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This excerpt does a great job revealing the realities of war. It provides the perspective of the ones on the front line and does a wonderful job displaying the uncertainties that go along with warfare; however, it was a bit hard to follow at times, and it seemed a little "jumpy". Overall, great job!

I was an undergrad theatre major at the University of Iowa when Peter was a grad playwriting student there. His plays were entertaining, often darkly funny, grounded in a strong sense of narrative, and most of all intensely focused on ethical concerns... in particular the fundamental question of how to be a decent person when faced with untenable choices. It seems appropriate that he would turn his attention to the current Iraq war, which unfortunately provides many ways to explore that question on both a macro and micro scale.

I've only read the excerpt provided online here, but I was very engaged by the story and curious to find out where the war would take these fictional people. I found myself hoping that the character of Ryder finds a way to retain his humanity in a dehumanizing situation. More than that, I hope that Peter's work gets the chance to reach the wider audience it deserves.

I want to read more, to find out where Peter Ullian's deconstruction of situational ethics comes to rest, or if it does at all. Regarding comments about gratuitous sex and violence in Ullian's narrative: first of all, there isn't really any sex. The male characters think about sex constantly, which is what most men do in real life. As for the violence - exploding arms, dead kids - that sort of insanity happens every day in Iraq. It happened every day in Vietnam. I'm sure it's happening all over the world as we speak... and plenty of times there aren't even any American troops involved.

Okay, here's my armchair review:

With incongruous detachment, Ullian depicts an existence where "real" is a trainwreck of people and processes that don't belong together, and "ideal" is a faraway abstraction that propels the world like an invisible puppetmaster. Soldiers allegedly sent to free the Iraqi people from a tyrant train to do so by watching porn and listening to death-metal (apparently, that's typical in reality - during the Gulf War, Slayer was used as a soundtrack for Marine training maneuvers in Saudi Arabia). The only in-depth discussion among the characters is about country music. Cross-cultural understanding? Forget it. Would any of these guys bother to learn Arabic or read about the Five Pillars of Islam? I don't think so. The people they've been told they're freeing are "impassive, inscrutable" (from narrative). In a situation requiring immediate action, the unit leader lets his mind wander into random associations and memories, to the point where the "embedded" female journalist accompanying the unit has to render medical attention to another soldier.

I want to know where Ullian is going with this. The absurdity of existence? The ultimate subjectivity of moral/ethical frameworks? The pointlessness of nationalism? Is there a political agenda? Is the message here that everyone just bad and clueless? I'm curious now.

My first of two beefs with Ullian's prose is that his characters' dialogue is a little too Pynchon-esque: affected overemphasis and a deliberate lack of contractions. My second beef is that the characters' memories are less, well, personal than they could be. If Ullian is trying to convey his views on politics and society through the recollections of characters, and sometimes it's a little stilted.

Overall, I was intrigued and I want to read the rest of it.

Ullian has a talent for balancing the absurd and the tragic, to grimly wry effect. His cast of warriors, juiced on action movies, porn and video games, would seem like some out-there postmodern creation if they weren't so obviously reflective of the America they came from. Instead, the author has created a narrative of soldiers as products of the American culture they have come to spread. Ullian's portrait is ambivalent-- there's no denying the dark edge of his soldiers' sex-and-violence media mikvah in preparation for battle, but the men themselves remain reflective, human and sympathetic.

To Repair the World by P. Ullian opens with an argument of over what qualifies as 'real' country music. This debate introduces two of a host of characters, several with 'classics' names. To have a Ulysses, a Cassandra and Achilles on one mission together screams doom.

The settings, while as realistic as I can imagine them being for never having been in a war zone, fought for validation with the comical nature of the dialog. This wasn't funny ha-ha stuff, but really bordered on forced soudning. It read, in fact, very much like the interplays of Joseph Heller's 'Catch-22'. If the author means to update that story for contemporary times, more than 'insert Iraq detail here' needs to occur. The vibe of 'Catch-22' may be timeless, but it was a commentary and reflection on the times it was produced not just a darkly-humorous accounting of the absurdities of war life.

As I read through the excerpt it felt as if the author was inconsistent with portraying this story as serious or satirized. When I felt it leaning one way, it'd go back the other. This really hit home when Luther's arm was blown off and Curtis struggles with whether to stop the vehicle to tie a tourniquet. Curtis then goes on this drawn out political and moral thought line, while Luther is bleeding out. This was just too awkward given the uncommitted tone to that point.

Overall, though the author clearly is a talented writer, his attempt at putting his own modern stamp on a familiar tale just didn't sit right with me.

This excerpt from "The Silence of Trees" draws the reader into the world of Nadya and keeps you wanting to learn more about what her future will bring. The writing is impeccable and makes you feel as if you are walking right next to her as she travels through the woods to find the gypsy camp.

I can't wait to read the remainder of the novel to see how Nadya's encounter with the voroshka impacts her life and those around her.

...this book to anyone who likes well-written literature. This powerful story would be interesting for readers of any age, upbringing or nationality. Can not wait to read the whole book, those first 14 pages are very impressive. Thank you.

A refreshing story that isn't often told. Great to see a Ukrainian story told from the eyes of a woman about a time that some of us don't know enough about. Will be waiting for the full book!

Just like a dream - I can fully live it myself. Can't wait for the rest....

Thank you!

The subtle beauty of this story pulls the reader in with whispers of magic and fairy tales. We meet our heroine, 16-year-old Nadya, who always has her head in the clouds. She is only vaguely aware of the tension in Ukraine, distant talk of war, and is concerned by more mundane things. Her wish is to steal over to the Gypsy camp and have a "voroshka" tell her fortune. Many of her friends have heard wonderful tales from the fortune teller, but Nadya's mother forbids her to go. Headstrong Nadya decides to go anyway, stealing into the dark night when her family is sleeping. The seduction of the Gypsy camp turns sinister when Nadya meets the voroshka, bruised and bloodied from a brutal encounter with Russian soldiers. The excerpt ends here, but we know there is more sorrow to come.

The writing in this piece is masterful, resonant, and haunting. It has an element of magic that makes it seem like a whimsical fairy tale, but whimsy is soon overcome with the dark words of war and brutality. It's a multi-layered story that drew me in with the powerful writing. Action is not at all lacking in this excerpt - I read eagerly to find out what happened to Nadya. My heart is actually still pounding from Nadya's adventures - if this book was available at Borders, I would be there right now buying it.

Interesting. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I would be interested to see where the rest of the story leads. Keep up the adventure....

A great beginning that promises an adventurous trip. This is the type of story that would appeal to my grandchildren as much a it did to me. I would hope that it continues the line of adult/child understanding, and close relationship, as Keith implies, and am anxious to know where and what the story will reveal.

The setting is a sleeper ship; a large spaceship launched from Earth and destined for the trinary system whose primary star is Alpha Centauri. The light barrier has not been broken, so the journey will take years and the ship contains a complete set of components so that the people will be able to colonize the planets and they have taken samples of much of the flora and fauna of Earth with them. The people are inside cold-sleep tubes so that their metabolism is slowed to the point where their heart beats once every minute, a state of deep hibernation.
Unfortunately, the ship is barely out of the Solar System when a device carried by a boy causes his cell to malfunction, and all of the redundant systems fail to compensate. The computing system then does the only thing it can do, it reanimates him. However, he is only eight years old and the other fail-safe mechanisms designed to wake the senior officers in case of trouble do not work. The boy is then forced to live on his own for five years until he tries to enter a restricted area. This finally causes the emergency wake-up routines to reanimate the senior officers and after a short period of time they determine what has happened. The boy's parents are awakened and they learn that he has eaten a great deal of their emergency rations. The leaders also understand that five years of being alone will have caused the boy severe psychological trauma and he may even be feral. At the conclusion of the short, the boy has been discovered in an environment that simulates Yosemite and his mother is inside that environment looking for him.
This short is an excellent lead-in to what is clearly going to be an engaging novel. There are many potential plot lines that could be used as a consequence of the boy being alone for five years. The reasons why his small device caused all the fail-safe mechanisms to prove inadequate is also another potential twist. His mental state and how he will relate to his fellow humans is another area that could be explored. Finally, the colonists still have to get to their destination and given that they are still 2.25 light years from Alpha Centauri and a great deal of their rations have been consumed, the viability of the colony is now in jeopardy.

I read this story aloud to my five-year old son. After I read it out loud, I read it again to myself. We are both very eager to find out what happens next.

It's a great start to a story that has a huge universe of possibilities for what could come next -- from a simulated Yosemite to the high tech of a space travel to the frontier of the colony they are on their way to start.

Can't wait to read the rest of it!

A very good beginning with plenty of promise- and does what the best beginnings do: tell you what's going on and makes you want to know what happens next! We are embroiled immediately into the conflict: a 13-yr-old boy has been wandering alone around a spaceship for 5 yrs while everyone else was still in cryogenic sleep (for their 10 year journey).

While the world of the ship Hope is fairly well explained as we go on, the concepts (the science!) behind this science-fiction story are not particularly imaginative. The Hope is a giant spaceship equipped to transport its passengers to Alpha Centuri and supply them with the necessary tools to create the first human establishment outside of the Solar System. The future, while blessedly being fairly easy to understand- down to , is not all too different from the present- which somewhat stretches its credibility.

This same standard stereotypes practice somewhat also infects the characters, who often do not have much of a "voice"- we got the old-ish/tired-ish doctor type, the big mate (who does interesting resemble a zebra), etc. Such characters are often described. This is especially evident in the boy parents, who practically read from the "Concerned Parents Dialogue Guide"TM. The main character, Captain Drake does not suffer as much under such short-cut writing, thankfully, and is shaping up to be a quite effective person. (Even if he is forced to call into commands where someone/something gives him intel and he commands them to do such things "lock down the holding bay", "sweep the cargo deck"- well worn scenes from any spaceship drama of the last 30-35 years.)

Such criticisms don't particularly reduce the likeablility of this piece, however. It's fun! Stuff happens! Judging by this excerpt I would fully expect the novel to be an light, enjoyable read for a nice weekend after one of those soul-crushing weeks.

Some books are like the best of cats, they end up in your lap whenever you have a spare moment; they seek your company even as you desire theirs. Stealing Karma will be that book that one gives to a dozen friends - and they will all be grateful for it. Amazing.

Aneesha Capur's novel, Stealing Karma, is a story brimming with characters and situations that feel fresh, unexplored, and compelling. The dynamics here may mirror others in contemporary fiction concerned with domestic complexities, however, Stealing Karma spins them on their head and uses the cultural milieu to show us human interaction as we have never seen it before. I want to be here, in this world, and get to know its characters and how they will ultimately resolve the issues they face. The writing is clear, lyrical, steeped in place and feeling, and makes you thirst for more. Capur offers a delightful antidote to the kinds of fiction we have seen so much of in the past few years. This is a book that many readers of all backgrounds will be sure to find satisfying.

A pity that one can only read a few pages of what promises to be a most interesting story! Capur catches the reader's imagination and holds it with tantalizing imagery and dialogue, moving the plot forward, leaving one wanting for more. What happens to Mira? How does she cope? I look forward to reading the novel in its entirety.

In a world where so many of us have been driven by a sense of adventure or desperation or opportunity to seek our fortunes abroad, Stealing Karma weaves the story of the expatriate into the life of Mira who loses nearly all connection to India after she leaves for Africa. Mira is suddenly widowed and the precariousness of her adopted world, her erstwhile world of choice, is stark. In her excerpt, Aneesha Capur skillfully sets the plot for the reader: karma will transform the comfortable, even opulent, lives of Mira and her young child. But Mira now belongs to neither the world she left nor the world that has left her.......

After reading the manuscript review by Publishers Weekly provided in the Editorial Reviews concerning the novel `Stealing Karma' by Aneesha Capur I couldn't wait to read the nine pages submitted to Amazon's ABNA contest. Here is a book containing a plethora of subject matter near and dear to my heart; prophetic dreams, Hindu deities, astrological omens, African tribal beliefs and Jungian psychology and reincarnation. It was almost too much to ask for.

With such high hopes in place I must admit that I was extremely disappointed after reading the excerpt. Not because the writing is bad or the story uninteresting. To the contrary, both writing and storyline are excellent. The disappointment experienced was due to the discovery that none of those tantalizing spiritual/occult matters already mentioned were included within the available nine pages.

Moving beyond my initial dismay, I did enjoy this excerpt and look forward to reading the novel at some later date. The characters are well developed and I found Mira an intriguing, beautiful and incredibly sympathetic figure. To create such an alluring and complex character in a short nine pages is a credit to the author and makes the reader hungry for more pages to explore.

I own many editions of books written by Scott Kelby. They are easy to follow, and I've learned a lot.

From time to time you need a guide to edit your photograph, regardless how experience you are. This book allows you to achieve a professional result for an old black-and white photography, as well for color photography - just follow the instructions that are easy as 1,2,3.

Photoshop Elements 5 by Scott Kelby has some great features. First let me say I have only gotten to the third chapter before Amazon asked for a review.The "Good" is that this book is very easy to follow. Mr. Kelby has laid out the instructions so a first timer can easy follow them. Not only that, but he has created a web site where you can download the examples he uses in the book. This is fantastic and much appreciated touch!You do the corrections just as he does and learn by doing. The "Bad" is that it took me an hour to figure out how to download into "Elements" (my fault?...maybe I am 66 and may be slow on details).
The ugly is that some moves are either not explained in enough detail or Adobe has released several versions of Elements 5 w/ very small changes which don't correspond to the book.
What you really want to know, would I recommend this book? YES WHOLEHEARTEDLY!!!

This book is an excellent tool for an amateur digital photographer who is new to PhotoShop but willing to make the best use of it. It is a course that takes the reader step by step via all of the program's features and links them together in order to make them useful.
This book is worth it's price!

This book is so great. It's straightforward. It doesn't go into general Photoshop ideas - it's about specific things you want to do to your photos. It says "Sharpening" and has several things to do to sharpen your photos. Each method has clear and to the point directions. The author adds his two cents saying which method usually works better and other such things. The best part is that it's straightforward and easy to flip to any page if you want something done specifically - you don't have to go looking through paragraphs and paragraphs to find what you want. This method is great because you may flip through the book and find something new you may not have searched for or thought about before. It's great :)

What a wonderful title and an intriguing excerpt. I await the completed book to finally find out what happens. Ms Coulter's previous books never disappointed and I'm sure this newest one will be no exception. Please publish it soon. I look forward to a pleasant, relaxing day of reading Precarious.

I am moved by what I've read so far. I am already invested in this young man, and I want to know more, to know how the story progresses and ends.

In her opening words Ms. Coulter presents the reader with a blend of fact, remembrance, and family lore that form the memory of Marcus her protagonist. "He didn't know exactly where he was born. But he's been told..." Ms. Coulter does not tell us what is true and what is not, leaving her reader to reflect on the blurring of the past that confuses and confounds the universal human experience of searching for the truth of one's own life to understand it and perhaps gain some larger knowledge.

Ms. Coulter's prose is sparing. Cliantha, Marcus's mother, wears "a smart houndstooth suit...each piece $11.98 at the twelve-dollar store." This sharp recollection, as though retrieved from a dream, is telling. Like other descriptions it is brief and neat; the reader, however, sees it perfectly and feels that he is there.

The movement, at the end of the chapter, to the voice of the attorney is intriguing. The reader is left eager to continue, to turn the page, and follow the life of young Marcus now perhaps in some difficulty.

Precarious by H. Coulter introduces the story of Marcus and Eliza, first by bringing the reader up to date with Marcus.

Abandoned at birth, found by a stranger, then reclaimed by his mother, Marcus is set up for a life of uncertainty from minutes old. His path over the next few years is tied in with his child-like mother who's fantasy of a better existence for them isn't met with reality. By the time Marcus is nine-years-old he is in the 'system' surrounded by temporary siblings, care-takers, and case workers. His secret hope is that his mom is finally coming to get him (now that she's broken up with her latest boyfriend), but for the reader with any knowledge of those who end up in the foster system for a long term, they are often in for the long haul.

All of this early tale is told to us by Eliza Couvillion, we come to realize, as the excerpt wraps up with her brief introduction.

The characters presented are sympathetic and evoke sentiments of concern and pity. As the reader, I began to share in Marcus's cling to hope--hope that his life will at least improve with a twist of fate.

The writing is engaging and the story well paced. While it isn't necessarily the type of tale that would jump out at me to read, once I got going, I was interested in seeing how it played out.

Hope Coulter's excerpt, Precarious, is a rich and vivid beginning to what is no doubt an exceptional novel: with such a strong opening - an invitation to continue - how could it not be so. The images painted in these first few pages are captivating: the red plastic shopping cart at Target, "Swiggins" wig askew, the trip to the grocery store to browse for a meal when there wasn't enough money to buy one.... These are images I can see as if they'd happened in my own life, with depth and clarity, and in three dimensions.

But the sensory delights don't stop there: like a tune you find yourself humming as you drive down the road, I've got the sounds of Precarious speaking to me, reminding me there's lots more to read. The songs of Cliantha, with the percussion of her shoes as accompaniment, the cars speeding down the 'short' street, then what I know is a high-pitched, annoyed, jerky sound of reverse gears of impatient drivers foiled in a short-cut, the toilet that runs when you don't jiggle the handle.... I know these sounds, and they draw me further into the story. The voices are clear and right on target, "honey I look good," and the kids talking about the 'retard' bus, and the way the kids in the foster house talk to each other about waiting for the phone. The language is superb - I can hear this book and all its characters.

The smells and feelings Hope Coulter evokes are further evidence of a gifted southern storyteller in the finest tradition. Cliantha's perfume 'unspooling' through the rooms, the smell of coffee dripping in the morning, and the pangs of hunger Marcus struggles to cope with are deftly and delicately described.

So many images that keep popping up in my mind, making me wonder if I've forgotten something, only to realize that I've forgotten to read the rest of the novel. The tones of the voice of a familiar and rich storyteller call the reader back for more. Ms. Coulter's skill as a writer puts her readers at ease that she will spin this yarn in the finest fashion. And like the smell of coffee dripping in the morning awakens my appetite for a steaming cup and the day before me, my senses are stirred by Hope Coulter's delicious excerpt. I need answers to so many questions this taste provides. I very much hope this novel will be published soon.

EVERYONE can learn something from this book. Easy to read and understand too. Buy it!

If you have a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera and you want to learn how to take the camera out of "auto mode" and get great pictures, then this book (and its predecessor) is for you. If you don't know how to use that flower on the mode dial, this book can teach you. Even people with point-and-shoot digital cameras will find valuable tips throughout this book.

The Digital Photography Book Volume 2 by Scott Kelby is not an update of his previous work, but rather it starts where Volume 1 left off with a whole new set of topics. Written with Scott Kelby's dry sense of humor, the book explains how to use a flash, improve shots using the standard flash that comes with the camera, how to set up a digital photography studio, and how to get great shots. For example, if you want to learn how to take macro shots of a flower, rather than explaining depth of field and apertures, Kelby tells you the settings you need to adjust on your camera to get the shot; this is when to use that flower mode button on point-and-shoot cameras. This step-by-step formula is repeated in the section on how to take great travel photos "it won't be long before you friends are overcome with emotion (jealousy)," portraits, landscapes, macro shots and even how to shoot a wedding. However, once you've read that section, you might be more inclined to tell Cousin Jennifer that your camera is broken when asked to shoot her wedding. In addition, there are tips on using your camera's features to get better shots, and, like Volume 1, recipes for getting a particular shot. Each page shows a photo of a scene or the camera and a short explanation of how to achieve the desired shot. The book is written as if Kelby is standing next you giving you how-to tips.

Kelby is a professional photographer, designer, and podcast star. Volume 1 is the best selling digital photography book of all time. However, most digital photographers know Kelby for his work with Adobe Photoshop users. He teaches on-line photography and Photoshop classes, and he participates in photo walks and teaches at photo workshops in locations like Yosemite and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has an on-line blog and asked his loyal readers how to convince people to read the introduction to his book. He incorporated their suggestions and rewrote chapter 1 just prior to the book's publication.

The Digital Photography Book Volume 2 by Scott Kelby is an entertaining read for those for whom photography is a serious hobby or for wanna-be pros. It is well-written with easy-to-understand instructions. You can literally open the book to a particular page, grab your camera and go shoot a great scene. A word of warning, though, if you think all you need is a digital camera, a memory card and this book to achieve professional results! You will soon learn that to get the "good" shots like the pros, you need more camera accessories - like an external flash, remote shutter control, polarizing filter, a flash screen and of course, a tripod... and I could go on. Scott Kelby gives away the pro's secrets. With practice, an alarm clock (the best light is at dawn) and a few accessories, you can wow your friends and family with some amazing photographs. This book should be carried right alongside Volume 1 in your camera bag.

I purchased both Volumes 1 and 2 at the same time. Both of these books are great!! Volume 2 builds on the subjects listed in Volume 1, going into more detail about certain subjects like shooting for weddings, landscapes, etc. As I wrote in my review of Volume 1, I really like not having to wade through tons of theory to get to the meat of the subject. The book itself is very nice, with great example photos of each subject along with Scott's commentary, instructions, and advice. I also enjoy his brand of humor. Being able to get the type of photo I want, with minimal figuring out of things, frees me to take Scott's instructions and advice and go a step (or more) beyond, thus learning the theory itself. Think of this book (as well as Vol 1) as a sort of "learn a foreign language while on the plane" type of book. And don't scoff! You'd be surprised at what the brain retains during a plane flight.

I am new to digital photography and have found Scott Kelby's book invaluable. Easy to digest, fun to read and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning how to make the most of your camera's and your own capabilities.

This book presents a wide variety of topics for achieving the results you want from your digital camera, point & shoot or DSLR. It is in a "just in time learning" format and helps you get the best shots possible. A great companion to Volume 1!

Soul Communication by Zhi Gang Sha is a contradiction and an enigma. Based on one simple teaching - that everything has a soul and that all soul seeks to serve - it explains a core reality that Einstein was seeking to formulate, but does so in terms so simple that even a child can understand. Moreover, though completely unique, this book is eminently practical. A hundred years from now, when the skills it teaches - including Soul Language, Third Eye and Direct Knowing - have become more commonplace, "Soul Communication" will still be the revered classic. If you want a glimpse of the brightest new wave in the spiritual awareness that is sweeping the planet today, be sure to read this book. It is a profound gift to all humanity. Thank you, Master Sha.

Soul Communication is yet another treasure box of Master Sha. It reveals deep wisdom and tools how to connect heart to heart and soul to soul. For all those seeking for this incredible deep soul wisdom, in every book from Master Sha you will find it and receive so much more. The blessings in this book will support you and guide you safely on your own spiritual journey. It is another milestone to awaken humanity at this crucial point in time. Thank you, Master Sha, and all of those people who have worked on this book. You have blessed and nourished my personal spiritual growth.

Verena Myriam

Take time to develop a spiritual path-I recommend this book as well as FREE YOUR MIND by Sensei Anthony Stultz and BEING ZEN by Ezra Bayda.

You soul has been waiting to communicate with you. There is no limit to what answers you can receive. Dr. Sha's latest book is short, practical, simple, yet profound. Begin today! The only requirements are openness, humility, courtesy, and persistence. You soul will thank you forever!

While what I read seems very interesting, the reviews were pretty misleading, as they were all for the complete book, not for this short ebook that is basically a preview. It's one chapter, or part of one chapter of the complete book. This short does NOT give you the exact "how-to" of soul communication, but it does give you a sneak peek at what it's about for a fraction of the cost. Amazon really should keep separate reviews for the short and complete works.

Wow. Ok, you hooked me. What a great intro to the story. I can't wait until I can read the rest.... The only bad thing I can say is that I can't purchase the book!!!

When is this being published?

I liked this. It does remind me of something, but nothing put together like this. It's as if many things I have read are, maybe, going to show up somewhere along the way, but the author has put them together in such a way that this is also, all new. I would definitely read this book as it is just weird enough for me to find it quite interesting. He has put so many possibilities in front of the reader that anything can happen and would probably not sound absurd. At first, I thought it might be like "I am Legend", but it's not. Good for you, Edward, as I am now both tantalized and confused. I hope I get to see the finished product.

What fun! I enjoyed Mr. Aubry's writing style and wonderfully well thought out introduction of characters and story line. I want more!!
Tracy, PA

Static Mayhem by E. Aubry offers the tale of Harrison Cody, a survivor in some post-catastrophe world. Dinosaurs, dragons, performing pine trees, 'watching' sunflowers, tapes from the future, roads leading to nowhere, and all of this started just three months ago. This is a very 'readable' story that drew me in once I got over some early bumps.

In the initial scenes, as Harrison arrives at the exit ramp for Holyoke Mall, there is descriptive work regarding the parking garage, then the mall interior, including rampant flora. At this point I know nothing of Harrison's story, but it's clear that he wasn't inside the mall when those interior details were given. As I read through the excerpt it became clearer that he'd been doing all types of things over the prior three months (probably went into the mall too), but to give an interior scene shot without him actual inside was strange. It wasn't clear at that time whether this was a recollection of Harrison's or simply the author sharing info with the reader.

Other nit-pick: Harrison is wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt, but then pulls a sunglasses case from the breast pocket? Not that t-shirts can't have breast pockets, but this particular detail seemed mismatched.

Beyond these bumps, I simply found myself reading along. The writing is simple and clear. Most of the questions raised in my mind were planted by the author or shared with the character. I liked the demonstration of imagination with this amalgam of story elements.

Overall, I could easily see reading this straight through. The basics of good storytelling were present without the extra prosey fluff.

As one reviewer (a member of my local writers group) has already mentioned, Static Mayhem is the first of two completed books. This one builds the world and asks many questions, while chronicling Harrison's late coming-of-age and blossoming parenthood. The second book answers all those questions, and tells a much larger story than the rite of passage shown in the first. I don't know why I was reluctant to explain that in my summary when I submitted the manuscript. I can't help but wonder how my Publishers Weekly review would have read if the reviewer had known that the end of the book wasn't the end of the tale. Live and learn.

I would be remiss to discount the value of having heavily work-shopped this novel, both in a face-to-face writers group, and on TheNextBigWriter.com, a wonderful and diverse community of novelists, poets, and writers of every ilk. I recommend TNBW to any aspiring writer. The variety and depth of feedback available there are invaluable.

Regardless of what happens next, I'm thrilled to have made it this far. It's a boost, and a sign that Static is on the right track. And, as far as I'm concerned, what happens next is that Static Mayhem and its sequel have a future. If Penguin passes, they're both finished and work-shopped and ready to be published. An outside party has expressed interest in adapting the story as a screenplay, so it may go that route. Meanwhile, I'm working on my next book.

So, thank you all for dropping by to have a look. I'll try to make sure you don't have to wait too long to read the rest!

Edward Aubry

The cost of any book by Katrin Eismann is returned to the reader in value many, many times over. This book is everything the photoshop user needs to know about the sometimes daunting, but now made easy by Katrin, masking and compositing images. Now you can make those tough cut-outs of thin strands of hair against tough backgrounds that you used to run away from before.

Katrin is one of the best and this book continues that tradition!

It's a great book. It gives you a very wide knowlege of how to make masks,selections and compositions.It's easy written and you can download all pictures of the book from the internet.So you can try it yourself wright away.Katrin is a very inspiring person and she makes you very enthousiastic by telling her way of seeing things and the many ways you can make these things happen with photoshop.You really can't wait to start.I thought I knew photoshop but I learn so much more by reading this book and doing it at the same time.

I'm, a new/NOVICE Photoshop user, STARTED learning from SCOTT KELBY's books, which seemed to bring me UP to SPEED in no time. EXTREMELY happy. ** Thank you Scott

But then as I "ACQUIRED some KNOWLEDGE" in Photoshop, I started to have so MANY QUESTIONS, that's how and when I realized Scott Kelby's book is the HOW TO, but NOT the HOW TO "and also" the WHY is that !!

Putting the teaching of Jesus "seek and you will find" in broader/different perspective, I searched the Web and FOUND/BOUGHT ALL of KARIN EISMANN's books

Voluminous INFO/PROFESSIONAL knowledge were presented CLEARLY in ALL of her books. I've LEANRED so much from Katrin. ** Thank you Katrin

You will LEARN through EXAMPLES of different approaches/techniques/how-to, many CREATIVE IDEAS from DIFFERENT famous Artists about MASKING & COMPOSITING, NOT just from Katrin in this book

You will ENJOY the KNOWLEDGE presenting in this book
- REGARDLESS of your Photoshop LEVEL
- and EVEN IF just for your READING enjoyment alone (cause at some point, you have great doubt that you would want to "GO THAT FAR" to create just ONE compelling image, while Oprah's show is calling you daily !!.. Nope, Oprah is NOT my Master, Katrin IS)

In Introduction part, she had a note to EDUCATOR " I hope this book can HELP you TEACH Photoshop". This statement gave me CONFIDENCE while I DO HAVE the MASTER SECRET in my hand, and thinking Yesssss...until tomorrow !!

Katrin Eismann is an expert and she seeks to make you an expert in her book. It is a wealth of information. You'll learn how photoshop does some things and how you can make photoshop do some things that aren't evident in the commands and help files. I recommend reading the book then keeping it around as a reference to be used as situations or ideas arise.

Again, definitely for advanced beginner: Make sure you know your Scott Kelby basics first. Also make sure you like to read as there are a lot of details to digest. Author knows her subject well. Excellent information I learned a lot.