Written by Donna Meredith A desire to understand the dark force that allows people to participate in a genocide led Mark Mustian to choose a Turk rather than an Armenian as the narrator of his novel, The Gendarme. The choice may appear unusual at first, since Mustian is of Armenian heritage himself. “Perhaps it comes […]
January Read of the Month, The Gendarme by Mark Mustian
January 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed By Donna Meredith The Gendarme, by Mark Mustian, is a brilliantly conceived and carefully crafted novel about the Armenian genocide that took place during and immediately after World War I. The choice of a 92-year-old Turkish man living in Georgia as narrator is one of the author’s bold decisions. Emmett Conn has a brain […]
A Bad Day’s Work, by Nora McFarland
November 8, 2010 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Lilly Hawkins notes that if the TV station where she works as a shooter takes the number one spot in the ratings, the boss will get the bonus and the rest of the staff will “share a pizza.” A painful reality, one we can all relate to. The humor of Lilly’s […]
The Eternal Ones, by Kirsten Miller
October 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Review by Donna Meredith Romance, the supernatural, action, good versus evil, exotic locations, teenage outcasts—there’s so much in Kirsten Miller’s The Eternal Ones for young adult readers to like. Add those factors to readable prose and a page-turning plot, and some mothers are going to be borrowing this book from their teens. The narrator, seventeen-year-old […]
Meet Mary Jane Ryals, Author of Cookie and Me
August 28, 2010 by 1 Comment
Textbooks, poetry, novels—Mary Jane Ryals writes them all. Cookie and Me, her debut novel, will be released in September by Kitsune Books. Ryals was named the first Poet Laureate of the Big Bend in 2008 and released her first book of poetry, The Moving Waters, the same year. Ryals performs with a popular poetry troupe, […]