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I loved this book! The characters are engaging and charming. The love story unfolds subtly at first but becomes very involving as the story comes to its climax. I find myself thinking about the characters and wishing I could peek in at them again. I'm buying copies for my sisters and some friends. It's a great summer read!! Don't miss it!

First take on Miranda Blue is a fun, breezy read with clever patter and quirky characters--not unlike a 1940's Cukor movie. Think Myrna Loy meets Melvyn Douglas out on the range. But within the Girl meets Boy, Girl Disses Boy, Girl Seeks Boy plot are some intriguing musings about the fundamentals. About escape and withdrawal, about ambivalance and bluster, and about the courage of becoming a grown up. Miranda is a sharp, smart, compelling charmer--who despite having more edge than a badlands butte has lived a largely passive life. Not that she hasn't been places and experienced things. But she is someone to whom things happen, the proximally worst being beaten by a thuggish boyfriend. To stop any more things from happening, Miranda retreats to the middle of nowhere Osnip, CO. And soon she finds herself with a suitor, in the form of her similarly smart, edgy, emotionally wounded and otherwise reclusive neighbor. This is familiar ground for Miranda--she's been found, she's being pursued, and she can both outwardly disdain and inwardly enjoy the more-than-neighborly interest that is routinely on her doorstep. This is an admittedly lean social-, not to say romantic, diet Miranda is on (interesting that her seeker is a gifted farmer, who attempts to woo her with food). And for a while the kabuki between Miranda and Billy (the farmer with flare) creates the teasing tension of all charged romances. But Billy knows he wants more, and dares to break through the banter barrier. (No small feat for a guy whose favored read is the Maltese Falcon, in which the hero recruits reason and rules to overcome his attraction to a homicidal hottie). Yet despite Billy's declarations, Miranda continues to balk, until at some point the anesethesia of her social isolation is no longer enough. The question is, is Miranda willing to assume the active tense? Is it enough for her to wait for a second chance, or will she instead make things happen? Get the book and find out. You may be gently surprised at who that blue girl resembles.

Miranda Blue, as quirky and engaging as her name suggests, spends her days as a telephone companion to the elderly and infirm. She keeps the details of each client on a series of index cards and knows the cares, concerns and interests of each one, providing them with friendship and intellectual stimulation while struggling valiantly to keep the details of her own personal life private. It's a job, and so much more, for which Miranda is perfectly suited. She cares about her clients and makes it a point to be there for them. It's also a business that allows her to be her own boss and live in the middle of nowhere.

Now why, you might ask, would a young, attractive woman choose to remove herself from society and reside in the small Colorado town of Otnip (yeah, it's Pinto spelled backwards) away from all human contact except that which she has with her clients? Perhaps to escape from a know-it-all sister or recover from a string of failed relationships with bad boys, the most recent of which culminated in physical abuse. The thing is, while Miranda Blue is trying to get away from it all, her only neighbor, a sexy, single greenhouse farmer, is busy trying to get close to her.

Billy --- a widower, grower of hydroponic tomatoes, teacher of meditation and keeper of fish --- has made a poor first impression on Miranda but a great impression on her dogs. Along with perpetuating his bad boy image by telling her that he grows marijuana, he has the misfortune to be hauled off by the police in front of Miranda's wide and wondering eyes. That's enough for her! No matter that he's the most interesting, attractive (and irritating) man she's seen in a while --- her resolution stands. No more bad boys!

Billy is not taking no for an answer, though, and he'll do whatever it takes to get close to the intriguing and enchanting Miranda --- even if he has to resort to spying on her with a telescope, where he sees more than he intended, insinuating himself into her life and even using her dogs to get closer to her. When a woman like Miranda comes along, a man like Billy will do what it takes to win her heart.

You'll enjoy getting to know Miranda and Billy and find yourself rooting for love to win out in the end as you turn the pages of MIRANDA BLUE CALLING. Michelle Curry Wright --- a native of Seattle, Washington and a current resident of Telluride, Colorado, where she lives with her husband Gary and daughter Celine --- brings us an agreeable cast of characters, a quirky heroine and a charming story of the irresistible power of love.

--- Reviewed by Amie Taylor

Six years as a Broadway icon for failure makes Miranda Blue wonder if she should leave Manhattan for her home town of San Francisco or her childhood vacation spot in Colorado. Her sister just back from India adds to Miranda's need to look within, but somewhere else. She realizes she has failed with men and failed with everything except the city transit system to include the ferry. Since San Francisco feels like the west coast equivalent of where she is now, Miranda decides to go rural, vowing no men as she relocates to Otnip, Colorado.

Knowing she has a gift of gab, Miranda starts a telecommunication service for senior citizens. Her neighbor, Billy Steadman is a hunk, but his garden house efforts to reach her are rejected by Miranda who adheres to her no male pledge. Billy tries to get to her heart through her dogs and she cannot help but feed his fish. As the temptation of Billy rises, Miranda decides to ignore her resolution and take the plunge, but alas he has a secret and soon leaves without word ending their relationship before it can forge into anything permanent.

MIRANDA BLUE CALLING is an engaging chick lit tale starring a delightful protagonist whose wit and observations keep the tale focused. Miranda is a terrific lead character while the somewhat enigmatic Bill is a steady counterbalance trying to break down her resistance using every trick in the book especially her canines and his fish. Fans of insightful character studies will want to call Miranda Blue as she struggles to do what is right for herself.

Harriet Klausner

Miranda Blue is a book I picked out thinking it would be humorous and light, and up to a point I was not disappointed - well possibly for the first chapter. Instead I found that our heroine is a woman, like a lot of us, who have a tendency in falling for the wrong man. Finally, after expressing the wrong sentiment in trying to break off a relationship, she's left both physically beaten and emotionally battered. She then decides to take off to a remote spot in Otnip, Colorado where she has promised herself a moratorium on any involvement with the male species. Starting up a business she could operate from home-- calling and checking on the elderly and homebound -- Miranda has successfully secluded herself with only one neighbor to contend with. Unfortunately that one neighbor, Billy Steadman, just happens to be a handsome devil with a charming way about him. Billy himself had chosen to isolate himself, after his loving wife had died nine years earlier. Now, after seeing Miranda, Billy was ready to reenter the world of the living, only Miranda was doing her best at keeping him out.

Thinking originally that this would be more of a humorous chick-lit type, I was treated to a more poignant and thoughtful tale. Miranda, was a wounded soul, very cautious after failing at relationships with men. Over the phone, she could be more open, yet she still hid and held herself back. It took the combined efforts of some of her elderly clients and friends of Billy to finally bridge over the misconceptions that both held of one anther as they slowly (ever so slowly) came together. While I did find this an interesting and original plot - it's lack of action made it a much slower read than I would like. The originality of Miranda's business - touching base with the elderly - I found quite admirable though, so for those looking for something a little bit more original than the norm would enjoy this. --- Marilyn, Official Reviewer for www.historicalromancewriters.com ---

I have to be honest with you. I really struggled to figure out just what to make of "Not Just The Levees Broke". After all, Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is not a writer by trade and as she predicted a number of times in the book her salty language was indeed a bit of a turn-off for me. Nevertheless, after much thought and soul searching I have come to the conclusion that the country really does need to hear from more average folk like Phyllis if we are ever to begin to solve the myriad problems that we are facing in this nation. "Not Just The Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina" is a riveting first person account of one person's monumental struggle for survival in the aftermath of one of the greatest natural disasters in American history. It is compelling reading.
Although she alway enjoyed writing a little poetry I doubt that Phyllis Montana-Leblanc ever imagined that one day she would write and publish a book. This incredible opportunity came along after Phyllis was interviewed for Spike Lee's documentary film "When The Levees Broke". Spike Lee was extremely impressed with what Phyllis had to say and the way she was able to say it. It was apparent to Lee that Phyllis was "the dominent voice in the piece". Well one thing led to another and before long the chance to do a book came along. And Phyllis made the most of her once in a lifetime opportunity. Now I will have to admit that some of Phyllis' choicest language was entirely justified. Her graphic descriptions of her immediate surroundings in the aftermath of the storm seem entirely justified. There is simply no polite way to describe a scene where water polluted with oil, garbage, debris and human excrement is flooding your home. I could not have imagined how bad things really were in the City of New Orleans during those dark days but Phyllis Montana-Leblanc succeeds in making it all abundantly clear. Phyllis also decries what she considers to be the woefully inadequate response of government at all levels to this dreadful situation.
After finishing "Not Just The Levees Broke" I came to this conclusion. Author Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is a person who loves her city, loves her country, loves her family and loves her God. She is definitely a person who has something to say and without Hurricane Katrina we would have never heard from her. All of this makes me wonder if it would be not be great idea to offer more so-called "average" Americans the opportunity to write a book. I suspect there are lots of talented writers out there who do something else for a living that would just love to do this. There is obviously no shortage of books out there by the cultural elite. Perhaps some publisher would consider an "Ordinary Americans" series. At the end of the day I found "Not Just The Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina" to be well worth my time. It is unlike any book that I have ever read before. Kudos to Phyllis Montana-Leblanc for a job well done! Recommended.

Here is a true American hero. She survived one of the biggest tragedies of the modern age and carried herself forward through the aftermath to dazzle us all with her wit, her charm, her intelligence - and the beautiful, selfless example of her spirit of forgiveness.

The example Montana-LeBlanc sets is gift to all of us. Would that I could live up to her example in the face of adversity... She is a model of positive and constructive energy that every parent can hold up to their children as a lesson in resilience and good.

NOLA has a special place in my heart and I swear to this day I won't go back because of how Katrina all went down. When I saw Phyllis Montana Leblanc on Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke" I knew there was something about this woman. She spoke with power and the pain of someone who survived a great ordeal. And she didn't mind expressing herself with a curse word or two, which reinforces the BS the survivors went through.

I heard about the book when she was being interviewed on the Tom Joyner show. I rushed out and got it. Let me tell you, this book takes you where the TV did not. I can't imagine how they did made it. Sticking around vs. leaving town. Taking the chance to go out beyond their "safe haven" through murky waters. Going from place to place until they ended up in San Antonio. Going for a week in the clothes on their backs and no baths.

Phyllis Montana Leblanc is no seasoned writer, nor did the editor correct every pargraph or sentence. I don't think that is what this book is about or meant to be presented as. Keep in mind this is her personal account, just as if you were reading her journal or sitting out on the porch listening to her tell it to you - minute by minute. I finished the book on a lazy afternoon, it's only a couple hundred pages but makes you feel like you endured the entire week.

This is how author closes the last chapter of her story. It made me laugh. It is one of the few things to laugh about in this book.

If you have ever wanted to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with a survivor of the Katrina disaster, then this is the book for you. The author and her husband did what they felt they needed to do in order to prepare for the storm. They had their cell phones fully charged; filled their tubs with water; cooked plenty of food which they sealed in ziplock bags; set aside water, and secured the windows. But when the roof started to fall in, and they had to make an emergency evacuation, they were forced to leave these things behind and become what the television pundits called "refugees". What happened next makes for a gripping first hand account of their struggle to survive not just during the storm but during the aftermath.

Something she says in her book sums it up: "To say that Hurricane Katrina traumatized me would be a flat-out lie. I was traumatized by being left behind for so long without my family. We were left to die."

This was a hard book to rate. While the author's story is worthy of 5 stars, the presentation, as the Newsweek reviewer noted, is raw. It is unpolished, tends to ramble and could have used better editing. I'd rate it 3 stars. So I averaged the two out and gave it 4 stars.

At times a painful story to read, I learned a lot by doing so. I wish the author and her family the best, as I wish the best for others who also suffered through Katrina.

i watched and followed the whole katrina storm, have family and friends who dealt with it and the whole aftermath, but when you read this book you getr a up close and direct day by day account of just what went down and the many obstacles faced during and after it's devasting effect on all people involved.Phyllis Montana Leblanc pulls no punches and speaks on her and Her Husbands situation through this brutal and unfair storm. it forever changed lives. this is a powerful must read Book ASAP and a reminder of natural disasters and how to be prepared for and what to do. very detailed and a strong,strong book.

I quite enjoyed this book. In a world where we are six degrees separate from anybody else, it seems that Aleister Crowley had first and second hand experience of pretty well everybody who was moving and shaking both world wars! In a world that is saturated with speculation and axes to grind on the Crowley Conundrum, Mr. Spence has done an amazing job of connecting the dots - albeit largely 'created' out of possibility and probability. It is not his fault of course, by his own account he does, "rely more on circumstantial evidence and informed speculation" than he would like, due to the tampering, withholding and loss of established records.

While I applaud his attempts to release Crowley from the sensationalist, satanic shadows that many of his biographers have cast him in, I find it a bit rich, in a book like this, that he condemn another writer's interpretation of 'the facts' as "pure fantasy", for example:

"(Amado Crowley's claim that the Beast used this 1897 sojourn to meet with the later-to-be-notorious Grigori Rasputin is pure fantasy. Rasputin was then busy siring in far-off Siberia." In a time where people are highly mobile between Europe and the U.S. Tibet and China, is it all that inconceivable that Rasputin could not take time off from fathering children to visit Crowley in St. Petersburg? Spence then goes on to quote from Amado Crowley's Secrets when it suits him as he also chooses to do so from sources as wide as yahoo.com message.

I think this book is a valuable compendium to weigh up what has already been written about Crowley, and it makes you wonder how some arrive at the conclusions they do - but the question still has to be asked, 'how objective' even is a 'researcher' from their own biases, even taking into account the valiant effort from such limited resources?

this particular book is full of facts and backed by evidence. the man does his research!!

What a ride! The book takes you throught the life of Aleister Crowley, from early years to death and his connections with MI5 and MI6. Seemingly he was an agent of the Crown for his entire life. A laundry list of names are provided and each chapter is followed up with lists of references and footnotes.Check this out if you like Crowley and or real spy stuff!

Enhanced with a handful of black-and-white photographs, Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult is a biography of Aleister Crowley, the founding father of modern-day occultism. Several other biographies have attempted to capture his life and personality; none of them have taken the in-depth look at his career as a British Intelligence agent that Secret Agent 666 has. Drawing upon documents garnered from British, American, French, and Italian archives, Secret Agent 666 reveals that Crowley played a role in the sinking of the Lusitania, a plan to overthrow the Spanish government, countermeasures against Irish and Indian nationalist conspiracies, and the 1941 flight of Rudolf Hess. Portraying Crowley as a patriotic Englishman who survived public vilification partly to conceal his purpose as a secret agent, Secret Agent 666 is a one-of-a-kind portrait, and worthy inclusion to shelves chronicling the history of occult practices.

culled from disparate sources of Anglo-American gov. files, obscure books and articles in various languages (English, French, Russian, Italian, German). Despite obvious double-dealings in intel related issues, throughout the book the author emphasizes Aleister Crowley's unwavering patriotism and subservience to the Crown as apparent from the horse's mouth, the Beast's heavily-edited "Confessions" quoted on page 10: "I still think the English pot as black as the German kettle, and I am still willing to die in defense of that pot. Mine is the loyalty of Bill Syke's dog ... the fact that he starves me and beats me doesn't alter the fact that I am his dog, and I love him."
In all likelihood (chapter 1) his first brush with the Admirality's Naval Intelligence Division (NID), or with its previous incarnation, came while at Trinity College in Cambridge, which led to his first travel to Tsarist Russia in 1897, an assignment to infiltrate neo-Jacobites and the Golden Dawn society (HOGD), and tangential involvement in a failed coup attempt in Spain (1899). It was also during this time that on the advice of A.E. Waite "he did latch onto Karl von Eckartshausen's {who studied at the Jesuit University of Ingolstadt under the infamous Adam Weishaupt} allegorical work as further evidence of a Secret Church and a "hidden community of saints" guided by mysterious, illuminated adepts." (p. 22)
The early-1900s (ch. 2) find A.C. mountaineering in the Himalayas, reconnoitering French clout and role in the opium trade while on a field trip in Yunnan, and paying a second visit to Russia as director of a dance troupe billed 'Ragged Rag-Time Girls'. In the same era he also began experimenting with peyote/mescaline during his Mexican sojourn whose primary objective was to gather info on the local state of affairs in the oil business. Later on "{t}he Beast routinely administered mescaline and other drugs {for instance, at his version of the Rites of Eleusis) to willing and unsuspecting subjects (spicy curries were a favourite means) methodically cataloging the results." (p. 108) The outcome entitled "Liber CMXXXIV, The Cactus" disappeared after WWI -- for on whose desk the said journals might have landed, thumb to p. 234. Crowley's first encounter with the founder of Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), Thedor Reuss in 1910, and through him with the Kaiser's intelligence apparatus and initiation into that fraternity 2 years later in Berlin, "occured soon after a major reorganization of British intelligence specifically designed to counter growing German menace." (p. 42)
The bulk of the present study (ch. 3-10) investigates the Beast's exploits in the U.S. (31 October, 1914 - mid-December, 1919) that included feeding disinfo under the guise of pro-German propagandist in the columns of such weekly newspapers as "The Fatherland", spying on Indian seditionists and militant Irish republicans, thwarting German-inspired sabotage and subversion on the West Coast (p. 102), rubbing elbows with anarchists like Emma Goldman and her lover and comrade-in-arms Alexander Berkman, etc.; all the while the Mage's seasonal magickal retreats could serve as cover for surveillance missions. The author takes no sides as to the veracity of contradicting scenarios surrounding the sinking of Lusitania, only notes that "a contributing factor to the loss of the cruisers was a common engineering failure -- longitudinal bulkheads that allowed water to flood the length of the ship. The coal stored there made sealing them quickly impossible." (p. 85) As for Crowley's role in the matter he says the Beast "boasted of having "proved that the Lusitania was a man-of-war" in a piece for The Fatherland published after the sinking." (p. 82) His key contacts among the Germans were George Sylvester Viereck (himself a possible multiple agent) and writer, occultist Hans Heinz Ewers. Fascination with black arts and homosexuality constituted a common denominator for all three. "The occult angle might explain why the Germans have found this phony Irishman and affected fruitcake credible." (p. ?) Further below, however, we read: "For the Germans, as for the British, the crucial question about Crowley was not whether he could be trusted, but whether he could be useful." (p. 206)
Besides putting his doctrines into practice at the Abbey of Thelema, the years spent in Sicily - while commuting between Italy, France, England - afforded uncle Crowley the opportunity to keep a tab on French and Italian naval movements concerning Tunisia and Syria at the behest of his 'beloved' country. As a curious episode, circumstantial speculation indicates A.C. may have been instrumental in the foiled assassination attempt on Mussolini in 1927. "{I}t seems possible that {Theosophist Violet} Gibson was acting on post-hypnotic suggestion, and Crowley, in league with {Giovanni A. Colonna, Duca di} Cesaro may have had a hand in preparing her." (p. 189) Back in England, he reunited with a handful of acquaintances he had met in America, including Jewish financier Otto Kahn, who replaced fellow Jew Jacob Schiff after the latter's death at the helm of Kuhn, Loeb and Co., Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) man William Wiseman, and Jack-of-all-trades Sidney Reilly (Sigmund Rosenblum). "{T}he suspicion was that Reilly and Wiseman, as agents for New York bankers, were working against British interest, perhaps channeling money to cash-hungry Soviets and bankrolling political unrest from India to Italy. Was Kahn eyeing the Beast for some part in this, or was the "reform element" {in British intel} using Crowley to probe the Kahn-Wiseman circle?" (p. 186) This links up with another long-time Crowley 'friend' and controller Everard Feilding, who "worked closely with NILI spy ring of Zionist Jews working for Britain against the Turks. The NILI group had political allies and financial connections to the same Zionist circles in New York that were working closely with Wiseman and Section V." (p. 144) In fact, as master trickster the Mage had special knack for touting his own brand of magick, Thelema as a commodity for sale to various genocidal movements/regimes. Not long after the victory of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, in a letter to Trotsky (Lev Bronstein) the Beast offered his "help in ridding the Earth of the scourge of Christianity {...} Everything in Crowley's modus operandi suggests his display of radical sympathies was a new twist on his old game: agent provocateur." (pp. 148-9, see also p. 195) He even painted a picture dubbed 'Young Bolshevik Girl with a Wart Looking at Trotsky' (p. 165). Given Thelema's ties to Qabalah, no wonder that "in 1922 he proposed a convenient means for Jews to regain their true will and destiny -- the adoption of Thelema as the foundation of new Israel." (p. 166) As for the Nazis, "around the same time Crowley was reaching out to Hitler {"in a 1933 article for the Sunday Dispatch" where he had asserted that "before Hitler was, I am"}, he also was courting Joseph Stalin" via his admirer and disciple, journalist Walter Duranty, perhaps with the aim to neutralize the Red Menace (pp. 212-3). There is no evidence that any of the recipients took the bait.
The rest of the book (ch. 13-4) focuses, among other things, on Crowley's connections to people of importance in the Weimar republic and the Third Reich. Chief among them were Karl Germer of OTO, General Erich Ludendorff, old pals like Kurt Jahnke and George Viereck. Jahnke worked under Deputy Führer and Hitler's fraternal lover Rudolf Hess in a special intelligence bureau called 'Abteilung Pfeffer', whose mission was "the strengthening of Anglo-German relations by a mutual, unfettered exchange of views." (p. 245) Or preparing the ground for WWII? After the slaughterhouse went operational in 1939, at the British end we find Crowley being an advisor to a group that targeted propaganda to lure Hess into Britain and which gravitated around Admiral John Godfrey of NID, Ian Fleming (case officer assigned to the Beast), Dennis Wheatley, and astrologer Louis de Wohl. Outlandish as may seem, Richard Spence doesn't discard the notion out of hand that A.C. had somehow (through pyscho-mystical-ritualistic means rather than some early form of EMF gadgetry, we ask) 'implanted' a dream in Hess's mind where the fellow found himself in Buckingham Palace received by the King (pp. 247-8). Hmm. Nor is the author dismissive about the idea the ageing Mage could interrogate the captured occultist Deputy Führer (or his body-double, we might add), utilizing his battle-tested psychotropic armamentarium. Be as it may, for further details and scores of topics left untouched in this modest review, buy a copy or two!

P.S. Have y'all read the musing that came out on April's Fool's Day 2006 and the concomitant brainstorming available on the net concerning the plausibility of the Beast having fathered Barbara Bush?

This small book opened my eyes to the complexity of selling services to the senior market. Its contents prevented me from wasting time on researching services that I was considering offering. It helped me when I spoke with my insurance agent. Worth the money!!

I offer this book to my girl freind and it was what she really wanted. She said it's a excelent book for who wants to start a senir business.

Sponsored by Entrepreneur Magazine, Start Your Own Senior Services Business: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Success is a no-nonsense source of ideas and practical strategies for getting a potentially lucrative business up and running, especially in the modern era of aging baby boomers. In addition to general advice for serving seniors, running a senior care service and developing one's plan, chapters look in-depth at operating an adult day-care service, relocation service, home care and home health-care service, concierge service, transportation service, and travel service. The final portion of Start Your Own Senior Services Business is packed heavily with tips, tricks, techniques, and vital tidbits for everything from how to set up a dependable team to financial matters to when things go wrong. Perhaps the most valuable piece of advice is the warning not to take every job offered, especially not ones that are beyond one's technical skills or expertise - better to refer those to another, who may well return the favor in the future. Highly recommended for anyone considering setting up in the field.

I felt that this book contained valuable basic information that would get you on the road to starting a senior services business. This book gave a number of ideas; such as daycare, concierge, and relocation services, and explained them in detail.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to gain a basic understanding of the types of senior-oriented businesses and what is entailed when trying to start one up.

The book was full of a lot of good senior business ideas. However it was kind of vague on the (how-to) business information.

There is nothing like a cute idea that involves woodland creatures, kids, and outer space aliens. I was blown away by the sheer creativity of an alien mind that possesses the body of a skunk--and then gets two dorky kids to assist him.

Really, it's not dorky. It's clever, funny, and surprisingly poignant. Great for kids.

My son and I are so enjoying this book. An alien crashes on earth and must take over the body of a skunk - is too funny

My son and I just finished both of the Stinker books and enjoyed them both very much. They are a fast read so if you have a child who is a reluctant reader he may like these books. There are several funny parts. We only wish there was a third so we could find out what happens to the kids when they meet the "High Gyrn of Twak".

If you like skunks, you will love Stinker from Space. The characters were very daring and interesting. At first, it was hard for me to believe that an alien skunk could have so many adventures, but once I was finished reading the book, it seemed like there was nothing unusual at all about it. I liked the suspense and excitement throughout the whole book, because I like books that always have something happening in them. This book was well-written, and also original, because it's not every day that you read a book about a skunk from outer space and its life on Earth. It is a wonderful book and great reading experience.

The space shuttle is an everyday event here in florida but for Karen and Jonathan in the midwest it is a real event. Tsynk-Yr, a alien who unfortunately crashes in their town and the first being he finds to transport into is a skunk causes real problems for them- helping him get back. This is a fun story for the elementary age and the sequel is just as good.

My wife and I followed the program in this insightful book and were able to get back to the feelings we had when we first married. In fact, we are now in a better state than when we first married fourteen years ago!

I whole heartedly recommend this book to you to learn, in an interesting and funny way, how to get much more satisfaction out of your marriage or any other relationship.

A well-written, concise help-manual designed for couples to improve their communication skills. The workbook is light-hearted yet packed with helpful hints, exercises and is easily integrated into any communication or marital enrichment seminar. Recommended reading the the marriage and family therapist!

This workbook is a MUST for all married couples, and can teach anyone good skills of communication, listening, acceptance, and encouragement, which will benefit any inter-personal relationship. Without expensive counseling, couples in marital conflict will find this the "How To" Book from which they can work and learn how to make their marriage succeed. The authors teach you how to choose to stay with your marriage partner, learn to have open dialogue to resolve conflicts, develop self confidence and esteem yourself and each other, and how to show each other that your relationship is important enough to take the time and effort to rebuild it. You will learn that you are not a victim because you always have a choice. The more you accept yourself, the more you will accept your partner and have real expectations. Buy this WorkBook, even if your pertner will not read it. You will get good ideas and gain good communication skills.
"You can only change yourself. Even without cooperation a relationship can improve when one person begins to change. One partner's growth and change often provides motivation for the other partner to change."

This is a must-read for all couples in a committed relationship who'd like to build a stronger, more satisfying marriage. Carlson and Dinkmeyer teach very practical, highly motivating techniques for initiating positive changes that will encourage your mate to respond in a more honest and meaningful way. This book isn't about slick or quick ways to get your partner to behave differently toward you. It's about learning to accept responsibility for your own behavior and realizing you have a choice in the direction your relationship takes.

Of course, this means actually making conscious choices about setting and achieving wise marital goals, which the authors acknowledge is tough for most couples. After all, our society is not exactly saturated with great role models for healthy marriages. It's also difficult, when you're angry at your spouse, to pull back and remember that you created the relationship you have now -- and you've got the power to change it. The key, say Carlson and Dinkmeyer, lies in understanding that the skills for a good marriage are learned. So you can start unlearning worthless habits and begin practicing new, more effective, positive ways of relating to each other right now.

As a hands-on tutorial this book is clear, comfortably paced, and interesting. It's packed with exercises designed to demonstrate the importance of learning to take risks and avoid ruts in your marriage; to focus on strengths and successes, back up each other's resources, and develop the courage to be imperfect; and above all to seek creative ways of resolving conflict. Best of all, like physical exercise you can incorporate into your daily routine, TIME FOR A BETTER MARRIAGE makes it easy to put a wealth of practical tips to immediate use every day. Carlson and Dinkmeyer are keenly aware of the value of being able to approach big changes in small strides. They advocate no daunting shifts in attitude or behavior, just countless simple ways of creating a healthier environment for your marriage. Activities like a Daily Dialogue, Encouragement and Marriage Meetings, developing a Marriage Mission Statement, keeping a journal, and evaluating your feelings on various issues help promote self-esteem, understanding, and mutual support.

This is a very "feeling-oriented" book that focuses on the message of emotions as the energy that powers communication. As anyone who's gotten mired in marital miscommunication knows, when you waste that energy in vague or misleading exchanges with your partner, you sabotage intimacy. Bottom line, there's no way to completely divorce-proof a marriage. But before you conclude you've picked the wrong mate, consider rediscovering your present mate by changing the only person you can change -- yourself. As Carlson and Dinkmeyer point out, the distinction between successful and unsuccessful marriages isn't in the challenges encountered. It's the choices couples make in meeting or avoiding those challenges that make all the difference. This book inspires the confidence to choose perceptively for a lasting relationship.

BOOK REVIEW

Time for a Better Marriage: Training in Marriage Enrichment

Jon Carlson, PsyD. ABPP & Don Dinkmeyer,Sr. PhD. ABPP

Impact Publishers (2003) 15.95

Our field is full of books on how to fix almost anything psychological. Most numerous are those which offer help with relationship and marital difficulties, ranging from the bent, the battered to the broken. They are presented by a series of authors, from the highly qualified and experienced, to those whose degrees suggest questionable origins. Still others rehash (probably without awareness by the authors, unfamiliar with the literature and earlier work in this area dating back over the last 65 years) old ideas as new and creative. Fortunately, the book we explore today was produced by two highly experienced and knowledgeable psychologists with a full awareness of the history and research in the marital field.

The present work is a re-release of an earlier effort by the authors. It is not presented as a revised edition, though a check of the referenced works indicate updating. Since I was unfamiliar with the original work, it was not possible for me to indicate new material.

The topics and contents of the book are solid, easy to read, easy to follow and replete with good examples, exercises, and guidelines that will serve both the educated and average couples as well. The work is moderately priced, well within the reach of those with modest incomes. For those who wish an enriched approach, the authors suggest a series of videotaped materials and additional self help books.

The contents of the first three chapters describe the basis for forming a solid relationship( understanding, encouragement). In chapters 4-7 the focus is on the importance of honesty, openness, appropriate choices and the development of effective communication. These chapters are pretty much the heart of the book, with ample examples, exercises and guidance for developing skill in this area. Chapters 8 and 9 provide guidance in dealing with and resolving conflict. The final chapter provides instruction on maintaining the gains from solving marital dilemmas.

As with many of Impact Publishers works, this volume is especially valuable to therapists who assign motivated clients homework and activities which extend into the other 167 hours of the week, following therapy sessions.

This is one of those books that has a definite audience. Whiel most of the information in it will be familiar to the majority of people reading this review, there are people for whom it is perfect. Those people are the ones who may or may not be new to paganism, but who are relatively new to the Internet.

The general overview of the book is that it's Wicca 101 + Internet 101 - the pagan internet 101. McSherry explains the basics of both Wicca and getting online with excellent detail--she thinks of pretty much everything. It's a good berginner's book just for that material.

However, where this book really shines is in online group dynamics. It's obvious she has the experience she claims, as her writing is thoroughly backed up by anecdotes. She's careful to explain how online communication differs from in-person communication, how misunderstandings can arise even easier, and how to deal with a setting that is more easily left than a HPS' home. She also guides the reader through reasons to (or not to) join up with an online group.

I only have two very minor quibbles. First, she uses Wiccan and pagan interchangably, and on p. 9 says that all pagasn follow the Wiccan Rede. That's not so--I and many other pagans follow neither the Rede nor any ethical statement like it. The other minor gripe is on p. 45, she says not to follow any group that accepts outlandish things like pop culture entities and the Illumunati as "truth". As someone who has worked my fair share of pop culture magic (and who is married to Taylor Ellwood, author of the book, "Pop Culture Magick") I do have to disagree that modern mythology is less effective *in practice* than ancient mythology. If we can use modern ritual tools to work with ancient beings, we can also use modern (and ancient) technology to work with modern mythology.

However, those two points are two very minor disagreements I have, and they do not take aweay from the quality or purpose of the book. If you know somebody who's just getting online, and they're pagan (new or not) pickup a copy of "The Virtual Pagan" for them. I really wish I'd had this back in the mid-90's when I first discovered paganism and the internet about the same time, becuase it *really* would have made my introduction a lot smoother--and probably helped me to avoid some of my early flame wars!

Here is a good idea that went astray. Sometimes good material can get lost amongst material that is highly controversial.

The idea of this book, to explore Wicca and Paganism on the Internet, was a good idea. There is material here which would have been good on its own; resources that the Pagan community on the Internet can use to further studies and make surfing interesting and educational.

Ms. McSherry provides information about pagan oriented email groups, chat channels and websites that would have made a good book if presented as a resource tool for Internet Pagans. Her discussion on how the internet works, email and chat room etiquette, flaming and witch wars shows she has much familiarity with the workings of Cyberspace and she did a good job on these topics.

What went astray was her inclusion of her own personal path of CyberCovens and her commentaries on Paganism. I defer to the passage on page 9, which almost set me to pass on reviewing this book:

"If you are new to Paganism, then you need to know a few things about this religion:

1. We all truly only agree on one thing:" An' it harm none, do what ye will." As a result, we do not take any action - magickal or otherwise - that would harm any person, including ourselves."

Paganism categorized as a religion, that Pagans agree on anything spiritual, that the Wiccan Rede is followed by all Pagans and that everyone has a "harm none" ethic makes me feel that Ms. McSherry should have stuck to the technical aspects of the Internet.

There is more in this book on Ms. McSherry's CyberCovens, and the value of connection without contact is something that has been touched on in many circles on the Internet. I believe Ms. McSherry has provided fuel here for some very heated discussions amongst both students and teachers of many paths who use the Internet as a tool for the Pagan Community.

While it is interesting to read, Ms. McSherry's personal path should have been presented as a separate book. The usefulness of this book as an Internet resource becomes muddled in her attempt to define Paganism and present CyberCovens as an alternative to real life experiences.

I was a computer illiterate! After exploreing the PC with the help of friends and family I felt better about my skill. I read this book and now, I am a 'thoroughly modern witch'. Not too bad for an old Crone. Thanks for writing this book so that even I can understand.

Lisa McSherry's Virtual Pagan provides a virtual map for getting online, creating a Pagan group, and keeping it vital. The basics of computer user, from email etiquette to building a cyber altar, are here to appeal to a mixed audience of beginners and those with some experience who want to translate the computer world to a meaningful spiritual environment.

This unassuming looking little book is a gem. As a twenty-one year veteran Witch, I have read and reviewed many books on the subject of Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism. Out of the three books out there on this particular subject, this one is the most concise, useful and practical book I have found.

McSherry gives perfectly sensible guidelines for how to get on the Net, how to find Pagans once you are there and what to do with them after you find them. Her chapters that discuss what a coven is and is not is useful for anyone who is thinking of joining one, whether in cyberspace or in the "real world," and her dos and don'ts for online communication should be emblazoned upon the hearts of everyone on the net. She accurately portrays various positive and negative Pagan archetypal personalities one may find on the Internet, and in doing so, gives the practitioner a taste for what the virtual Pagan community is like in an accurate, consise format.

If you only want one book about Paganism and the net, this is the one; the others, which I have also read are vastly inferior.

Knowing that Ngaio Marsh lived in New Zealand, it made sense that she would situate one of her mysteries in her beloved adopted country. In this book Inspector Alleyn is in New Zealand during World War II to do a bit of "spy busting". As in all her books, this one has a flawlessly written plot with a very tight story line. In the keeping of a "spy story", Ms. Marsh's Alleyn does not appear as himself. He appears in the story in a very clever disguise, and the reader will have the fun of figuring out who he is. It took me a little while. What Alleyn has come to the spa to investigate is the death of one of the people who had an interest in the spa. We meet some very unique characters in this book. The Colonel's family is quite wonderful actually.Ms. Marsh can tell a tale!

Set during World War II, the 1942 COLOUR SCHEME concerns a noted stage star, Geoffrey Gaunt, who finds himself afflicted with "fibrosistis." Electing to soak himself in the sulfurous mud baths at Wai-ata-tapu, Gaunt finds himself at an isolated and very ramshackle guest house incompetently run by the well-meaning but exceedingly provincial Claire family, who are beset by the singularly unpleasant Maurice Questing.

Questing has an unknown hold over the family--and an incredibly boorish manner to boot--but does he have anything to do with the flashing lights seen on the hillside inside the native Maori preserve? Lights that may signaled to enemy agents watching, and sinking, military ships? Certainly various members of the Claire family believe so. The speculation is enough to attract the interest of Inspector Alleyn, on wartime duty from his native England. And when murder at last rears its ugly head it proves unexpectedly horrific.

COLOUR SCHEME finds Marsh writing at full power, and it is a memorable melange of beautifully rendered characters, atmospheric setting, and intricate plot. In spite of this, however, I find it among my least favorite of her novels--for the characters are among the least likable she ever created, ranging from the downright disgusting to the tiresomely egotistical to the merely stupid. While this should not detract from a first-time reader's enjoyment, it certainly doesn't make this a novel that you will likely care to revisit--and as such I give it four instead of five stars.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Nagio Marsh's Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn is one of the most popular detectives of the mystery genre. Colour Scheme found him far from home on a wartime quest for German agents and called upon to investigate the death of Maurice Questing, who was lured to his doom in a pool of boiling mud. This technically flawless, unabridged, seven cassette audiobook production is superbly narrated by Nadia May and a "must" for all Nagio Marsh fans.

I've come back to this gem at least four times -- though another reviewer says explicitly that he would not be back.

My reasons for returning?

First, the land. New Zealand is a character here, and it's delineated by Marsh with the kinds of detail that made travelogues interesting, back before television showed us everywhere all at once. The light, the flora, the geology... it's all like a Turner watercolor, fascinating light plays and landscapes, where the weather and warmth is pervasive.

Second, there is the humor. There are fascinating caricatures of the British 'high-toned' expatriate family in straightened means, the self-centered movie star of the 1940s, the Callow Youth (all provincial slang, worn like a flashy shirt), the Crass Businessman. Seeing much of the interplay through Dikon's down-to-earth eyes -- acting as the chorus of the play, observing and summarizing -- makes it even funnier.

The land between the Maoris and the Claires is one that you'll remember. It's as sinister as Conan Doyle's moor in Hound of the Baskervilles and equally bathed in wrenching sights and sounds.

And everything moves in and out of surrealism: a real train bears down on a fantastic landscape, Gaunt's posturing suddenly gives way to a moment of genuine generosity (or is it?), walkers fearfully pick their way along paths through dangerous hot springs... It's fun to see Barbara emerge as enticing despite her continuous mugging and 'attitudes'... doubtless derived from the kinds of movies that Gaunt makes...

A final thought: while Colour Scheme is among Marsh's best, it probably is not the best choice for a first sampling of Roderick Alleyn at work. Light Thickens would be my candidate for that -- among the last of Marsh's mysteries, it beautifully melds human motivations and actions with the theater (and within that, one of theater's most theatric of plays, Macbeth).

But, as a kind of side-note into Alleyn's life, and a commentary on World War II in the South Pacific, and a grouping of often hilarious caricatures, Colour Scheme is a worthy read.

Barbara A. Gutek and Theresa Welsh believe that companies can improve their relationships with customers if they find the approach that best fits their business. The authors emphasize the difference between real relationships - ongoing, personal contacts between a customer and an individual service provider - and mere encounters - where the customer's relationship is with the company and a random variety of service employees. Many companies confuse the two, trying to turn encounters into relationships, and ending up with pseudo-relationships that alienate customers. Instead, realistically determine what you offer customers and what customers want, and then adjust your systems or policies accordingly. This excellent book provides executives and business owners with an insightful analytical framework for understanding customer relationships. While clear and well organized, it is sometimes repetitious - perhaps to be sure we all get the idea - but we [...] recommend it highly for the soundness of its concepts, if not the economy of its prose.

This is an extremely well-written book. The authors are obviously excellent communicators and give wonderful examples in order to make their points. They segment different approaches to customer service brilliantly. The fundamental message is that if you can't really provide a mutual bond of trust with your customer (i.e., a relationship), then don't bother trying to fool anyone by saying all of the right things (i.e., a pseudo-relationship). In today's commodity marketplace we find an even greater emphasis on what was originally Fred Taylor's model of efficiency, via chain stores and vast corporate bureaucrasies. This outcome, say the authors, lends itself more to encounters than relationships. By enhancing encounters, therefore, companies can still satisfy the customer without the high cost of developing a relationship.

The only down side of the book for me was the discussion of technology (as well as several rather malicious pokes at Peppers & Rogers). The authors clearly chose only to view computer technology as an insidious and poorly implemented medium that threatened to reduce front line "encounter" people to automatons (albeit mildly useful in relationship environments). Although no one will argue that IT practitioners often do not understand business, the fact is that technology today is evolving into a very powerful tool for augmenting customer relationships. Granted, we hear a lot of unfounded hype about e-business, CRM and ERP systems. However, used appropriately, emerging technologies will help encounter businesses understand the needs of individual customers to a far greater extend than has been possible up to now.

Overall, a very worthwhile read.

With the Industrial Revolution, and the current changes happening with the advent of the Information Age, the interactions between companies and customers has become progressively less personal. Today, customers do not have a long-standing relationship with the people they purchase goods and services from. Instead of relationships, customers now have "encounters" with businesses and services. Many companies, however, still say that they are trying to build relationships with customers. This, say the authors, is a flawed strategy. Customers know the difference between a relationship and an encounter, and they are not fooled by the organizations attempts to convince them that they are in a relationship.

It is possible to build customer loyalty, without pretending that there is a relationship between customers and the organization, say the authors. The better strategy, is to build on the strengths of encounters (speed, convenience, low-cost service, familiarity and uniformity) rather than attempting to build a pseudo-relationship that the customer will know is inauthentic. The goal is to create "enhanced encounters" not "pseudo-relationships."

Enhanced encounters emphasize five essential qualities:
1. Trust: In enhanced encounters trust is built by repeated positive service.
2. Convenience: The service should be available for the maximum number of hours with the minimum amount of waiting.
3. Customized, not Personalized: As many choices as possible should be open to the customer, without impeding efficiency of service.
4. Uniform but Unique: Whenever possible, the encounter should establish a theme with wide appeal to customers.
5. Quality: Emphasize quality whenever possible.

The subtitle is correct. The authors do indeed provide strategies for effectively "aligning customer relationships, market strategies, and business structures." They make a key distinction between encounters with customers and relationships with customers. As Jeffrey Gitomer and others have already observed, "customer satisfaction" is measured in terms of each transaction whereas "customer loyalty" depends upon a relationship of repeated transactions. Gutek and Welsh obviousy agree. In the Preface, they assert that "This vital -- and misunderstood -- distinction between the two fundamental ways to deliver service is the catalyst to structuring the business for maximum success." Their excellent book is then divided into ten chapters which guide the reader through a step-by-step process.

For example, Chapter One "looks at customer perceptions of some common practices that result from mistaken ideas about what constitutes a relationship." Chapter Five identifies several different types of encounter and then examines one specific kind: "when the individual service provider is replaced by a machine." In Chapter Ten, the final chapter, the authors bring the reader back to the central question (ie What are the basic causes of customer dissatisfaction and how can they be avoided or eliminated?), then discuss "the trends that will be important for success in the years beyond 2000."

As technological connectivity rapidly and extensively replaces so much of direct human interaction, it is imperative to understand the differences (as well as the implications of those differences) between an encounter with a customer and a relationship with a customer. Gutek and Welsh have made an invaluable contribution to our understanding of those differences...and to our understanding of how to achieve and then sustain enhanced relationships with those whom we are privileged to serve.

Corporate Coach

ANNOTATION
The founder and CEO of Miller Business Systems, who's built a solid reputation for going all-out for the customer and creating an upbeat, personable environment that keeps employees happy, loyal, and productive, presents a revolutionary work in which he likens managing a company to coaching a team by joining customers and employees in a common cause.

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Jim Miller's bestselling book provides a revolutionary approach to team management and customer service that has helped his own company's sales rise from $50,000 to $150 million.

FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
The founder of Miller Business Systems, an office supply company, presents his principles of customer focus that have enhanced his company's success. Through analogies, Miller relates his leadership concepts to sports teams, which will surely appeal to executives with annual box seats! All the current good ideas on serving customers, such as hiring customer-oriented employees, focusing internal processes on serving customers, constant systems redesign based on customer feedback, and long-term relationships with customers can be found in this program, read by the author. Although Miller's ideas are soundly rooted in the extensive literature in this genre, he offers little new information. Also, with the significant problems inherent in today's professional sports business, his attempt to relate complex team-based organizational success to successful athletic teams is outdated. Invest instead in the more substantial work from Ron Zemke (Working with Jerks, S. & S. Audio, 1989).-Dale Farris, Groves, Tex.

BookList - Barbara Jacobs
Another business book filled with sports metaphors? Yes and no, because Miller (helped by coauthor Brown) does have a story to tell. And when the subject is teamwork, the language of the playing fields is appropriate--though admittedly overused. In anecdotal fashion, he relates and demonstrates how working in teams solves all potential employer issues: customer service, creativity, quality, sales, problem solving, and employee loyalty. What's more, the advice proferred is specific and complete with samples--e.g., don't separate work from home; reward frequently; watch body language and rely on gut instincts when hiring; and involve employees in strategy as well as service. After this easy, non-high-falutin' read, those who didn't understand the power of working (and playing) together will grasp it; those managers who already practice teamwork just might find they've honed their skills.

An excellent case study of a company dedicated to customer service. If you want to retain and add customers, and retain high-quality service people who know the value of your customers and the true value of team-work, this book is a must-read.

The Corporate Coach is a good book for all would-be and new managers. The book reinforces the idea that a manager is not so much a boss as a supporter of his employees. Every company should hope that each manager understands he has employees entrusted to him and he must be able to maximize their effectiveness. To do this, the manager must be able to be a supporter, a cheerleader and a corrector of problems in an atmosphere that is positive. The Corporate Coach explains all of this from the know-how of someone who has done it and proven it's success. I give it to all my new managers to read.

This book focuses on serving customers as the customer wants to be served not as the service provider wants to serve. The "Coach's Checklists" at the end of each chapter are each worth the price of the book. This book drives home the point that the ONLY difference between a business and sports team is the field they play on.