Water Chasing Water by Koon Woon

 Nonfiction / Poetry

Kaya Press (Muse Publishing, Inc.)

Paperback

March 31, 2013

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1885030495

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1885030498

152 pages

$11.83 at time of this review

5 Stars

 

The poems in this book bring us into the conversation about what is, what isn’t, and what was. Mr. Woon is open about his mental illness, and the poems in which he discusses it are a marvelous insight.

 

All of his poems are very good, readable, accessible, and some will blow your socks off. His untitled poem about coffee is outstanding, “Perhaps it is not needed to look beyond coffee as coffee.”

 

We learn about his family, about him, about the Chinese diaspora in this country. If you are moved by poetry, you will definitely be moved by these poems. There is humor enough to smile and laugh, and pathos to make you sad, and perhaps cry. These poems contain life as lived by a sensitive poet.

 

And, an added bonus, the art by Sean Chao, is great fun. 

My Viking Vampire: A vampire fated mate fantasy romance (Sanctuary, Texas Book 1 of 7) —by Krystal Shannan

 

Fiction / Paranormal Romance

KS Publishing

August 25, 2014

Kindle

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00MR4DKGS

237 pages

$0.00 (at time of review)

5 Stars

 

This is not a book for someone who doesn’t want to read about the shiny pink parts. But if you don’t mind that, this book is a romp!

 

This is pure brain candy. No calories, great taste and fun. The protagonists are a human woman who has been terribly mistreated and a 1,000-year-old Viking vampire. And, of course, she beautiful, and he’s a hunk. The characters are fun—siren, dragon, werewolf, vampire, pixie, and that’s just a sampling.

 

Though this is book one of seven, it is a complete book, and I’m guessing the rest of the series will show off one of the minor characters in this book, and the protagonists of this book will become minor, supporting characters in the other books.

 

I must admit, I rather like her take on Texas. And I’m wonderfully intrigued by Sanctuary!

The Trip —by Sharmagne Leland-St. John, Illustrated by Melissa Bergemeier

Fiction / Child’s poetic story

Cyberwit.net

First Edition: 2020

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8182538211

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8182538214

24 Pages

$20.00

5 Stars

 

This delightfully written and richly illustrated book is a perfect children’s book. It is the magical story of a young boy, Michael, and the little mouse who took him on a midnight adventure around the world.   The little boy Michael and the mouse shared the same first name, so you just know they became fast friends.

 

The Michaels lived in an ancestral country estate and managed to slip away in the middle of the night to go on their trip. A magical trip, beginning with them scampering across a beautifully landscaped, manicured garden, wandering down a country lane, getting caught in a rainstorm and an adventure around the world, but do not fear, they made it safely home and shinnied up a drainpipe to arrive back int Michael's bedroom in time for a cup of warm milk before snuggling down for the night. In place of a teacup the little mouse is holding a thimble as he reclines in a small bed fashioned from a matchbox. Each and every detail in the book is carefully thought out from the toy soldiers in the nursery, the coat of arms on the gates, to the fly fisherman glimpsed under the bridge as the two travelers head toward London near dawn.

 

This is a book parents and grandparents (and babysitters) won’t mind reading over and over and yet one more time due to the easy flow of the rhymes and the charm of the story. It’s a grand book about a grand adventure. Wish I’d had it when my kids were little. 

NOTE: the Author prefers you order directly from her at:

2267 Lambert Drive

Pasadena, CA 91107

smiling in an old photograph --poems by Kim Ki-taek, translated by Ed Bok Lee and Yang Eun-Mi

 Non Fiction / Poetry

OHM editions

a project of Rain Taxi, Inc

PO Box 3840, Minneapolis, MN 55403

Limited edition

40 Pages (Chapbook, perfect bound)

$10.00 + $2.00 shipping in US, $8.00 international

5 Stars

 

This perfect bound chapbook was a calorie-free feast to read. Mr. Kim writes about what he sees, what he smells, life as he perceives it. His opening poem, “Eyes” takes us from just resting them for a moment to “After a night of dreams, / my head still remained heavy / from what my eyes couldn’t stop seeing.”

 

Not only is each poem perfectly crafted, but perfectly translated. He takes us from “Death of a Thousand Years” to “Pastoral Symphony,” a prose poem about Beethoven that brought tears to my eyes. 

 

I love the explanations of some of the poems. “Samgyeopsal “is Korean-style grilled pork belly. He has a whole poem devoted to it. I have a Korean restaurant in my town. Guess what I’m going to try.  I enjoyed his humor (kudos to the translators, as humor is hard to translate!) especially in “He Himself is Dead, Unable to Receive Mail”.

 

There are lines throughout this chapbook that I found gob smacking good: “Tongues itching to ejaculate words”, “Somewhere visible only in a drunken moment;”, “While the joints barely accept the request” to the final poem, “Chewing Gum” and “Gum that has been … / …grudgingly released / because the teeth were exhausted first.” 

 

This is a wonderful book. I read it all the way through the first time, then went back and re-read it randomly. To buy this book, please go to Rain Taxi and I certainly hope you do. You may also watch the launch event here! Where you will hear the poem read in Korean by Kim Ki-taek and then in English by the translator. 

Stars Like Cold Fire —by Brent Nichols & Jake Elwood

 Fiction / Space Opera

published: October 15, 2021

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09FP1XJP4

2883 KB / 238 pages

$2.99 Kindle (Free for Kindle unlimited)

5 Stars

 

Yes, there are some clichés contained herein. But it’s a Space Opera, you should expect cliché, yes? Yes!

 

I don’t read space opera very often, but this is great fun. No gratuitous sex or violence. In fact, no sex.  Our protagonist graduates from the Academy and due to the status of his deceased father, young son immediately gets sent to a backwater sector of the heavens and is put in charge of a small “guppy” stealth craft with a crew of about 7, with a chief enlisted who makes life miserable for him until he wakes up and smells the (space) roses. Or equivalent.

 

It’s the first of a series, so we know right off that our protagonist will survive, but we don’t know if he gets to keep his crew near him as he goes on to bigger and better. I’m pretty sure, though, that the mark of his father will follow him across the stars.

 

My definition of a good piece of fiction is that I want to feel better when I put the finished book down than when I picked it up. I read it in a day. It was great fun. If you want great literature, read Shakespeare. If you want fun, read Stars Like Cold Fire!

In the Shadow of Twilight, Love Poems —by MM Williams

 Nonfiction / Poetry 

Independently published

January 31, 2022

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09RFWR89L

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8410429078

$16.00

43 Pages

5 Stars

 

In the interest of full disclosure and honesty, I hereby admit I am a Facebook Friend with MM Williams. The primary reason I am his friend is he posts his poetry, and I love it. Fortunately, I also follow him on another source, so knew when this new book came out.

 

As the book title states, these are love poems. They speak of heart ache and heart happy. From the first poem, “I Love You” to the last, “Return to the Sea” your emotions will be played by a master of the words. 

 

Williams has a style I’ve come to love. Almost stream of conscious, but I know it really isn’t because each word is carefully placed. His poetry is free. Imagine being a kite, caught in the wind and the string breaks. You go on a journey from here to there and further still. Your heart is the kite. You see things in great clarity, but then you flew on.

 

“O crystal horse of night, …” begins “Take Me”.  “The Heart is a Cage for Broken Wings” ends by singing his fugitive queen “who emptied my heart, / and turned it into a cage for broken wings.”

 

These poems are sensual, passionate, they tell of love and loss and ache. They are beautiful. Each poem has at least one line that will stop you with its brilliance. It will be a line meant only for you, and you will recognize that. “Night comes shadow wept,” (“Chronicles”) “Ah, in the dark sky of my eyes your memory blazes” (“In the Shadow of Twilight”)

 

If you’ve ever been in love with someone, or somehow have missed that exquisite pain, buy and read this book. It is a treasure of great worth.