Characters Books

I am really privliged to be a part of this book as when it was in the makes I was requested by Joan to submit information from my kennel "Harbor Side Mastiffs". This fine collection was put togeather not long after we had a litter of 15 healthy strong pups (Clovite is amazing)that all lived, this was in Feb. of 87' and it was a pretty big deal in the Baltimore Area (the news coverage did a top notch story on channel 13 and was presented by the then anchor Jerry Turner-RIP).
This book has many great pictures and stories along with two of my daughters and their mastiffs. My youngest daughter is only 3 at at the time sitting out in a run with her puppy "Missy"...now she is in her last year of college. My daughter Helen is shown standing on a city street holding my stud dog "Chaucer" as I snap the picture. Now you see one of the reasons that I am crazy over this work. If possible get a copy as there will never be a more complete volume written on the Mastiff then this one.
"Enjoy" Joe Kopeck owner of "Harbor Side Mastiffs"

Please rerelease this book. It is a MUST have for ALL Mastiff lovers. Please Joan, Please.

This is a most excellent and comprehensive book that should be owned by all Mastiff enthusiasts! Don't miss it! The stories give you a glimpse into what Mastiffs are really like in a way that factual, descriptive books just don't do.

This is THE book about the best dogs in the world.
Of all the books on Mastiffs, this one best reveals the nature and specialness of these dogs. The heartfelt stories, the pictures, the tons of advice from experienced breeders and trainers.
Speaking frankly, it's a nightmare to try to find anything in it (it's hard to even find the table of contents!), but actually, that's a good thing because you end up wandering through it enjoying the wonderfulness of these dogs.
I thank my stars I was lucky enough to find a copy at a book store.

Having read other mastiff owner's coppies I want one for myself. I do not have 400.00 to buy one from an auction. It is a top quality reference book on the breed and to have only so few coppies in curculation is a shame.

I believe that this is one of the best books out on the market. I am a minister of the gospel and had issues hidden in my heart that needed to be dealt with and while reading this book, I was set free! I would recommend this book to all, male & female alike.

I was in the middle of a problem so much like the author when I found this book at the bookstore. I couldn't put it down. It ministered to me and helped to heal the hurt I was facing (and still am). To make it even better, the author really believes what she wrote. . . . I can't wait for her next book. If you want to heal the hurt inside, buy this book!!!

I bought this book recently, and I found it to be quite inspiring. Now, in relationships, it is real hard to let go of someone that you know is not in your best interests. But in this story, this lady did. She was also open and candid about the relationship, and offers tips and encouragement for others as well.Recommended for those in dead end relationships. Another thing: I really couldn't believe that minister. Some of these folks don't have no business being no minister or nothing. I just hope that he got help for whatever ailed him.

I felt that Patricia's story is the combination to the locked hearts of many. It was real and so is God's love for us. Only the LOVE of God can captivate and restore what once has been torn and ripped. I thank God for this story because it gives me the courage to be free.

Bless the giver and the receiver.

I read this book and at first, I must confess, I was a little sketical, but as I read on, oh my God! This precious author, Patricia Harris reveals herself that we may be healed. The Holy Spirit uses this book to minister to deep, dark, hidden hurts that we as women never want to talk about. If you want to be healed than read this book with an open heart. Write notes to yourself as things to mind, pray and God will do the rest. He will bring life to your dead situations and heal your broken heart!

"Inner Drives: How to Write and Create Characters Using the Eight Classic Centers of Motivation, " is a great course on human behavior applicable to creating vidid realistic characters with the personality to lead your story. It is adapted to screenwriting but is about story in practically any genre. Learn about your behavior while learning about character creation and his/her effective deployment throughout your story.

Inner Drives: How to Write and Create Characters Using the Eight Classic Centers of Motivation

Within a few minutes of reading Inner Drives, I intinctively knew it was going to give me unlimited potential to improve my process forever, both in acting and screenwriting. That was over a year ago and I still read and reread it everyday. An old soul trapped inside me has been set free to create the art I need to show the world. If you have a burning desire to contribute stories that inspire caring, sharing, and growth--BUT ARE LOST AND FRUSTRATED-- Inner Drives will give you an amazing base to start working from. Pamela Jaye Smith's perceptions are like food for the brain and she's tailored the learning process to allow any reader's process to thrive in the mix.
If you're an actor lost in finding a process that works for you, this book will hone your imagination razor sharp and rescue your passion for the craft. Acting classes stress the importance of homework but what does that mean? Where do you start? What is homework? Does creating character biographies seem like guesswork? Do you say your lines a million times in your room hoping for magic to pop out? If so, I urge you to read and reread Inner Drives. Use it like a workbook and watch what starts coming out. Centering your characters using the Chakras will open up a whole new creative world you did not know existed.
If you're a screenwriter who's stuck staring at a blank page, take some time out and start reading Inner Drives. Soak up the Chakras centres, swim in the duality of Sliding Scales, and play with the Pairs of Centres. Feed your imagination to find out what motivates your characters and how you need to test them. Pamela Jaye Smith gives you a map to find the hidden treasures in your storytelling. Mythological archytypes resonate deep within the human chord allowing rich characters, both flawed and fantastic, to show up on the page.

Sean O'Brian,
Actor, Screenwriter
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1694574/

Wow. This is a great screenwriting book -- but it's so much more. Not only does it give you a better understanding of character, but it gives you a better understanding of human nature!

Pamela Jaye Smith has written one of the most intelligent, thought-provoking, and in-depth explanations and explorations on the key motivational centers of human beings. You won't ust learn how to build better characters, you'll discover how to develop your own character. No kidding. This is not just a manual for better writing -- it's a manual for better living!

Buy it. Devour it. Apply it. And read it again...and again...

I don't understand why the consensus rating is 5/5. I found this book extremely wordy and it reads like a history book. If you want dozens of pages on the historical aspects of (insert your favorite chakra here), then this book is for you. If you want to see the same movies quoted and re-quoted over and over as examples of (insert your favorite chakra here), then this book is for you. If your idea of fun is combing through over one hundred pages dripping with hippy-isms looking for the "meat" you can use, then this book is for you. However, if you want a book that gives you a fair amount of background on a subject, fresh movie examples, and then leaves you with concrete ideas and examples of how to leverage the content matter to improve your characters and stories, then this book is not for you.

Notice how many times I repeat "this book is for you" and you'll get the idea of how this books reads. I am disappointed, especially given the 5/5 rating. It's more a 2/5 in my opinion, I got almost nothing useful out of it.

And I thought I knew about acting. You know nothing until you apply this book. You can forget the first two chapters. Go back and read them later for a "wow" crash course in philosophy. Just accept that the chakra system works as viable structure (and how) start at chapter three and apply to your craft. Ms. Smith knows her stuff. I get so excited with this stuff.

So many books on the acting craft never get down to the fact that you are an actor helping tell a story; a story that you tell with other people onstage and offstage. This book will show you you where you fit in to the ensemble and what you need to do so your character is true to life. Like Michael Shurtleff's "Audition," it takes a subjective art form, acting, and makes it objective. You get to view your work from outside yourself, and where to apply everything else you have learned. Not until now have I found anything that helped me do that. I have tried Inner Drives and am having a blast. You will be making choices that people will want to see and keep coming back to you for more. You will never read or act a script the same way again.

Plus, it's a damn good read about movies.

I discovered Penny Vincenzi earlier this year and like another reviewer, promptly ordered every one of her books. I've read about six of them so far. I'm rationing them, because when they've all been read, then what? Seriously, I love her storytelling ability. She's a marvelous writer who knows how to keep her audience spellbound. The Lytton family is fascinating and reading their colorful history has afforded me many hours of reading pleasure. Celia Lytton is one of the most interesting characters I've ever read, certainly one I won't easily forget. My only disappointment with the series is the way the third book ended. I simply didn't believe Charlie should be rewarded for his consistently bad behavior. I do hope Ms. Vincenzi will consider writing a follow-up to the series. She left a lot of threads hanging and it would be so satisfying to find out what happens to Jenna, Izzie, Nonie, Lucas, Adele and Jamie (do they get together?), even Cathy and Charlie. All in all, just a wonderful reading experience. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SERIES.

This was the third is the Lytton Family Trilogy of books..
A page turner, as were the first 2 !! So well researched and written.
If you love long family stories you will love these books.
Even the ending of this, the third was just right!
A great read!

I just finished Into Temptation, No. 3 in this superior trilogy, and can honestly say this trilogy is the best thing I've read since Gone With The Wind! I'm 70 years old, an avid reader of anything British and am so thankful I found this series before it was too late! Quick, grab the first volume of this series pronto and stay with it until the very last word on the very last page of the very last volume. You'll never regret it!

This was the best trilogy's I have ever read. I am sorry it's over now. I agree with all the other readers on how great these books were. I am also suprised most people have never heard of these books. I love the old English family saga's. I also loved Barbara Taylor Bradford's Woman of Substance.

This was the book I enjoyed most in the trilogy. It is interesting from the beginning to the end and I was very sorry when I came to the last page. It is one book that I will read again maybe next year.

Moe Prager, P. I. and wine shop owner, interesting, kind of like Sam Spade owning a gourmet cheese boutique or maybe Raymond Chandler a nice little French bakery.... But, Reed Coleman pulls it off and the James Deans won't disappoint even the most discriminating imbiber of classic P. I. Noir. Plus, I met Mr. Coleman on one of his tours and he's a nice guy. Buy this book!

An ex-cop turned successful wine merchant and sometime PI. A golden-haired politico wanting to be another "comeback-kid." An office intern who turned out to be a deadly researcher. These are the intriguing main characters in Reed Farrel Coleman's third Moe Prager mystery, The James Deans.

If you've got politicians in a story, then you know what the other elements will be--greed, betrayal, misuse of power, dishonesty, and in the wake of Monicagate and GaryCondit/Chandra Levy, sexual dallying will play a big part too.

Or will it? That's what's so intriguing about this specific mystery and the skill that author Reed Farrel Coleman brings to his stories--you think it's going to follow the path lead by headlines, then it veers off into uncharted territory, with roots laid deep and long ago. His style is lean and mean on one of its threads and spiraling with imagery on another. The combination makes his writing exciting and hard to forget.

The James Deans is a terrific page-turner, complicated with plenty of twists and made rich with believable, flawed characters. It's only a matter of time before Coleman and emerges from the pack and shines in the spotlight.

Moe is the refreshing antithesis of most characters being written today. He is a loving husband, father and brother, neither an alcoholic nor a drug user, but with secrets and burdens of his own. I still rave about "Walking the Perfect Square" as one of my favorite books. Coleman creates an environment that feels personal. But it's the writing that makes this book and series one I feel deserves attention and recognition. Highly recommended.

A pretty decent, fairly engaging mystery. The characters are pretty well fleshed out and the relationships, for the most part, are very believable and sympathetic.
The plot is a good mix of an old-fashioned Hammettesque detective story and modern day mystery.
My main problem is the observations, obviously from a post 9/11 perspective, of 1980's New York. I mean, come on, why would a 1983 detective be looking for the twin towers, thinking that "the skyline wouldn't look right without them?"
Over all, I enjoyed the characters enough to try another Moe Prager mystery. It's a decent, light read for a Saturday afternoon.

When he is cornered at an employee's wedding in 1983 New York, the last thing wine shop owner and private investigator Moe Prager is to work for a politician. A former cop who was forced on disability by a piece of carbon paper on a waxed floor, Moe has had enough of being manipulated and holds a secret that could destroy his marriage. However, a carrot and stick approach by the bride's father forces Moe into working for State Senator Steven Brightman and investigating the disappearance of his female intern in Reed Farrel Coleman's The James Deans (Plume)..

Moe soon makes headway into the case, but after coming to a conclusion that leaves everyone satisfied niggling doubts begin to force Moe into looking a little closer at a case that has been tidily resolved. Now, Moe must decide whether to open a can of worms that would leave the powerful and his own friends particularly unhappy with his actions. From the Senator down to the neighborhood bar owner, all are invested in the nicely wrapped package Moe has presented to the city. To continue investigating means that Moe risks sacrificing his career, his family, and his friends.

Moe Prager is a wonderfully down-to-earth detective who, although bored with his mundane life, would rather avoid a fight than wield his muscle. His love for his family makes him engagingly human, especially when he knows that a secret he shares with his father-in-law will one day explode and shatter his marriage (Walking the Perfect Square, 2001). Not overly bright but always quick with a quip yet never annoyingly so, it's his ethics and sense of honor that make Moe shine. Taking a turn at writing his version of the Chandra Levy/Gary Condit scandal, Coleman does an original twist with the plot as halfway through, just when you think the mystery has been solved, he boomerangs the story and leads Moe into making a decision that forces him to look deep into his soul and his sense of justice. While Coleman does make a few obvious references meant to give a wink and a nod to the present (a poetic look at the sturdy World Trade Center and jokes about a going-nowhere Arkansas Senator), he writes a riveting plot and creates a vivid portrait of eighties New York City. Always entertaining with a character who is never disappoints, Coleman continues a series that improves and expands on a truly unique character.

If you want a fresh look at Jesus, here's a great door! Readable, and great for a group study or personal reflection. CS Lewis comes to mind in a number of places. Great wisdom.

This book is never over your head yet doesn't lack substance in any way. This is something i would give to any Christian tired of a Jesus that only exists in stained glass and books.

Mike Erre challenges the "average Christian" to really take a look at JESUS and how He lived his life - against the grain, counter-cultural, and subversive - and then asks if we too will live in this same way. I certainly felt challenged and convicted. I liked the book's focus not on methods or checklists, but truly on Christ our Savior, and modeling the way we live after Him.

You can tell Mike knows his stuff - his writing demonstrates that; yet it is relevant and accesible to any reader. I highly recommend this book.

Mike Erre is a fantastic writer! His book is to the point, but very entertaining. I would recommend it to everyone!

The Jesus of Suburbia challenges the America church to become what Jesus intended: a fellowship of Christ-followers which redeems and transforms the culture around it, reaching out to others with the incredible love of God. Read this book to rediscover biblical Christianity.

The book I ordered was shipped very promptly and arrived in brand new condition. I will deffinately order from them again.

it's a v good book for children. Letters are big and characters are interesting.

Very cute book! My 2-year old son is a Kipper fan and he loves this book! Hopefully it will help us with learning the ABC's!

My 2 1/2 year old LOVES this book. She's a big Kipper fan, and this is such a great book - much requested at bed time. We love all of Mike Inkpen's work...

My son loves the Kipper videos. I think he might even like the the books more. He takes them everywhere.

This fine work was my introduction to Wendell Berry. I found it a moving experience to read it. Berry's portrayal of a rural way of life and its values serves as a doorway to a world we have largely lost. And in Jack Beechum we meet an ancient whose humanity and history live on beneath an often silent exterior. You will remember this one.

Reading The Memory of Old Jack is taking a journey through a man's life--the times he's proud of and the times he regrets but understands with a clarity that only comes from age. Soren Kierkegaard said that "life can only be understood backwards; the trouble is we have to live it forwards." Old Jack does this well and Berry manages to tell his story in a way that Old Jack's understanding brings understanding to our own life experiences.

Mr Berry is a writers writer. Eloquent without being pretentious. Brilliant without being inexcessable. He is Wes Jackson and Frederick Buechner at lunch over beans and Hoecake

Memories of a lifetime move into and out of the mind and soul of Jack Beechum, town patriarch and now-aged and retired Kentucky tobacco farmer who was born of, defined by and wedded to the richness and rewards of the toil and soil of his beloved farm. As in other Wendell Berry novels that I've read, Port William, KY is the setting for the same collage of personages who populate and flesh out these recollections of one man's successes and failures, joys and sorrows, hopes and regrets, with prose that embraces the poignant nuances of each reminiscence. Throughout, it's as if Old Jack's mind lights upon a loose, dangling thread of a past experience and, holding on and following it carefully, he wends his way back to the original whole-cloth of the event. Whether it is the poetry of the narrative, or the truth of universal insights, or the pervasiveness of gentleness and forbearance, this is literary soul food. There's nothing maudlin here, however, as these are remembrances of a pretty vigorous and rough-hewn guy, grown old but not soft. But, by gosh, this IS beautiful down-home style stuff.

For Berry readers, this will come as no surprise, but this is a phenomenal book. I love the simple elegance of the prose, and the import is incredible.

Beautiful, beautiful book.

This book provides an excellent step by step approach to the rewrite process. No matter how good your script is, this will improve it or confirm that it is as good as you think it is.

I began studying screenwriting by taking Robert McKee's Story course back in '04. While it was a good introduction to the craft generally (maybe "academically" is a better word), Paul Chitlik's course in the UCLA extension program really got me started on the road to becoming a professional. Paul goes straight to the heart of the process from the very first session of class, and holds a true line to the end. I was fortunate to be a runner up in the UCLA Screenwriting Contest in 2007 with a story I wrote for his course, and did well in a few other contests, including Nicholl. Had I turned in the draft I've written recently using "Rewrite," I think I would have had a better shot at winning. If you want to be a screenwriter, and have a good story in you, Paul can help you get it on those hundred odd blank pages, and make it great in later drafts. Take his course. He's the guy.

The title of this book is "Rewrite" but save yourself a lot of work and read this book BEFORE you start your next script.

Paul Chitlik is an amazing instructor at UCLA (under his tutelage, my second screenplay ever went on to win the prestigious UCLA Professional Screenwriting Contest) and he has distilled his teachings into this concise yet comprehensive book.

This book is a "must have" for any screenwriter. I have a feeling that I'll be rereading it every time I finish a rough draft.

Rewrite covers everything you need to know about making your idea into a screenplay that somebody will want to buy.

You know the stakes have to be high, the scenes have to have a point, the protagonist needs to have a goal...but this book tells you HOW to do that, and also what to cut, step-by-step through the structure that you cannot afford to mess with.

Mentor is the perfect word to describe Paul Chitlik. He knows exactly how to explain what makes a screenplay successful. This book is a must-read, not only after your first draft is done, but during the development of your idea. Making your idea better and stronger before you start writing is like tuning up your car before you take a long trip.

Don't chance a breakdown! Read this book and make your story work before you write your first scene.

As a screenwriter and a professional editor and writing coach, I highly recommend this book. It has already helped me personally in a quick turnaround re-write I needed to do. The book provides clear guidance while not prescribing formulaic cliches. The examples are excellent and the information invaluable. Chiltlik strikes a balanced tone of the work required in rewriting and the humor required in getting oneself to do the work. A true gem of a book.

Co-written by an emergency room medical Doctor and his wife based in Southwest Missouri this book takes the subject of medical drama and adds a Christian perspective to it. I haven't read much of the book (my mother had it and I've bought a copy as a gift)but I see that the author's mention a real hospital or two in southwest Missouri as well as a couple of real towns (I don't think there is really a Knoll but there is a town called Noel).
I'm curious as to which real hospital the Doctor works at, it would be interesting to know if the difficult patient/ Doctor plots are in any way based in reality. I think the Christian faith is a constant theme throughout but it is handled well, no fraud ministers, not pushy in display of faith.

Hannah Alexander's "Sacred Trust" introduces us to Dr. Lucas Bower, a Christian doctor who is trying to start over in the small town of Knolls, Missouri in the Ozarks. He runs into problems however, as a envious doctor named Jarvis George has it in for Dr. Bower, and tries very hard to have him fired. Dr. George is a good example of what envy can do to a person. Dr. Bower also makes a few other powerful enemies by doing what he knows is right, including the drug seeking son of a prominent attorney. Dr. Bower is helped out by a sympathetic administor, and another doctor named Mercy Richmond, who is trying to get her daughter back from her alcoholic ex-husband who is also abusive. Alexander makes sure that we don't feel preached at, and Christians are portrayed realisticly, as Ivy and Dr. Bower vehementlyu disagree on the DNR issue, but share the same evangelistic belief. Very good fiction with little weakness.

This was my first read of a book by Hannah Alexander. I read a lot of Christian fiction and am often disappointed in a book's slow beginning. Not this book!! I was immediately taken in by the characters and their lives. All characters were believable and the dialouge was fantastic. I love reading good books...I got so caught up in this one, that I read it in just a couple of days. Then I was frustrated because it was over and I didn't have the next in the series.

I have found a new favorite in this writing team of Hannah Alexander and am anxious for the next in the series "Solemn Oath" to arrive in the mail.

I loved this book.

The characters are wonderful and will live in your heart long after you put the book down. Read the other two books in this series, too, which are equally as good.

I enjoyed the very human qualities of the characters -- they were vulnerable yet all had strengths sometimes they didn't even know they had. Even the Christian characters weren't perfect, but true-to-life, especially Dr. Bower whose endearing mishaps only added to the strength of his character.

Sometimes the middle section of a book sags, but that wasn't true with this book. It started out interesting and remained so throughout.

The one disappointment in the end is not knowing what becomes of Lukas's relationship with Mercy. You have to read the other two books to find out!

A thoroughly satisifying book with a strong (though not intrusive) spiritual message.

I read a lot of Christian books, but most of them are non-fiction. I'm very selective about the fiction I read - there's just not enough time to read all the good stuff out there! I used to enjoy reading Robin Cook's medical suspense books, so I was glad to see this series of three medical/suspense Christian novels.

This is the first of a series - the second is Solemn Oath and last is Silent Pledge. Reading them in order is highly recommended!

This wonderful series is centered around a small-town hospital emergency room in Missouri.

The medical parts ring true for a good reason - Hannah Alexander is a pen name for a husband/wife writing team and the husband is an ER physician! These books will appeal to both men and women, and contain suspense, drama, a little romance and a lot of inspiration. I became very attached to the characters of Lukas, Mercy, Clarence, Ivy, and many more. The story also paints a wonderful picture of God's forgiveness and grace in the character of Theodore and others' responses to him.

The only downside to these books is that there are only 3 of them and I've read them all...

Happy reading!