Interview With Women's Lit Author, Pamela Jones

1. Your story, “Tomorrow Never Comes” is quite short. Why the decision to keep it so compact?

I wanted readers to get acquainted with my writing ASAP. This story was the perfect solution. The story I’m currently working on will be longer; thus, taking months to complete.

2. Your story tackles a lot of family issues. If you don't mind disclosing, is there anything biographical in this book?

My grandmother, who gave me this idea, was in an abusive marriage. She also was from Alabama. However, Marlena’s story isn’t a biographical account of her life.

3. Otis is a really interesting character. What was your inspiration for him?

I had a close relative who was abusive. However, this isn’t a biographical account of his abusive actions.

4. What do you want readers to take from your story?

Although you’re entitled to live your life as you wish, the decisions you make – if they’re wrong - can have a negative impact on your family … forever. Therefore, before you jump into a situation, think it through thoroughly.

5. What genre would you categorize your book under and why? Women’s fiction.

6. What else do you have coming out the pipeline? Are you going to continue with some of these characters, or are you moving on to new ones?

I’m moving on to another story. In fact, I’m already working on it. It’s entitled “Her Married Lover.” This one will be about a single, lonely mother dating a married man. The twist is when the adulterer’s depressed wife finds out about their affair, the wrath of hell breaks loose.

Links: Blog: http://authorpamelajones.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorpamelajones Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorpamjones YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AuthorPamelaJones Amazon Author Central: amazon.com/author/pamelajones

Review: E.L.F. White Leaves

White Leaves by M.P. Ness
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let me just start this off by saying that I'm not a big fantasy guy. I mean, I can enjoy fantasy if it's light on the fantasy and more on the realistic side of things, but I've never been a guy who's into elves or sorcery. E.L.F. starts off on a realistic note, given that it's about eco-terrorists, but then it goes off into a different territory involving elves and stuff like that. That's where it threw me a little. That said, I am probably one of the only people who cannot get through the Lord of the Rings books, and I did get through this book, so that's definitely saying something. M.P. Ness shines when he's writing action scenes, as I know another critic noted. The story of the black leaves and Lady White Leaves is intriguing in that there is a good central female character in Shannon Hunter, who it takes a little while to like, but once you do, you're with her all the way. The writing is good, even though I feel there could have been more description with setting scenes, and the pacing goes quickly once you get to about to page 50 or so. Overall, if you dig fantasy, give this book one more star to my review. It's a good book. It's just not my thing.

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Review: EPIC: Legacy

EPIC: Legacy by Justin Osborne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I usually don't like reading books on my phone, but Justin Osborne's EPIC: Legacy, hit all the right notes and was easy to read (It doesn't hurt that the text is big and well-suited for my Android phone). The story concerns a very scary prospect-What if men started just disappearing into thin air? What transpires is a grand epic starring a likeable protagonist named Deacon who has the kind of spunk and kindess you find in the best kinds of heroes. And he needs it for the adventure he goes on once he enters the Faerie world, Avalon, which is impressive in its scope and character. If I have one complaint, and it's a very small one, it's that the quotation marks are a little off early on, making it kind of jarring for awhile. But story-wise, character-wise, and pacing-wise, you really can't beat EPIC: Legacy. I'm going to pick up the next one to see Deacon's next adventure.

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Review: What Makes Sammy Run?

What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A criticism not only of Hollywood moguls but also of ruthless ambition, What Makes Sammy Run? is a landmark work from the 40s that turned out to be hauntingly prescient. Sammy's stab you in the back to ahead mentality represents America, and this book makes for an interesting Hollywood story that is relatable in every aspect of modern day business. You may even have a Sammy Glick in your life, which is scary to say the very least.

The story centers on the aforementioned Glick, and it's told from the perspective of somebody Glick walks over to get ahead, which paints an interesting story unlike the naive narrator from The Great Gatsby. In this book, the protagonist, Al Manheim, knows Sammy is slime and you get to see his outlook on the ambitious character. It makes for fascinating narration. In his climb to the top, Sammy screws over anybody and everybody (But they're all Jewish people like himself, which the author, Budd Schulberg, made sure of), making him a pretty repugnant character. That said, he's not one-dimensional, and you even start to feel sorry for him since he can't help himself. Some might even see him as a non-violent sociopath, taking his licks and accepting them if it means it will further his barreling career.

If I have only one complaint with the book, it's that the ending comes rather abruptly for my taste. That said, the book is enjoyable and has well thought out characters and excellent pacing. If you love movies, and more importantly, the story behind making movies, then you should definitely read this book. Maybe you'll uncover for yourself just what makes Sammy run.



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Review: A Dance With Dragons

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Now that I'm finally caught up, I feel privileged to talk about the series as a whole. After slugging through the last book, "A Feast For Crows", I was promised by many that this book made up for a lot of the ostensibly meandering story lines of the last title. But no, that's not the case at all. In fact, I'd say "A Feast For Crows" had even more direction than this boring novel, which seemed to go all over the place without any interesting payoff whatsoever.

I think the main reason people prefer this book to Crows is because some of their favorite characters return. Jon, Dany, and Tyrion, all make reappearances. Hell, even Theon Greyjoy ("My name is Reek") makes a return here. But here's the thing. Dany's chapters are little more than her deciding who she's going to marry and Tyrion's chapters are mainly about him traversing from one vessel to the next. Only Jon's chapters have anything really interesting to say, and even those tend to drag at times.

What this book and the last one prove to me now is that George R.R. Martin is a bit lost in where he's going with this story. Whereas the first three books seemed to have a direct course of action, these books are too big for their own weight. The legs feel like they're giving way beneath them. For almost a 1000 pages of this book, I'd say only about 100 of them actually progress the story forward in any meaningful way. And while I'm not the author and can't decisively say that all these different plot threads will never connect, my faith in the man has dwindled considerably after reading through two giant tomes without really getting anywhere at all through either of them. All the interesting story lines left off at the end of book 3 seem to be squandered here, and the only interesting parts in either book were when those threads were actually addressed. I would have also liked if some of the threads from book 4 (Which runs concurrently with this book for the most part) were addressed, like the story with Brienne and Jaime, which is mentioned for only about a page in Dance.

Honestly, after reading these last two books, I'm very upset that I even started this series in the first place. If I were you, I'd say wait until all of the books are finished (If the books ever get finished) before making the plunge. It will save you countless hours and grief in the long run.

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Review: Quake

Quake by Lisa Arrington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quake takes awhile to get started, but once the "quakes" start happening, the story really picks up. One thing that's really cool about this book is that it takes normal characters-this time every day teenagers--and throws them into the abnormal. I really like Ali. She's a likeable character and her reactions seem realistic when the strange events start occurring. I also like the thrill of the chase this story gives you. What I don't like is the multiple perspectives. There are too many. I would have actually preferred if this story was first-person and told from only Ali's perspective.

Even so, the book is enjoyable and I highly recommend it. The end has a really cool twist and I'm looking forward to the sequel. Give it a read. Ms. Arrington has something here.

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Review: Mafietta

Mafietta by E.W. Brooks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm torn with Mafietta. On one hand, I like the way it's written. I like the dialogue, I like the pacing (Though, it's a bit too fast early on, making me not really sure why Clarke is the way she is), and overall, I enjoyed the story. But on the other hand, it's not my sort of book. E.W. Brooks does a great job of bringing us into the underbelly of society and provides a strong female protagonist, but it got to be a bit much for me, and many of the characters seem more like characters in a story than actual people (Their motives are questionable). As many reviewers have shown, there's a lot to like here, but it's just not for me. If you want to read a book that reads like a movie, then by all means, read Mafietta. But if you enjoy books because they get to the root of the human condition, then this may not be the book for you. It's a genre title, through and through, which isn't a bad thing at all, but again, it's just not for me.

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