Martinez Books

La Boheme Melody of Poems is a must have book. The poems will touch your heart and will wake up many emotions. Ana Monnar, Author of Gold and Glitter, Half Full, Or Half Empty? and Poetry from Planet Earth ***** COMING SOON "Relax"

I highly recommend this "piece" of art that has been written by three excellent and talented writers. Check it out.

Genre: Poetry

"If your love is strong enough to produce a garden,
Then as a gardener you will accept the rose with thorns."

Milena Gomez, "Your Love, My Garden"

La Boheme is a charming little book of poetry, drawn directly from the inspired hearts of three women: Milena Gomez, Patricia Alzate, and Xenia Martinez. It is a collection of romantic and inspirational poetry with recognizable themes, from God to love.
This is the second collection for Cuban Milena Gomez, the author of the excerpt above, a college student with a strong love for writing. Emotions: Love made Courageous was published in 2004 and was the winner of the Allbooks Reviews Editor's Choice Award for poetry.
Patricia Alzate is a New York native, with Colombian roots, whose musical training and appreciation come through strongly in her poetry.
Xenia Martinez is originally from Nicaragua, and her artistic background gives a further dimension to the collection.
Divided into sections written by each poet, La Boheme gives the reader a glimpse into the hearts of these three passionate women.

Section one is the poetry of Milena Gomez-
Unable to Forget our Past

Flashes of old memories reappear
Coming to still images before wet eyes
Looking at the mirror I can hardly stand
As I look to see, then my reflection is gone.....

Section two a different style including rhyming verse by Patricia Alzate-
Definition of Love

A true love is blind
And a hard one to find
Sometimes easy to get
But never to forget.....




And last but not least Xenia Martinez-
Gray
Gray is like the feeling of isolation
Gray is like the thought of no solutions
Gray is like the clouds out of proportion
Gray is like my life without emotion
Gray is like the day of no light
Gray is like the day I may die
Gray is like me without life
And gray is like no paradise.

Endless themes and endless emotion, La Boheme is a book for poetry lovers.
Reviewer: Nancy Morris, Allbooks Reviews

Title: La Boheme
Author: Milena Gomez
Patricia Alzate
Xenia Martinez
Publisher: 1stBooks
ISBN Number: 1-4107-8804-0
Price: $ Length: 123 pgs

This book is an excellent story of one couple's struggle with alcoholism, however, I did not get what I was looking for. The book just did not relate to me at all. There is some good advice and encouraging words. It is good to know that we are not alone. This addiction is REAL.

WOW! Thank you for finally offering something I can really relate to! This book is an honest, real-life look at alcoholism in relationships if I've ever read one. It's like you're having a conversation with your best friend. It's entertaining as much as it's thought-provoking. I love how the author really speaks to you as if she knows you. It's given me much to think about and I've already noticed positive changes in how I approach life and those I care about because of it. THANK YOU!!

Susan Erling Martinez's book, Last Call for Alcohol, shares a raw and painful account of life with an alcoholic. It took great courage to pen such an experience so that others can see that they are not alone. She helps the reader to see that there is still hope, there is recovery, there is healing, and there is life after alcohol's last call. Includes several great suggestions for the alcohol-free afterlife. I love happy endings.

This was a requested read for my US History 1 class. It had all of the information that I needed along with a few internet sources. The only thing that I didn't particularly like was that the book skips back-and-forth between the Northern soldier and the Southern soldier, and it was pretty hard to keep track of which side you were reading about.

I originally bought this book in a bargain section and didn't have high expectations although I got quite a lot for my money.

Author J Michael Martinez has written an interesting book that tries to fairly focus on differing sides or accounts of life inside Civil War prisons. The book follows a firsthand account from a Confederate soldier (Minnich) that was captured and sent to Rock Island Prison outside of Davenport, IA. The second account features a Union soldier (Goss) account that covers his story that has him captured earlier in the war and sent to Libby Prison and Belle Island in Richmond. Goss is released and captured a second time and ends up visiting Andersonville and Florence prisons later in the war.

The author has successfully told each soldier's story from beginning to end and explained how they were captured, the daily life inside of the hellish prisons and also their outcomes. The book is not divided into two. Both accounts are told as they unfold. When you read about how Minnich was captured, you will read about how Goss was captured.

The book also covers views from the supply side of both armies and some of the political issues that arose in running the prisons for prisoners of war. There are many accounts that tell of the complete horrors faced by the prisoners in each prison. I liked reading about Rock Island and how it developed as a prison, was run and eventually was phased out after the war. These kinds of details are in the book.

This book tries to be fair to both sides. It points out that stories told from the Union or Confederate side after the war were sometimes tainted or cast far too much unfair blame or opinion versus fact. I liked how the book wasn't long winded and stuck to the point without getting too political or off topic. There are many graphical accounts too that truly define the horrors of prison life north or south.

Books on the American Civil War appear in a seemingly never-ending stream, and so it's inevitable that many good ones get lost in the cascade and never receive the attention they deserve. J. Michael Martinez's Life and Death in Civil War Prisons is one of these. It's really an excellent study, well written, nicely illustrated, and painstakingly researched (as its 40-odd pages of closely-printed endnotes and bibliography attest).

Much has been written about the "black and reeking pits" that Civil War prisons generally were. Neither side was prepared for prisoners of war when the conflict began. After the parole system broke down, already bad prison conditions got significantly worse as prisoners on both sides began to pile up. Horrible privations were experienced by Federal prisoners in southern camps, largely because the south simply didn't have the wherewithal to take better care of them. In the north, Secretary of War Stanton bulldoggishly made the decision to retaliate against southern prisoners, ordering that their food allowances be decreased. Things went from bad to worse.

The merits of Martinez's approach to telling the story is that he uses the experiences of two prisoners, Cpl. John Wesley Minnich from the south (a displaced Pennsylvanian who relocated to Louisiana) and Sgt. Warren Lee Goss from the north (a Bostonian). Minnich was sent to Rock Island Prison, a piece of rock in the Mississippi River on the Iowa border. Goss, captured more than once, became something of a reluctant expert on southern prisons, being held at different times in Libby, Belle Isle, and the notorious Andersonville and Florence stockades. In recounting the prison experiences of Minnich and Goss, Martinez not only provides an excellent account of Civil War prisons in general. He also tells a fascinating story of two men who lived through horrible conditions.

But Martinez does something else as well. In his careful and persuasive account of Civil War prisons (one of his merits is that he never exaggerates; for example, he shows that although Rock Island was bad, its mortality rate was about half that of Andersonville), he reminds us that the American Civil War was a most uncivil war in many respects. This is an ugly fact which needs to be remembered, but which is too often forgotten in our romanticization of the conflict.

Emma Martínez is a professional classical guitarist. She is also half Spanish by birth, bilingual, and has an extensive knowledge of Flamenco such as few anglophones can achieve. Since her other virtues include the ability to write clearly and interestingly, the result is a very worthwhile book. Although one might imagine it to cover the same ground as Donn Pohren's seminal The Art of Flamenco, in fact there is very little overlap; although the underlying facts are obviously the same, the approach is quite different (Donn's being much more personal). In addition, Ms. Martínez deals far more extensively with modern Flamenco than does Pohren. So none who buy both books will feel they have needless duplication.

Consonant with the title, the chapter headings take the form of Frequently Asked Questions: "What is Flamenco?", "Who invented Flamenco?", and so forth. The depth of knowledge displayed is very considerable, but the book is never dry or pedantic; one always gets the sense of the writer as someone involved in Flamenco, rather than an academic researcher. I certainly learned quite a lot, and I've been following Flamenco for over forty years.

For back matter, there is a Glossary, a Bibliography and a list of Recommended Listening (but no index).

On the debit side, there are some rather curious (although mostly trivial) errors: for instance, the legendary singer Manuel Torre is usually (but not consistently) referred to as Manuel Torres. This is a common mistake even in Spain, for in Andalusian Spanish the two names are homophones; but his legal name was Manuel de Soto Loreto, and he was given the nickname Torre (tower) because of his height. Even stranger is the information that the Beatle who introduced the sitar to the West was John Lennon (!).

And although the cover features a first-rate photograph of Paco de Lucía, it is the only photograph in the book, which contributes to a rather drab layout.

By and large, though, this is an excellent introduction to Flamenco for anyone interested, and a fine contribution to the literature in general.

I have recently began teaching myself flamenco guitar and I wanted to become familiar with its history, development and the people involved. This book was really good at answering a lot of questions I had about flamenco. It caused me to purchase a lot of CDs, DVDs, and other books to become even more aquainted with this art form. I don't have any reservations about suggesting this book to anyone seeking to enhance their knowledge of flamenco. It had good quotes from lots of flamencos past and present. My only criticism is that is did not contain any photographs of the people it mentioned. But this is fine because I looked them up online. The writer seems to have a disdain of those flamencos who are making this style into cash-cow. But what true fan wouldn't?
Great book.

While this book cuts to the heart of what flamenco is, and is an excellent history of flamenco, there is this recurring undertone of her "love" for Paco de Lucia, as the best flamenco player ever. There really shouldn't be such obvious bias in a book of this quality, but there is. Her recommendations section lists all of his works, while very obviously omitting so many other great artists. Too bad. It is a real disservice to the reader. In the guitar section she blatantly doesn't list any recordings of Sabicas, Nino Ricardo, Joaquin Rodrigo, and some the other truly great names of flamenco guitar. Some of these names are mentioned only in the text, as they pertain to her view of Paco's work and influences. Otherwise, this is still a very informative and nice historical reference book about flamenco, if you can get past her obvious biases. It would have been a much better book without it. Personally, I would search through Flamenco-world.com to find the truly great artists of flamenco. Finefretted.com has some very rare recordings too.

A small Texas town, a cowboy and a Christmas store may not sound like ingredients for a hot romance but P.J. Mellor has wrapped them up into another of her trademark charming, sexy novellas.

Chris MacNeal has every reason to hate Christmas--the day he was born, the day his father walked out, and the day he was stood up at the altar. Now somebody has opened the Happy Holidays Boutique on the town square right next to his favorite greasy spoon, the Roadkill Café. To add to his aggravation, the store's owner is a perky young elf of a woman who has him wondering what the hell she's wearing under that ugly jumper.

Flintlock, Texas, is Allison Conroe's hope for a new start where nobody will know about the terrible scandal that drove her out of Houston. She's determined to avoid men and not repeat her mistakes. But when Chris stalks into her shop, surly and gorgeous in jeans and cowboy boots, behaving is the last thing she has in mind.

P. J. Mellor does a wonderful job of capturing small town color, think deer blinds and pick-up trucks, and her secondary characters are both warm and humorous. And needless to say, the sex is sizzling and plentiful--just the way it should be in an erotic romance. P.J. Mellor fans, old and new, will find Hot for Christmas a gotta-have for the holiday season.

Yay for Christmas smut! This time of year thoughts turn to the warmth of hearth and home...and bedroom. This hot little anthology does not fail to deliver in that respect.
The first entry, HOT FOR CHRISTMAS, by P.J. Mellor follows the story of Texan Chris MacNeal who has good reason to feel like Scrooge around the holidays. At least until he meets Allison Conroe, the new kid in town and purveyor of all things Christmas. The secondary characters in this story all work together to provide emotional highs and lows for the couple on their journey to true Yuletide love.
Melissa MacNeal tells the tale of a dream come true for her heroine, Norah Dalton, in CABIN FEVER. When Christmas starts to look like the very worst day of the year for her, Norah is rescued from a blizzard by her celebrity crush, retired rodeo rider Danny "Diablo" Black. Danny's holiday season is off to a dismal start as he mourns the loss of his beloved wife. He finds salvation in the arms of his very own Christmas angel in skimpy lingerie in this heated and heartwarming tale of redemption.
TRIPLE XMAS by Valerie Martinez offers us a ménage story to finish off the collection. Artist Deb Collins is devoted to her eco-friendly fiancé Rick, but before they finally tie the knot, she wouldn't mind a Christmas threesome with the brawny lumberjack across the street, Dale Lix. The two men are complete opposites and Deb has to learn to be both lover and mediator. A forest fire burns away their barriers, leaving her a very satisfied woman.
Overall, this anthology is great for a quick, hot read - you won't need your flannel jammies to keep you warm!--Reviewed by Sela Carsen

"Hot for Christmas" by P.J. Mellor. In Flintlock, Texas Chris MacNeal hates the holidays so she has strong reasons to detest newcomer Allison Conroe who just opened up a Christmas boutique. Instead of bah humbug however, Chris wants Allison wrapped in sexy packaging that he plans to slowly open on bow at a time.

"Cabin Fever" by Melissa MacNeal. In Wyoming, Norah Dalton is broken due to Alex disappearing with their inventory. Now stuck in a ditch in the countryside as a blizzard hits, her lover Leon Scurtz calls her; she is abrupt with him before hanging up her cell. Norah reaches a cabin where Danny Black is drinking whiskey to forget his financial problems caused by his family. When he sees the angel needing help, he comes to her rescue. Isolated, this depressed pair finds solace in each other's arms.

"Triple Xmas" by Valerie Martinez. In Kristmastown, Deb knows she and Ranger Rick will marry one day, but before they do she wants her deepest fantasy fulfilled. Deb' Christmas wish is a ménage de trois with Rick and the "Brawny Man"; Rick detests the idea for several reasons, but also wants to fulfill his beloved's desires.

Although erotic novellas with obviously the sex scenes important elements, these three tales are much more. Each of the couples has major issues to contend with so much so that love-making in a variety of ways is a welcome diversion, but love is not. Sub-genre fans will enjoy this anthology though not as heated as some of Aphrodisia's other collections.

Harriet Klausner

Dr. Anna Huang is in Indonesia helping with tsunami efforts and relief. Finally throwing caution to the wind after 20 years of celibacy, she craves the touch of a man. Not just any man will do. She wants a man who will be gentle, yet forceful. Loving but willing to settle for just one night. She finds such a man in Rand, a bearded giant who comes to her rescue as she is swarmed by men all wanting something from her; something that she is unsure she will be able to give.
Rand Weatherby aches to feel the touch of a woman. Years of honoring vows to a wife now deceased, he wants to lose himself inside of a woman to alleviate the ghosts that haunt him. Past decisions have influenced Rand's life and he vows that they will not influence him on this. Looking for and waiting on the perfect woman to walk through the door of the bar in which he sits, he has almost given up hope. Until she walks in. Five feet two inches of pure and snow white innocence. When she is surrounded by men immediately, Rand decides then and there that she is his to save. And so the seduction begins.

Great things do come in small packages! Anna Huang was tiny, angelic and a complete surprise to me. Past hurts kept her from reaching out to men and I could sense her vulnerability. When she and Rand came together they were passionate, loving and I felt their connection to each other right down to my toes. The fact that Rand was so honorable just kept me spellbound wanting to find out his story. He was tenacious and I became entranced by his unwillingness to give up on Anna.

China Doll is a tantalizing tale set in the humidity of Indonesia. I could feel the sweat of the two characters and could envision their complete abandon with each other. As I read the last word, I just sat and thought about this book. How one author could make something so real that I felt the touches, I smelled the scents and have my heart pounding in tune with the characters. Steamy and sultry romance at its best, China Doll is a perfect addition to any bookshelf.

Talia
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

"China Doll" by Sunny. In Indonesia, Rand and Anna meet for the first time with both sharing in common a need to get past their respective pasts. Both desires a one night stand that they each believe will allow them to move on. Neither anticipated the desire for much more.

"Tempted" by Jami Alden. Coworkers Lauren and Tony have been best friends for years, but both hide their desire for much more from the other out of fear the relationship would die. However, an out of town weekend gala leaves them sharing a room in which the temptation proves stronger than the trepidation.

"Hot Wired" by Valerie Martinez. Lola visits San Francisco for a last summer fling before starting her career. However, she was unprepared for the hunk owner of a fiery red pickup that is his truck as much as his body. This is turning out to be the most wonderful summer of her life.

These three well written erotic romantic novellas star interesting protagonists who though they spend a preponderance of the story line (defined as pages) in bed have enough down time to make them seem genuine and their relationships real. SKIN ON SKIN is hot fun in the summertime.

Harriet Klausner

Purchased this kinda by accident. Unusual that I would like more than one story in an anthology (so I avoid them), but two of the three here were actually very good.

Tempted by Jami Alden. A story of best friends & co-workers becoming more. The characters and plot were fun, engaging and believable. Good Well done and very enjoyable read, I will be watching for more from this talented author.

Hot Wired by Valerie Martinez. What to say...hummm. Propogates racial stereotyping, and would be a scandal if written by an author from a different race than the heroine. If there was any indication of an HEA, I missed it, the story ends..."It hadn't been love between us, but rather pure lust." The characters are all loosers, the plot has heroine more sexually involved with a different looser than the hero, nothing uplifting or happy here. Seriously, when viewing a mans chest tatooed with multiple x-girlfriends...what woman fantasizes seeing their own likeness & name tatooed there? Not an author I will read again.

China Doll by Sunny. Typical of this author if you have read her before. Well written & engaging. Although a little choppy in places, pulls reader into the story. Very enjoyable.

The book warning "This is a REALLY HOT book, sexually explicit" is true...have fun with this one!

This Boook is Hooooot(Hot) Buy This Book if You don"t Belive me see a Docter And Tell Him To belive me.

This children's chapter book is one great book! It's both hilarious and sad. SpongeBob tries to fly with the jellyfish. He makes different gajets: a bat costum, an airplane, and ties himself to a kite. By accident he makes inflatible pants. He goes around Bikini Bottom (his hometown) and he becomes a superhero. He goes too far with the superhero thing. This book teaches a wonderful lesson of life. It teaches that you should never give-up on your dreams and you should keep on going in life!

This book is GREAT! It is better than any other book! This book is very easy to read I LUV THIS BOOK! I recommend this book to anyone who have seen the Spongebob Squarepants Lost episode. Well nothing else to say!

A short but intriguing novel set in 2001 from Eloy Martínez, a writer whose work battles between history and literature. Whereas 'Santa Evita' (****) and The 'Perón Novel' (****) saw history dominant, here it is the literary side that provides an (allegorical?) framework for an almost mystical search through the horrors of Argentina's recent history. Best read if you have a knowledge of Buenos Aires and Borges - and a map handy!.

Tomas Eloy Martinez is a superlative writer. He has written about his native Argentina in award winning books such as 'Santa Evita' and 'The Peron Novel' and though he has been on the faulty of Rutgers University (Latin American Program) since 1982, he first wrote THE TANGO SINGER in Spanish in 2004. It comes to us through the English translation by Anne McLean. Many idiosyncrasies here, but at least we finally have access to what is one of the finest novels this reader has read this year!Martinez writes with a flowing, dancing style and with a technique that obliterates the lines between the past and the present in such a unique manner that his style is utterly mesmerizing.

Bruno Cadogan lives in Manhattan and is writing a dissertation on Jorge Luis Borges' essays on tango and discovers a clue to understanding Borges' words about the famous Tango singer Carlos Gardel (in early 1900s) in finding information about a current tango singer Julio Martel whose strange life and lack of recordings drive Bruno to fly to Buenos Aires in hopes of not only hearing Martel sing but to also engage him in conversation to further define his dissertation. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires Bruno meets a fellow he calls El Tucumano and they room together (we are not sure to what extent these two attractive men are bonded) and together they search the city for performances by Martel. Every performance location, though thwarted, introduces them to different characters who relate different aspects of the history of Buenos Aires: the rooming house where the two live is also the location of a librarian Bonorino who lives in the cellar and is convinced he has found Borges' 'aleph' ('a point in space that contains all other points') and Bruno falls under the spell of the new information. But the main goal of finding Martel overtakes him and eventually he is on the trail of the mysterious tango singer who was born a hemophiliac and has a distorted body and health. Ultimately Bruno meets Martel's lover Alcira and meets Martel in an ending to the novel.

The story of Martel's strange life is alone fascinating enough for the novel to hold the reader's interest, but Martinez doesn't stop there. He finds ways of reviewing the long history of Buenos Aires from 1810 when the Spanish domination was ended through the many trials of political upheaval, through the Peron era, to the present 2001 period when five presidents were elected and rejected within a week's time! He lets us get to know the mysterious city of Buenos Aires: 'the shape of a labyrinth is not in the lines but in the spaces between those lines'...'the true labyrinth of Buenos Aires is its people. So near and at the same time so distant. So similar on the outside and so diverse within. Such reserve, which Borges tries to assert as the essence of Argentina, and at the same time such shamelessness.'

Tomas Eloy Martinez' style of writing takes some mental adjustment to keep the timelines clear and he uses no quotation marks making it difficult at times to differentiate between conversation and reportage, but the style once understood is like the music about which he writes. This little novel has all the seduction and romance and challenge and lust of a tango. It is brilliant! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, June 06

If you love Argentine culture, literature and her people, this is an extremely satisfying novel. If you don't know a lot about Borges or Argentina in general, it may not be the best Martinez novel for you.

I attended this book's release party, which was also a birthday party for Tillman Franks. It was a wonderful day, filled with great music. As Faron Young's biographer, I made many contacts who were later helpful to me. Franks wrote an important story, and I enjoyed reading about all the familiar names. What detracted from the book was its lack of editing--numerous typos and other errors. Still, it contains much valuable information about people like Jerry Kennedy, Glenn Sutton, David Houston, Johnny Horton, Claude King, and many others.

This book was so easy to read and I really could not put it down until I was finished! Tillman Franks did a great job of telling his story and it is absolutely fascinating. I can highly recommend this book!

This is one of those books that is long overdue. I was just beginning in radio when I first met Tillman Franks. It was through this legendary bass-fiddle player, personal manager of super stars, songwriter and country music promoter ... all-in-one ... that I met most of those mentioned in this book. Tillman was not only "there when it happened" ... in many instances, he was responsible for many good things in country music "happening" in the first place! It was through Tillman that I first met Elvis. I would appear on several show with 'Old El'. It was also Tillman who introduced me to Johnny Horton, David Houston and so many others. Although I never met my idol, Hank Williams, Sr., Tillman Franks was also responsible for much of Hank's super stardom. This book, written in the easy, Louisiana speaking style of the author, not only takes you backstage with so many legends, it takes you to the dressing rooms! Yes, Tillman was there when it happened ... and I'm glad he was. You don't have to be a fan of country music to enjoy this very good book. It's musical history, told by a man who belongs in our Country Music Hall-of-Fame ... which will eventually "happen", of course.

This book exceeded my expectations for three reasons.

First, I was impressed by the pacing and realism (real terror), which is what I expect from well executed horror, rather than just body count.

Second, it was superbly illustrated, contributing to the overarching themes, rather than overshadowing the work as a whole.

Finally, and most importantly, the book explores new themes for the Zombie genre, with a dose of post-mortem existentialism(pun intended!)

Definitely recommended.

This little book turned into a big surprise. I picked it up because it was cheap and would push my order total over the limit for free shipping. When it arrived I was very happy, it's an illustrated short story. While the story is pretty run of the mill for zombie fiction, the art work is fantastic.

Such a great find! At a fast, brutal, horrifying pace, and with rich, gorgeous and gory illustrations, this short story reads quickly. But it's definitely worth a second and third time through. Wynter throws the reader into a helpless, terrifying piggyback ride with a flesh eating zombie, while the visuals of Rudy Martinez shock and tantalize simultaneously. Congrats to all at InkPen Mutations. I love this little book...and I'm a 'hater'!