Through the Flames, a novel by Denise Bartlett

Gypsy Shadow Publishing Presents

Denise Bartlett's Young Adult novel, Through the Flames

It is absolutely amazing how little awareness there is in the general public about head injuries/brain injuries/concussions. The NFL and the professional football players who have competed in games are in a huge battle right now. In a nutshell, the players are suing the NFL for not disclosing the potential permanent damage which can be done to the brain by taking repeated hits and jolts to the head in the collision sport we call football.

As a result of writing Through the Flames, which focuses on a household where domestic violence has become the paradigm, I have spoken to many individuals about the causes and symptoms of these injuries. Not all concussions are caused by sports injuries, but the sports injury ones are a direct result of voluntary participation. I will admit that not all players consider their involvement as voluntary, but I believe it is, nonetheless.

In Texas, contact sports, especially football, are so much a part of the lives of a large number of individuals, that injuries are brushed off and sitting on the bench or even totally refraining from play, in order to take time to recover, is seen as a sign of weakness. Men and women of all ages 'tough it out' rather than confess to experiencing headaches, dizziness, balance problems and nausea.

One teenager I spoke to recalled a four-wheeler accident where he hit their head and had headaches and dizziness for weeks. The leg injury he had prevailed to receive all the attention of surgery and rehab while the head injury was ignored, since he was diagnosed long ago as ADHD and they expect him not to remember things and to complain about headaches. He has the classic symptoms of concussion and head injury, but many of them are similar to those ADHD produces. We must play closer attention to what the people around us, especially athletes, are saying about the health and other problems they are having.

That is only one example - domestic violence, pick up games, extreme sports, even instances of working with horses where the rider lands inelegantly all lend to the problem.

Education and awareness are important. It's an uphill battle and it's only just begun.

Take a few minutes and think about those around you who have had concussions or have had other types of injuries as a result of athletic pursuits. What do you believe are viable solutions to making the games safer, the athletes stronger and less prone to injuries, and spreading the information about concussion and traumatic brain injuries.

Empower yourself with education. Empower students with education. And communicate with everyone you meet. It could change your life and theirs, too.

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Available on Gypsy Shadow Publishing, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and other fine retailers all over the Internet!

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It's an honor to have you visit my blog!

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Work With Me – Click here and check out Empower Network!

PS: Read my latest novel:

Through the Flames Available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords in eBook or Print formats.

#author #DeniseBartlett #empowernetwork #GypsyShadow #novel #youngadult #football #concussion #TBI

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Freedom is not Free

Freedom is not Free

Happy Fourth of July, all you fellow Americans!

I want you to think about something with me. Do you have freedom? Do you OWN it? What is freedom to you?

Is it doing what you want? How many times a day do you do that? In some ways we do anything we want all the time. On the other hand, I want to fly to Australia and scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef. Have I booked my flight? Are you kidding!?! That takes $$, well more like $$$$$$$$ if you use the cost scale the restaurants use, where 1$ is a cheap burger place and $$$$$ is a meal at a 5 Star Hotel.

So, this is America. The United States of America - how the heck can we be free to do what we want when we are broke?

Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and members of the Coast Guard give up a lot of freedoms to serve in the Armed Forces. Why? Because they understand that freedom involves a lot more than doing what we want. Freedom is a core value. What will you do to secure your own freedom?

And THANKS to all those who serve our country and their fellow citizens daily. From the elementary school serving line in the cafeteria to the President of the United States, to all of us in one way our another, we are here to serve.

What do you think?

It's an honor to have you visit my blog! 

denibartlett on Facebook

512-787-7479

Work With Me – Click here and check out Empower Network!

PS: Read my latest novel:

Through the Flames Available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords in eBook or Print formats.

#author  #DeniseBartlett #GypsyShadow #freedom, #empowernetwork

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Indie Publishing and the age of the ebook

One of the hardest thing for us as authors is advertising - marketing - tooting our own horns! We want someone else to do it. Eons ago, it seems, the trick was to get a publisher to notice you and print your book. Traditional publishers were picky, picky, picky! They only published 8 to 10 books a year and the cost of putting the books into print and publicizing required them to be sure for certain they would sell. Well, as sure as they could be.

They began using formulas and certain stringent requirements and really pretty much decided what the public was allowed to read. The book had to fit into a genre and the formula. Ex: girl meets boy, girl breaks up with boy, girl and boy get back together - Voila! - happily every after. Authors were regularly asked to pretty much scrap the manuscript they sent in favor of getting published. The book often didn't resemble the original submission much.

Enter ebooks and the age of computers, iPads, readers and even cellphone readers! Indie publishers have always thought outside the box, but now there are 50,000 small publishing companies and many of them do not put books into print. Many of the traditional publishers are going to POD for their book printing - McMillan among them. Times they are a-changing, as they say.

So, what does that mean to the reader? Lucky us! We are now able to drive the market. No longer can the publisher limit what we read. We can choose from millions of ebooks. We are challenged by this; thousands of ebooks are not very good. Quality is a problem and Kindle and others are opening up the book for you to look at - to read the first chapter or so and decide if you want to buy. It's like standing in the bookstore and reading the covers, but a little deeper.

And what does that mean to the writer? Lucky us, too! We are now able to publish what we write. Writer-friendly publishers like Gypsy Shadow and editors like me will work with the author to produce the best book we can from the manuscript submitted. The challenges are many, but the rewards are off the scale! Authors are free to advertise - market - blog - toot their own horns, or join with other authors and even other publishers to get the word out and sell their books.

It's a new age of book publishing. We are still shaping it. It feels great to be part of a tremendous recognition of the basic talent of scads of authors!

Getting the Words Right

Our Third Year! It's October, 2011!

Many of us strive to be conscientious writers. It is truly interesting what a difference it makes to read a lot of other work and come back to a manuscript means. One of the books I value for teaching me this is Getting the Words Right
by Theodore Cheney.

If you go over to Amazon and read the first pages, you will get the urgency and flow of his message. He says professionals will attend to the quality of the work, rather than the number of words they can put out.

It's not easy, but for me, it has always been fun. I read through my own and other's manuscripts and look for little places the conversation don't match and find the treasure of what the speaker didn't say. I 'look' at their expressions while they speak and try to convey what they mean in beautiful words which mean exactly what they want to say. I don't even mind if I send them trundling off to the dictionary, but when they go I want them to find something special.

appropriate in the thesaurus:

characteristic in the index sent me to the heading of Particularity:
characteristic, peculiar, singular, single, quintessential, intrinsic, unique, distinctive, marked, distinguished, appropriate, proper, idiosyncratic, idiocratic, in character, true to form

Well-chosen in the index sent me to the heading of Elegance (of language):
fit, fitting, just [archaic], proper, correct, seemly, comely; felicitous, happy, apt, well-chosen, well-put, well-expressed, inspired.

One of my characters might make the appropriate comment and it might be unique, another's might be well-chosen. I have a few characters who are blurters - their comment would never be well-chosen, but it could be true to form!

I love English. We have a tangle of threads leading down to us and it is proper and quintessential we select the exquisite term to convey our meaning.

We at Gypsy Shadow Publishing want authors and writers who come our way to feel they have learned something from the experience of being published by us and take away a little more finesse at self-expression after the editing and production is over. We want to help you share your dreams and nightmares with the world!

Gypsy Shadow Publishing is two years old in September 2011

www.gypsyshadow.com

Gypsy Shadow Publishing is the product of a unique partnership of professional writers, editors and artists. We are proud to have an eclectic group of authors and their books. We don't fit in any particular genre, nor do we choose to. Some have understood the request for submissions of any genre, or no genre, or multi-genre books to mean we are not selective or discerning, when what we wish to say is we are not an old-school publisher.

The paradigm of publishing has transformed. Once publishing houses held large staffs assembled to turn out physical books which often were required to fit a formula, a distinct genre, a perceived need or popular subject. Now the staffs of many indie publishers are spread across county and state lines, even across countries at times. Indie publishers are working with traditional works as well as venturing into experimental fiction.

GSP's internet presence bridges international and personal realms. We concentrate on casting a discriminating eye on submissions, leaving ourselves open to accept well-written manuscripts by authors without regard to previous experience in the world of publishing. Some of our authors have many published works and they stretch across many genres. Most of our books can be found in more than one genre and range from non-fiction memoirs to fantasy.

Come by and check us out! We hope you stay to read excerpts and explore our site.
http://www.gypsyshadow.com

Sheila Deeth's review of Sneaky Shenanigans by Violetta Antcliff

Sneaky Shenanigans, by Violetta Antcliff

 ebook available for $2.99

A fun short story and an enjoyable book to read over mid-morning coffee, Sneaky Shenanigans by Violetta Antcliff should do a good job of chasing those Monday blues away. Patrick O’Malley, farmer, loner, smoker, dog-lover, is missing his old Ma who died a short while ago. But now it’s time to get on with life and he’s going to ask the Widow Bridget Flynn if she’ll “consider walking out with him.” He’s thought long and hard about it, but when the dear widow opens her door he’s delightfully tongue-tied, and she delightfully vocal.

The dialog’s fun and convincing, village and neighbors providing background scenery and sound, hot tea (with a little extra) providing spice. The author carefully unwraps Patrick’s emotions, slowly wakening him to life’s possibilities, but there’s always the pull of peaceful loneliness and the joy of not being watched. Will he stay on the farm? Will he move to the village? Will he ever commit himself?

In the end some very pleasing shenanigans conspire to make Patrick’s intentions honorable, and the conclusion will leave you looking for more possibilities besides morning coffee and afternoon tea. Parties are fun, and this party’s convincingly written, evocatively told, and sure to please.

Disclosure: I received a free ecopy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sheila Deeth is the author of Refracted and Black Widow, among others.

Len Dawson's review of Sarah Deckard's Journey

 Journey by Sarah Deckard

 ebook available $3.99

Sarah’s handling of conversation and description is quite solid; her metaphors and similes enjoyable. When her heroine meets her fairy guardian, the story takes on the feel of a fable and I think it works extremely well as a fable - very original and really quite clever. I wanted to see how the story would unfold after their meeting. And Sarah does not disappoint. The way she weaves the story and characters is very impressive. She maintains the feel of a fable right to the end. Her story was a really good, really fun, read.

Len Dawson is the author of The Devil's Alibi and Everyone's on the Take

Sheila Deeth's Review of Philip and the Angel by John Paulits

ebook available for $3.99

Philip, in common with many fourth-graders, would like a dog. His friend Emery has one, but Philip’s mom remains adamantly opposed, despite all his attempts to persuade her. John Paulits’ Philip and the Angel recounts the events of that long summer between fourth and fifth grade as David walks to the park with his friend and plots how to get his own way. Hilarious disasters, poignant friendships, and enterprising adventures ensue in this novel, peopled with very real children, parents stubborn and attentive, new girl on the block, sharp-eyed neighbor and all the other characters who belong on an everyday street in an everyday suburb.

Philip and Emery’s conversation is delightfully evocative—the perfect non-sequiturs and misunderstandings of childhood, and just the right mix of innocence and concern. Will Philip’s mom lose her dislike of pets? Will Emery lose his distrust for girls? Will the little girl be allowed out to play? And will Philip find four-legged companionship? You’ll have to read to find out. It’s a perfect book to give to or share with young readers—wise and innocent; exciting and safe; gentle and determined as the children whose lives it portrays.

Disclosure: I received a free ecopy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

 Sheila Deeth is the author of Refracted among others. Check out her work on Gypsy Shadow's site!

Jezebel Jorge's Review of Umbral Visions by Garrett Calcaterra

Umbral Visions ebook available for $4.99

Garrett Calcaterra's Umbral Visions offers up two stories that will take you to the darkest edges of your imagination. In the first story Dedrick's past sucks him into a house of horrors where he has to reach deep into his psyche to survive and come out alive. The next story has Damon's future is cast into darkness due to a freak accident. What lurks in the shadows of his mind comes on the pages he writes with a voice prompt. Fantasy turns into reality when the words from his pages lead to gristly murders inspired by his stories. It's up to his two best friends, Brad and Hayley, to save them all.

Umbral, the blackest part of a shadow from which all light is cut off, makes a great title since these stories delve into the blackest parts of the characters souls. If you enjoy a journey into the dark side, this is definitely a book you will savor.

-Jezebel Jorge is the author of the upcoming Headlocks and Hexes, first in the Ring Dreams Series.

Jim Woods' review of Born in Sarajevo by Snjezana Marinkovic

Born in Sarejevo by Snjezana Marinkovic opens with a bleak outlook for Sarajevo and the former Yugoslavia. Then the narrative turns to the author’s personal story, as she becomes trapped between religion and ethnic identity. The Bosnian War, as it is commonly referenced, although others may identify the war by naming the participants as Serbs, Muslims and Croats, is the most recent memory of the author’s country and city. The Croat-Bosniak war is often referred to as the war within a war because it was part of the more encompassing Bosnian War. But the suffering ordinary citizens of Bosnia and Croatia could not tell the difference.

Snjezana paints a vivid picture of a city and country of diverse peoples, customs and mores that once existed in harmony, but the populace lost its cohesion and fragmented into ethnic groups at war with one another. The Serbs, Croats and Muslims depicted in this book are as war made them, not as God did. If they are not all pleasant people, it’s because the story of war is the story of hate and misunderstanding. Hate and misunderstanding destroy people spiritually just as the fighting destroys them bodily. Personal names of the faction leaders become real people rather than names in the news or characters in the story.

Seemingly random thoughts invade the author’s narrative, and her meaning is murky for a paragraph or so before clarifying. Her numerous digressions do not distract, but merely reflect the turmoil of the times and experience. Her story depicts a life of deprivation, struggle and loneliness as friends turn on friends and her own family circle is fractured beyond repair and has nothing to do with the horrors of war. Her story is a bit of a scrapbook in which are pasted clippings and memories relating the transformation of a ruptured country and the mending of a torn life.

As hard as the war and family separation was on her, returning home to Sarajevo after the war was the hardest experience of all when she finds she is foreigner in her own homeland. Eventually her dream of immigrating to the United States becomes reality. The author chastises the United States for its detachment to the Bosnian War and perhaps for having too much when she and her friends had so little; but also shows her appreciation of the United States for the freedom she now has, replacing that which was taken from her during the war years. Still she dreams of returning to the time of Marshall Tito, when Yugoslavians were not classified as Serb, Croat or Muslim, but only as Yugoslavians.

Snjezana Marinkovic is a poet who shares her philosophy of life and religion and reflections on ethnic polarization, and presents a poignant personal account of courage, determination and most of all, survival.

Review by Jim Woods, Author of So You Want to be an Author?

A GREAT AUTHOR!!!

Oh and did I mention? - there is a kind of Spam you will like - the latest ebook and first release print book from Elizabeth Ann Scarborough:

Spam Vs. the Vampire

Ode to a Second Rate Author

So, I had an author tell me today that he didn't need to try to perfect spelling or grammar, since all publishers have an editing department and that is what editors are for. He left me absolutely speechless. I wish him all the best, but does anyone else feel that way?

I expect my authors to try to turn in an A+ paper for publication, to do their very best and work with me to make it the best it can be. He turned in a C- paper and expects me to set aside time and make a supreme effort to transform it by myself. My favorite thing about selecting works and authors on Gypsy Shadow is finding people who want to become expert wordcrafters.

We are privileged to have people from all walks of life submitting their manuscripts, doing their darnedest to produce well-written stories and working to promote them on the Internet, at bookstores, at fantasy, sci-fi and writer's conventions as well as in their hometowns. My experience today made me want to thank each of you all over again for being 'my' authors and gracing Gypsy Shadow Publishing with your integrity and diligence.

If you are a reader, please stop by, read a few excerpts and pick something out!

Shiloh Darke

     We have a number of genres on our website and for those of you who don't like it hot and steamy with extra vampire and paranormal spice, skip this entry LOL.

     Our authors hone their skills in many ways and Shiloh Darke has gained a following through her fanfiction on many online sites. One of her books, The Eternal, is available in print through Gypsy Shadow Publishing and the rest are available at GypsyShadow.com as well as a variety of other distributors across the Internet.

     These books are currently available, with more to come!

The Chosen Mate

The Eternal 

 The Eternal Moon

 Magic's Reflection

 Patricia's Desire: Beauty's Stone Beast #3

 Rachel's Inheritance: Beauty's Stone Beast #1

Tarrah's Dream: Beauty's Stone Beast #2