons. Grab a book to take to the beach, or download one to your e-reader to get into on your next flight.
Here's how the list works:
- Click on the author's name for a link to his or her website.
- Click on the book to link to a site where you can purchase the book.
Every time you buy a book from one of your friends on the Birds blog, you help that author extend readership and make a buck or two. And, that's about all they make, especially if they published it on their own.
If you love any of these books, let others know. Review it on Amazon, Goodreads or one of the other book sites. Every review helps authors--and publishers--build careers, even second (or third!) careers. Your review could be the one that opens the door to that author's success.
So, buy, read, enjoy and share your thoughts. And get off to a great start reading your way into 2014!
"Welcome Home/A Monument of Honor" was compiled by Ross Lewis, an Army veteran and former news photographer. Ross believes the real human stories of Americans involved in the Vietnam War were told through their personal non-combat photographs.
Snapshots reveal the underlying dignity, pride and compassion of the men and women who were in Vietnam, Ross says. The intimacy of their pictures as well as their poignant written memories stand as a legacy for us all.
There is no digital edition, but you can buy this full-color picture book directly from Ross at http://www.welcomemonument.com .
This prolific author, columnist and blogger (http://www.weeklywilson.com/) is based in East Moline, Illinois.
Here's a video shot in and around the Old Stone House in Brownington VT, to get you in the mood.
Jacqui says Brick Heart is about an elderly woman facing housing problems, and the range of emotions she goes through. Every story in this anthology shines a light in the importance of home, and what it means to people.
In The Muse of Violence, a chilling series of deaths strikes a writers' group in New York, leaving the remaining members to face the suspicion--and finally the terrifying certainty--that one of them is a psychopathic killer. They wonder: Is a sequel to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None being played out in their lives?
Here's an excerpt:
“The writers’ group is just a memory now. I can still picture them sitting in my apartment—four women and two men in addition to myself—reading stories to each other in a search for fictional truth that seemed more important than real life. That was before death pulled up a chair and started spinning tales of its own. We were so naive, all we did was complain about the heat.”
Buy the book in digital form or as a large-format paperback directly from Amazon, or help keep your local bookstore in business by buying the hard copy there.
Retired attorney, musician and composer lives in Philadelphia.
Three Can Keep a Secret is available directly from Archer's webpage, from Amazon and from your local bookstore. He goes on book tours, so be on the lookout for one his book signings or very entertaining guest appearances in your area.
US publishing houses have bought reprint rights to offer these mysteries to any American readers who don't already know her. When they do, they are sure to stick with this young author.
These two taut tales are still my favorites among her works, which hit best-seller lists as soon as they are released.
Buy digital versions or hard copies through the publishers by clicking on the book titles, above.
Burying Ben, her first novel, is drawn from her years of experience working side by side with officers on the street and listening to their secrets in the confines of her consulting room. One reviewer praises Burying Ben for its "compelling characters in a tight-turning plot."
Follow the title link to Amazon, or look for the book at your local bookstore.
Ellen Kirschman lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.