Micro Press Introduces New Book on Spirituality

 Title: Dwelling In The Mirror
 A Study of Illusions Produced By Delusive Meditation And How to Be Free from Them
Author: Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)
Genre: BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Mindfulness & Meditation
Publisher: Light of the Spirit Press
ISBN-10: 0-9985998-2-4              
Paperback        $11.99
Kindle ebook asin: B073V3QSYX  on sale at $0.99
Available at Amazon here: http://a.co/3iyX1b8

Review by Sandra Carrington-Smith, author of Housekeeping for the Soul

BLURB:

“The old adage is still true: All that glitters is not gold.”

“Over and over people have mistaken trivial and pathological conditions for enlightenment, written books, given seminars and gained a devoted following. I have encountered quite a few myself, including people who believed they were the Divine Mother, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, Saint Francis of Assisi, Archangel Michael, Lucifer and assorted famous masters of the past. One called our monastery and left lengthy narratives on our answering machine about herself because, she said, she did not want to die without anyone knowing about her experiences and attainment. Another one wrote me a note that simply said: ‘I am the Goddess!’”

“I have known more than one person who believed all their dreams were revelations of truth. And I have known some that continually predicted their imminent death for decades. Others told me how  they were, including the one that had whiplash from ‘crashing into the divine light.’ What did they all have in common? They had an experience! Not of one of them was an intentional fraud. They believed their delusions based on their experience.”

“Most of these unfortunate people were completely unreachable with reason. Yet there are those who can have an experience and realize that it really cannot be real, but a vagary of their mind. Some may not understand that on their own, but can be shown by others the truth about it. For them and those that may one day be in danger of meditation-produced delusions I have written this brief study.”

The above is from the author in the book's preface."

Review

In Dwelling in the Mirror you will learn: 

     • Different types of meditation and the experiences they produce, and the problems and delusions which can arise from them.

     • How to get rid of negative initiation energies and mantras.

     • What are authentic, positive meditation practices and their effects and aspects.

     • An ancient, universal method of meditation which is both proven and effective. 

  

I am very grateful for this book, and for the clean, honest wisdom it dispenses, and I would eagerly suggest it to anyone who’s on a path of spiritual discovery. It was certainly not what I expected when I started reading, but by the time I reached the last page, I knew it was exactly what I needed to hear.”

– Sandra Carrington-Smith, author of Housekeeping for the Soul

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ). This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Interweavings 
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Author: Carol Smallwood
Publisher: Shanti Arts Publishing, Brunswick, Maine, 2017
SBN 978-1-941830-46-8, paperback
$16.95, 
162 pages
Available on Amazon


Reviewed by Vera Gubnitskaia originally for Literary Yard

Interweavings: Creative Nonfiction is a mosaic. There is a gentle ebb and flow of threads of with children, cancer, marriage, friends, losses. And yet, you catch yourself, while reading and after you finish, thinking about your own life. Not comparing, no, just thinking, remembering, feeling. As if reading these lines, sentences, paragraphs, wakes something up, lifts a corner of a drape with a gentle breeze. Softly reminds you of pieces and interweavings of your past, of wonders of the present, of anticipation of the future.

This is a collection of shimmering bits and pieces of excellent prose. It is written by an accomplished poet, and sometimes it feels like it is written in verse. It is tempting to read it in one gulp, the collection is small and is deceptively easy to glide through; resist the urge to finish it in one sitting. Sip it slowly, reflect, put aside, reflect some more, come back. Take another taste, repeat as necessary. Enjoy the music, smile at the recollection of an episode from Columbo. Climb library steps. Grieve about a lost friend. Feel alive.


MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Vera Gubnitskaia is a  Reference Librarian for Valencia College in Winter Park, Florida. She reviews for Literary Yard. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ). This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Short Story Collection Called "Enchanting"

Title: The Quest - A Collection of Short Stories

Author: Yannis Kyrlis

Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers

ISBN 9781786932099 (Paperback); ISBN 9781786932105 (Hardback): ISBN 9781786932112 (eBook) 

Purchase from Amazon 

About the book and reviewers' ratings:

http://www.austinmacauley.com/book/quest-collection-short-stories

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786932105

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34740724-the-quest---a-collection-of-short-stories

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-quest-a-collection-of-short-stories/yannis-kyrlis/9781786932099

Reviewed by Maria Georgala

I wish I had written this book! However, I have been so lucky to indulge myself reading the manuscript in Greek and to be so deeply involved in the text, that I decided to translate it into English. I was enchanted by the depth and the richness of diverse meanings, the dream-tinged, surreal and weird writing style. Every time I read the story “THE THREAT” it blows my mind. Any time I read it again, I want to cry and laugh at the same time, excited about its imperceptible irony. 

Although his every story is surprisingly different from the others, they are all immersed into a dreamy atmosphere. In a conversation with the author, Yannis Kyrlis, I asked him about the role of dreams in his writings and I was touched by his reference to our inner scriptwriter, whom we often ignore, but who has something to tell us. The writer’s use of dreamy imagery initiates the reader into this surrealist scriptwriter and self-knowledge.

The book covers a wide range of situations and feelings, from lack of awareness and conscience, to despair and remorse, from a child’s innocence to the lack of personal responsibility and the psychology of the mass, since in many cases a crowd is similar to a herd of animals (this is the subject of the short stories “THE QUEST” and “THE COURSE OF A CRISIS”). 

The author has not given names to the heroes of his stories (most of the time), emphasizing the timeless nature of human behaviours and emotions. The hero of the short story “THE QUEST” is in pursuit of his internal integration through self-knowledge. In “THE LITTLE GIRL WITH CLOTH LEGGS”, the path towards the hero’s internal integration passes through the restoration of harmony and balance between the two parts of a human being, the male and the female energy. The little girl with cloth legs symbolises a man’s undeveloped female energy (compassion, empathy…)  

Twelve strangely brilliant stories: The more I read and go deeper into them, the more I get enchanted by them.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Author and artist of painting Maria Georgala was born in Greece. She studied Philosophy and Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Yoga of Bihar Yoga Bharati system. Her art has been exhibited in Greece and Germany. She also contributes to Greek magazines in Athens, Duesseldorf and Chicago. Her work as an author includes fiction, plays, screenplays and children’s literature. Learn more about her at: 

https://www.amazon.com/MARIA-GEORGALA/e/B01DTFGJUC

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND BOOK 

Purchase from Amazon 

About the book and reviewers' ratings: 

http://www.austinmacauley.com/book/quest-collection-short-stories

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786932105 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34740724-the-quest---a-collection-of-short-stories 

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-quest-a-collection-of-short-stories/yannis-kyrlis/9781786932099

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ). This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Andrea's Bookshelf at Midwest Book Review Recommends Writers' How-To Book

How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically
Subtitle: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career
Series: The multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally.com
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Press
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
9781536948370 $17.95 pbk / $9.95 Kindle 
Available as a paperback and e-book on Amazon

Reviewed by Andrea Kay for her bookshelf at MidwestBookReview.com


The third book in the "How to Do It Frugally" series by award-winning author Carolyn Howard-Johnson, How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically lives up to its title, as an instructional guidebook for maximizing publicity from sources of free reviews in order to build a sustainable writing career. Chapters discuss how to avoid scams (especially pay-for-review scams), how to create a query letter for reviews that stands out from the pack, what to do with good reviews once they're obtained, how to respond to negative reviews or manage Amazon reviews, and much more. "Authors should not ask professional reviewers or journalists, 'Are you interested in an interview, too.' Just like literary agents prefer you to pitch one book at a time in your query letter, reviewers, too, will be more easily convinced if you focus on the review." How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically is an absolute "must-have" for any aspiring or practicing author! Also highly recommended are the previous books in the series, "The Frugal Editor" (9781505712117, $17.95 pbk / $3.99) and "The Frugal Book Promoter, second edition" (9781463743291, $17.95 pbk / $5.99 Kindle).


MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ). This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Review from Andrea's Bookshelf at Midwest Book Review

How do you thank a reviewer when you can't trace her down? It's in my How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Using The New Book Review is a good idea, but it doesn't quite cut it as a real thank you!  (-:  Anyway, here it is from the "shelf" of the almost anonymous Midwest Book Reviewer, Andrea, with permission to reprint as Midwest always does for its reviewers and reviewed authors!

Title: How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically
Subtitle: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Third in the #HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for writers
From the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Press
www.howtodoitfrugally.com

9781536948370 $17.95 pbk

$9.95 Kindle amazon.com

The third book in the "How to Do It Frugally" series by award-winning author Carolyn Howard-Johnson, How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically lives up to its title, as an instructional guidebook for maximizing publicity from sources of free reviews in order to build a sustainable writing career. Chapters discuss how to avoid scams (especially pay-for-review scams), how to create a query letter for reviews that stands out from the pack, what to do with good reviews once they're obtained, how to respond to negative reviews or manage Amazon reviews, and much more. "Authors should not ask professional reviewers or journalists, 'Are you interested in an interview, too.' Just like literary agents prefer you to pitch one book at a time in your query letter, reviewers, too, will be more easily convinced if you focus on the review." How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically is an absolute "must-have" for any aspiring or practicing author! Also highly recommended are the previous books in the series, "The Frugal Editor" (9781505712117, $17.95 pbk / $3.99) and "The Frugal Book Promoter, second edition" (9781463743291, $17.95 pbk / $5.99 Kindle).



MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

COPD Sufferer Shares Model for Viable Life

Title: COPD: 
Subtitle:  Eat to Breathe Plan to Feeling Better
Author: Teri L. Pizza
ISBN 9781541168169
Nonfiction - Health, fitness & dieting >diseases & physical aliments
Website: www.teripizza.com


ENDORSEMENT


Jay Jordan's review appears on the back cover of book. Used with permission:

“I highly and enthusiastically endorse COPD: 

The Eat to Breathe Plan to Feeling Better." 

It is a simple yet very powerful plan to help people with COPD 

manage their disease and breathe better. 

I am very excited about the prospect of the positive outcomes 

it will have in the lives of people with COPD.”

Jay Jordan BS, RRT, CCRP

Team Leader of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

LeConte Medical Center, Sevierville, TN

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Teri Pizza is a columnist, speaker and author of several books. She attributes living the Eat to Breathe Plan and her fabulous team of medical professionals for her ability to live a viable life while battling COPD. “Not quite as active as pre-COPD but very close!” She, her husband, and crabby cat, Holly, reside in Central Florida. To learn more about her, visit her website, www.teripizza.com. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ). This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

UK Father Tells of Struggle with Government Agency

Title: My Fight For My Family (The Mega Pig File)

Author: David Jordan

Length: 224 pages

Genre: Nonfiction/ Memoir / Misery Memoir

Audience Type: 16+

Format available: Paperback and Ebook

Website: http://www.themegapigfile.co.uk/

Amazon UK link

BLURB FROM AMAZON CUSTOMER'S REVIEW

"If Dave, the author, had not been so committed to keeping his family together whatever it took, not only his first child, but his other two children would have been lost to the "CARE" system. DAVID took on a GOLIATH family court.... not many win."

BOOK BLURB

"A man's struggle to keep his family together against all odds. 

What would you do if social workers came knocking on your door, with only 'smoke and mirrors' evidence they had come for your children? Would you fight for your family or simply let them steal your children? "

SYNOPSIS

Written in the first person “My fight for my family” is a detailed story starting in 1985, it chronicles a man’s struggle to keep his family together against all odds. His girlfriend Martha was pregnant with nowhere to live, she was allocated a council flat. The flat was on the ground floor and she soon discovered that the tenant above was a schizophrenic who paced the floor and had loud argument’s with himself. When she brought her baby daughter back home she became tired and run down, a relation, trying to help, suggested that she should ask social services to help her find more suitable accommodation.  The intervention of Social Services resulted in the baby being taken into care and placed with a foster mother, this was the start of the family’s problems, which were to continue for many years.

Martha’s mental health grew worse. In the course of taking the child into care she was taken from her pram, when her mother tried to prevent this, she was accused of injuring her, causing her further anguish. Lengthy battles then ensued between the father of the child, who wished for custody and access for the child’s mother under supervision, and social services.

Appropriate accommodation was needed before the baby, Sally, could be returned to her father.

At a custody hearing, after reports had been read, an ex lady barrister approached the father and offered to speak on his behalf, her opinion was that social services had all but destroyed the family unit.  Considering the fact that Martha was told by the foster mother that she was no good as a mother and should give her child up for adoption, the reason for her mental decline was clear.

She received care for her mental problems and in due course went home to resume family life.

Two more children were born into the family, Rachel in 1991 and John in 1992.  In 1995 the children were visited by a health visitor and declared to be developmentally delayed.

A Care Order was sought by social services.

By now David, the children’s father, knew he had yet another battle on his hands.

He did not shirk his responsibility, driven on by the love for his family and his determination to keep them together he addressed every point with which he was attacked.  When social services concerns were not divulged to him he replied that this was a violation of his human rights. He wrote letters of complaint to the local authority, and also to the local Government Ombudsman.

Conflicting opinions regarding the children’s welfare caused him to question the reports and he enlisted the help of a solicitor to obtain Legal Aid in support of his claim that the actions of social services had caused Martha’s mental illness. In the course of obtaining the information which he needed, he received correspondence about his case printed by case workers and noticed that   the computer data base reference and name Mega Pig were printed at the bottom of the document.

He could draw only one conclusion from this, that it was derogatory comment.

David went to extraordinary lengths to challenge the unnecessary actions taken against his family even employing a Barrister, to unsuccessfully, sue social services due to a precedence that had previously been set by the House of Lords.

It is impossible to convey the power and depth of this story in a synopsis. The bravery and tenacity of the father, a fragile mother and three vulnerable children, their lives disrupted by a team of social workers who were not fit for purpose. Starting with a heart-rending scene of a mother being robbed of her child, followed by endless meetings and court appearances, sub standard housing and police involvement, the story is lifted by Martha’s adventures in a mental hospital and David’s bravery in confronting the establishment.  It has the makings of a good film.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ). This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.