I have to read everything that this fantastic duo turn out. I was intrigued with Dr Bass and his work - but meeting Dr Bass and Jon Jefferson in person sealed the deal for me. Anything they write - I will have to read :) The full title of this book is Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries and the Revolution in Forensic Science. That is a mouthful - but it does say it all.
This is the 2nd non fiction collaboration for Dr Bass and Jon - the first was Death's Acre (read my review here - http://nikkisreviews.blogspot.com/2008/02/deaths-acre.html).
Both of these books are about Dr Bass' experiences as a bone detective. For people who aren't familiar with Dr Bass - years ago he started The Body Farm (made popular by a Patricia Cornwell novel). The Body Farm is a research facility at the University of Tennessee where Dr Bass worked for years. In his work he discovered that people could determine the time of death with more accuracy by studying the decomposition of the body - so he started a facility where they would study - body decomposition.
This may not sound glamorous - and its not. However through the pages of Death's Acre and Beyond the Body Farm - you will learn why this is important information and how it can help law enforcement, the legal community and the family of the victims and people who are falsely accused of crimes.
Learn about plane crashes into rivers, an ancient mystery,the smallest clues in the bones, bite marks, the importance of bugs, the long term search to identify a skeleton and much more including exhuming the body of The Big Bopper. Its all here and if you are interested in forensics and forensic anthropology or a good mystery - this book is for you. Take a walk through the interesting career of this knowledgable and charismatic professional. If you have the chance to meet Dr Bass and/or Jon Jefferson - I highly recommend that you do it.
I've also reviewed several of their novels which include forensic information Dr Bass gleaned through the years - they are very good :)
http://nikkisreviews.blogspot.com/2008/01/carved-in-bone-by-jefferson-bass.html
Friday, May 15, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Entrepreneurial Author: Surviving Tough Economic Times By Jay Conrad Levinson and David L Hancock
The Entrepreneurial Author: Surviving Tough Economic Times
By Jay Conrad Levinson and David L Hancock
Foreward by Rick Frishman
When I started doing promotional work, I was always given a limited budget. This meant that I had to get creative and that was one of the things that really appealed to me about promotional work. So, for a long time I was doing “guerilla” marketing – without knowing it. When I was asked to do a review for the new Jay Conrad Levinson book I was very pleased. Since David Hancock is a co-author, that made me even more interested in this book because I’ve enjoyed his entrepreneur author blog. David and I share many thoughts about how authors, especially business book authors, should approach their promotion. Many of these thoughts are included in the pages of The Entrepreneurial Author. Let me say in the beginning that this book is good for many entrepreneurs – not just authors.
Many books are coming out about how to do business in tough economic times and it seems that approach will be useful for the foreseeable future. So, our challenge is to find books that have quality and useful content. I was very pleased with the content in The Entrepreneurial Author. If you are a fan of the Guerilla Marketing books – you will enjoy this book. If you are an author who thinks your publisher is going to do all your promotion – you may not like the content, but you will learn a lot.
When you have a book on the market, you have created a product that you want to sell – that makes you a business person. So, all authors need the “entrepreneurial author” mindset. That is what this book is all about. In tough times, the people who approach their work with the right attitude, have a better opportunity to succeed. If you’re an author – do you approach your writing and book promotion as a business? If not, you need to read this book.
There are a number of great chapters in this book which are geared to working and promoting in a tough economy – such as: Tough Times Don’t Have to be as Tough as You Think, Importance of Stressing Value, Using Consent Marketing Now More Than Ever, Community Involvement During Tough Times, Attracting New Business During Tough Times and Online Marketing in a Shaky Economy.
Additional Chapters Include:
Free and Almost Free Marketing.
The Importance of Service During Tough Times.
Making Yourself the Talk of the Town.
Freebies That Can Lead to Serious Profits.
Getting Extra Mileage From Your Marketing.
I always advocate creativity and ingenuity in promotional efforts and tough economic times makes that even more important than usual. These are the times when we need to show potential clients that we offer great value. We also need to build our credibility for clients and that is a great reason for a business person to write a book.
This book starts at the beginning and helps you see the various options that are available to authors and can help you find the one that is best for you. Too many writers dive into publishing without doing sufficient research and it is amazing how much money this can cost you. The chapter on Tough Times Don’t Have to be as Tough as You Think is easily worth the cost of the book and it offers opportunities for authors and other business people. These tips help you reduce “the cost of marketing while reinforcing the customer relationship”.
I like books that draw you into the content and help you use the information within the book. The Entrepreneurial Author contains Exercises and Action Steps in each chapter to help you dig deeper into the content and also to actually take steps to start doing the work you need to do.
Guerilla Marketing is very much about using your mind and creativity instead of a big advertising budget. What better time could there be to learn how to promote effectively on a tight budget? The content is great and the time is definitely right – to learn to be an entrepreneurial author. Are you ready to take your books and your promotion to the entrepreneurial level? If you realize this is the time – you need to read this book ---- now. I think you will be astounded by how far you can take your writing career and your business by using the information in this book.
Nikki Leigh – Author of Book Promo 201: Harness the Power of the Internet with Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing
By Jay Conrad Levinson and David L Hancock
Foreward by Rick Frishman
When I started doing promotional work, I was always given a limited budget. This meant that I had to get creative and that was one of the things that really appealed to me about promotional work. So, for a long time I was doing “guerilla” marketing – without knowing it. When I was asked to do a review for the new Jay Conrad Levinson book I was very pleased. Since David Hancock is a co-author, that made me even more interested in this book because I’ve enjoyed his entrepreneur author blog. David and I share many thoughts about how authors, especially business book authors, should approach their promotion. Many of these thoughts are included in the pages of The Entrepreneurial Author. Let me say in the beginning that this book is good for many entrepreneurs – not just authors.
Many books are coming out about how to do business in tough economic times and it seems that approach will be useful for the foreseeable future. So, our challenge is to find books that have quality and useful content. I was very pleased with the content in The Entrepreneurial Author. If you are a fan of the Guerilla Marketing books – you will enjoy this book. If you are an author who thinks your publisher is going to do all your promotion – you may not like the content, but you will learn a lot.
When you have a book on the market, you have created a product that you want to sell – that makes you a business person. So, all authors need the “entrepreneurial author” mindset. That is what this book is all about. In tough times, the people who approach their work with the right attitude, have a better opportunity to succeed. If you’re an author – do you approach your writing and book promotion as a business? If not, you need to read this book.
There are a number of great chapters in this book which are geared to working and promoting in a tough economy – such as: Tough Times Don’t Have to be as Tough as You Think, Importance of Stressing Value, Using Consent Marketing Now More Than Ever, Community Involvement During Tough Times, Attracting New Business During Tough Times and Online Marketing in a Shaky Economy.
Additional Chapters Include:
Free and Almost Free Marketing.
The Importance of Service During Tough Times.
Making Yourself the Talk of the Town.
Freebies That Can Lead to Serious Profits.
Getting Extra Mileage From Your Marketing.
I always advocate creativity and ingenuity in promotional efforts and tough economic times makes that even more important than usual. These are the times when we need to show potential clients that we offer great value. We also need to build our credibility for clients and that is a great reason for a business person to write a book.
This book starts at the beginning and helps you see the various options that are available to authors and can help you find the one that is best for you. Too many writers dive into publishing without doing sufficient research and it is amazing how much money this can cost you. The chapter on Tough Times Don’t Have to be as Tough as You Think is easily worth the cost of the book and it offers opportunities for authors and other business people. These tips help you reduce “the cost of marketing while reinforcing the customer relationship”.
I like books that draw you into the content and help you use the information within the book. The Entrepreneurial Author contains Exercises and Action Steps in each chapter to help you dig deeper into the content and also to actually take steps to start doing the work you need to do.
Guerilla Marketing is very much about using your mind and creativity instead of a big advertising budget. What better time could there be to learn how to promote effectively on a tight budget? The content is great and the time is definitely right – to learn to be an entrepreneurial author. Are you ready to take your books and your promotion to the entrepreneurial level? If you realize this is the time – you need to read this book ---- now. I think you will be astounded by how far you can take your writing career and your business by using the information in this book.
Nikki Leigh – Author of Book Promo 201: Harness the Power of the Internet with Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing
Monday, March 9, 2009
Before the Scalpel by Panchali Dhar, MD
What Everyone Should Know About Anesthesia
Before the Scalpel by Panchali Dhar, MD
I had the opportunity to help promote this wonderful new resource in a virtual blog tour. My regular visitors have gotten to know about a lot of great books I've reviewed that were written by tour clients. This is definitely another one that I highly recommend, but this one is different. The content of this book can and very possibly will, affect your health and the health of your loved ones.
Dr Panchali Dhar is a respected anesthesiologist in New York and she has written a great book that gives so much great information. It is not a dry medical text book - not at all. The layout is very interesting and colorful. Since I wrote my first non fiction books, I've become much more aware of the layout of books and this layout is very good and adds a new dimension to the content.
To see a sample of the information and the contents of the book, you can view this PDF - http://www.tellmepress.com/publ_images/pdf/before_the_scalpel.pdf
Some of the Topics Included in the Book Include:
The Anesthesiologist
What sort of choices are there
Understand the operating room, monitors etc
Recovery after surgery - including managing pain
Plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery
Concerns for overweight patients
Anesthesia and childbirth
Concerns for children when anesthesia is used
Dental anesthesia
Nausea and vomiting and how to take care of yourself when you wake
There is also the history and timeline of anesthesia along with a glossary and more
This book is simply packed with everything you need to know to understand anesthesia and the tools you need to have an educated conversation with your doctor before surgery.
At the end of each chapter Dr Dhar provides what she calls "Prescriptives:Be a Better Consumer". These sections ask you questions to review important points from the chapters. These questions will also prepare you to know what you need to tell your doctor - what information will make a difference for you during and after surgery.
From the added tidbits that are included in each chapter, the pictures and even a couple of cartoon, the tips and the "Panchlines" are all parts of the book that make it very readable, easy to understand and beneficial for you. I highly recommend that everyone should read this book if they are unsure about anesthesia. As I've frequently said during this virtual blog tour, when you are lying on the operating table is NOT the time to start thinking about anesthesia.
This is some additional information that we compiled for the tour that you may like to see:
To view videos about various elements of the book - visit
Concerns for Overweight Patients - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUVfO96wDxA
Preparing for Surgery - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6gDu1sl4DI
Plastic Surgery Patients - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-N8O_qbsJE
Surgery Concerns for Children - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk5N5w2m208
To read the full table of contents, visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/01/before-scalpel-by-panchali-dhar-table.html
This is the publisher's sale page - http://www.tellmepress.com/product.php/Before-the-Scalpel/3/
To buy your copy - http://www.amazon.com/Before-Scalpel-Everyone-Should-Anesthesia/dp/0981645305
Nikki Leigh
Before the Scalpel by Panchali Dhar, MD
I had the opportunity to help promote this wonderful new resource in a virtual blog tour. My regular visitors have gotten to know about a lot of great books I've reviewed that were written by tour clients. This is definitely another one that I highly recommend, but this one is different. The content of this book can and very possibly will, affect your health and the health of your loved ones.
Dr Panchali Dhar is a respected anesthesiologist in New York and she has written a great book that gives so much great information. It is not a dry medical text book - not at all. The layout is very interesting and colorful. Since I wrote my first non fiction books, I've become much more aware of the layout of books and this layout is very good and adds a new dimension to the content.
To see a sample of the information and the contents of the book, you can view this PDF - http://www.tellmepress.com/publ_images/pdf/before_the_scalpel.pdf
Some of the Topics Included in the Book Include:
The Anesthesiologist
What sort of choices are there
Understand the operating room, monitors etc
Recovery after surgery - including managing pain
Plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery
Concerns for overweight patients
Anesthesia and childbirth
Concerns for children when anesthesia is used
Dental anesthesia
Nausea and vomiting and how to take care of yourself when you wake
There is also the history and timeline of anesthesia along with a glossary and more
This book is simply packed with everything you need to know to understand anesthesia and the tools you need to have an educated conversation with your doctor before surgery.
At the end of each chapter Dr Dhar provides what she calls "Prescriptives:Be a Better Consumer". These sections ask you questions to review important points from the chapters. These questions will also prepare you to know what you need to tell your doctor - what information will make a difference for you during and after surgery.
From the added tidbits that are included in each chapter, the pictures and even a couple of cartoon, the tips and the "Panchlines" are all parts of the book that make it very readable, easy to understand and beneficial for you. I highly recommend that everyone should read this book if they are unsure about anesthesia. As I've frequently said during this virtual blog tour, when you are lying on the operating table is NOT the time to start thinking about anesthesia.
This is some additional information that we compiled for the tour that you may like to see:
To view videos about various elements of the book - visit
Concerns for Overweight Patients - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUVfO96wDxA
Preparing for Surgery - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6gDu1sl4DI
Plastic Surgery Patients - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-N8O_qbsJE
Surgery Concerns for Children - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk5N5w2m208
To read the full table of contents, visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/01/before-scalpel-by-panchali-dhar-table.html
This is the publisher's sale page - http://www.tellmepress.com/product.php/Before-the-Scalpel/3/
To buy your copy - http://www.amazon.com/Before-Scalpel-Everyone-Should-Anesthesia/dp/0981645305
Nikki Leigh
Sunday, March 8, 2009
How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32 By Wade Slome
How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32
By Wade Slome
First, a bit about Wade Slome
By Wade Slome
First, a bit about Wade Slome
Wade Slome holds an MBA from Cornell University with an emphasis in Finance. He earned a B.A. in Economics from UCLA. In addition, he holds the esteemed credentials of CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and CFP (Certified Financial Planner.) He is the go-to resource for USA Today, The New York Times, Dow Jones, Investor’s Business Daily, Bloomberg, Smart Money and many other media outlets. He presently leads his own investment practice in Newport Beach, California.
Wade Slome has led an adventurous life. He started trading penny stocks in high school stock market competitions after the 1987 Crash. As a freshly minted MBA graduate from Cornell University in 1998, he never expected in his wildest dreams to land on one of the largest mutual funds in the entire United States of America. But at the age of 3.
About How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32
This book was much more entertaining than I expected. While it was being edited and laid out, I saw portions of it. But, then I received the final book and got a chance to read it. I will admit that finance is not something that I know much about. I can manage my finances and I have done bookkeeping for years - but this is a whole different dimension to finance and economics.
I really enjoyed the fact that Slome takes us back to his childhood and we see his development and learn about his family. Its clear the family and his roots are important and helped shape him into the man he is today.
We go with Slome to his college days and to his internship. Through movies, I've seen the life that financial interns and that comes across in the pages of the book. From no pay and low pay and the very long days that all interns have to survive.
Slome goes into a lot of detail about the job where he managed $20,000,000,000. We get an insider's view of a typical day, the responsibilities and rewards. I'd never thought about the type of people he interacted with during this time period. Imagine being in your early 30s and dealing with titans in business. He met with these very powerful people and it was his job to question just about everything.
Throughout the book, some of the headings include:
Influences
Paying His Dues
Chasing Profits
Investment Philosophy
Hedge Funds
Managing Billions
Once we get a clear picture about the man behind the book and the accomplishments, he moves us to topics that are very timely.
Technology and Globalization
Winning Strategies
How to Choose a Financial Advisor
Credentials
What to Do With Your Portfolio
2008 and 2009 have brought and will bring the biggest financial challenges this country and the world have faced in over a quarter of a century. Most Americans seem to be no clue what to do about their financial future and what to do now. Wade Slome has the background and experience to help people have more information about how to tackle the current and future economic situations.
How to Write a Damn Good Mystery by James N Frey
I've wanted to read this book for ages and finally broke down and bought a copy a couple of months ago. When I finished the manuscript for Book Promo 201, I wanted to start planning the next book in my Cape Hatteras mystery series -- seemed like a great time to read this book :)
How to Write a Damn Good Mystery by James N Frey
My next book will be a kidnapping mystery and its my 13th book (to be published under my name) and the 22nd book I've written, so I wasn't looking for the usual "how to write" book. I wanted to read something that delved into the nuisances of mysteries and this was just what I needed. There are a couple of characters on character development, point of view, writing, editing, rewriting etc - but the other chapters were the most interesting to me.
- Frey begins by talking about why people read mysteries. How can we write a story that appeals to our target audience, if we don't know what they want?
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - moves into sorting through our ideas and getting started.
- There is an entire story and plot, behind the obvious plot in a mystery. To be "mysterious" and to use red herrings, and to include those twists and surprises that readers love, we need to develop and completely understand the "hidden" part of the story.
- Creating the Villain is another important element - is the villain three dimensional? Can the reader relate the them? Are they evil enough? A great and memorable villain must be well developed and realistic. This leads right into a chapter about being intimate with the villain.
- Once you understand the villain and have developed them thoroughly, its time to move on to the hero and/or heroine. You must also fully develop the hero or heroine. At this point Frey talks about the hero's journey and how that assists you in the development of your hero or heroine. ****
- The hero's journey will also help you to discover the type of secondary characters you can use and why they are needed.
- Creating an effective plot for an edge of your seat mystery requires plotting and this can take many forms and chapter 9 explains some of these tips.
- You need a believable detective - whether a professional or an amateur. How will they figure out the mystery? Will they have help? Who will help them?
- The gripping climax is one of the most critical elements of the mysteries I love to read, so I was very glad to see a complete chapter devoted to the climax of the book. Part of the climax is capturing the villain and that is the topic in chapter 15.
There is so much great information in this book and if you plan to write mysteries - I highly recommend that you read this book. Its definitely worth the cost and if you are a beginning author - there is plenty of information in this book to help you with the writing basics.
In last 2009 or early 2010 - you will have to check out my latest mystery and you can tell me whether you think this book helped me :) Or, if maybe I should read it over again -- I did highlight many great points while I was reading it and I plan to go back through those sections as I'm working on future mysteries.
**** If you aren't familiar with the Hero's Journey, there are all kinds of articles online and a number of books that you can use to understand the details of the hero's journey - following are links to some of the ones I'm familiar with - some could be helpful.
Writer's Journey Mythic Structure for Writers - http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Journey-Mythic-Structure-3rd/dp/193290736X
Hero's Journey Works of Joseph Campbell - http://www.amazon.com/Heros-Journey-Joseph-Campbell-Works/dp/1577314042
Writer's Journey Mythic Structure of Writers - http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Journey-Mythic-Structure-3rd/dp/193290736X
Hero with a Thousand Faces - http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Thousand-Faces-Bollingen/dp/1577315936
Garden of Deadly Pleasures
I thoroughly enjoy a great mystery and I've picked up quite a few mystery short story collections. So many times I can't find time to get into a great book, but maybe just to enjoy a short story or two. That's why I found Garden of Deadly Pleasures edited by Cynthia Manson. But, I have to tell you that I picked up my copy on a used book site. If you can find a copy of this great paperback and if you like short mysteries - definitely pick this up.
Each mystery in this collection has something to do with plants and gardens. It could be unique or killer plants, could be a body buried in a garden or maybe dead bodies are dumped in a garden. Agatha Christie even sends Hercule Poirot to investigate the poisoning death of a elderly woman. Aside from Agatha Christie, none of the names were familiar, but there are plenty of great story tellers in this small book.
This is a fairly quick read and very enjoyable :)
Publisher: Signet Book
Book Type: Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780451187727 - ISBN-10: 0451187725
Publication Date: 4/1/1996
Pages: 256
Saturday, January 24, 2009
WAKE UP Your Life! By Doris Roper
WAKE UP Your Life! By Doris Roper
(Review by Nikki Leigh)
Are you a woman in a transformational stage of your life? Have people told you that your life needs some major changes? Do you feel that things in your life need a change? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are a person who needs to read this book. It is geared toward women, but men can benefit from the advice.
Doris Roper writes his book from a unique perspective. She tells us about a woman taking, not one, not two, but three husbands from her. That’s right – three husbands. At that point, Doris realized that she and her life needed some definite changes. That’s what started her trek to WAKE UP her life and being able to help other women wake up their lives. The book is called “A Woman’s guide to real personal power”, but the information can be great for a man who is stuck in a bad situation and really needs to make changes.
Doris Roper’s target audience are women who need to make a change and also women who are being forced to make a change because of their situations, that can include: divorce, death of a spouse, big financial change, illness or any other major change that would mean the women’s life will change dramatically.
These are some of the chapter titles to give you an idea of the topics that are covered:
Chapter 1 Getting clear on my quest.
Chapter 2 Pain is a blessing, not a curse.
Chapter 3 Forget rejection, think redirection.
Chapter 4 Give up your power, give up your life.
Chapter 5 Focus on your limitations, and you will only see brick walls.
Chapter 6 Remember the Butterfly Effect – your view of things affects others.
Chapter 7 Forgiveness is for you, not for them.
I would tell you which chapter was my favorite, but I found things that I really liked in each chapter. In the opening couple of chapters, I got the feeling the message was to get off your backside and realize your life NEEDS to change. And, there are many people who need to hear that message. I have a habit of making that point to loved ones pretty bluntly sometimes, so that really resonated with me.
It is so true that pain is a blessing in many instances. It reminds us of the old adage that what does kill us makes us stronger – and stronger is not a bad thing. Strength can help us to get through very trying times and each of us have the ability to be strong and to survive some unbelievable situations, sometimes we just need the chance to proof it.
I also liked the idea of redirection instead of rejection. Have there been times in your life when your really needed to change the direction your life was taking, but you hesitated to make that change? I think we all have and rejection can be the motivator we need to make that change. I especially liked chapter 7 and the idea that forgiveness is for us and not the other person.
The book is only one thing that Doris does to help women in transition. Doris is the founder of The W.I.T. Institute, an educational and support organization for women to master their financial lives.
I highly recommend reading WAKE UP Your Life. It could be just what you need or you may have a friend who needs a nudge to make changes in her life or who is facing an incredibly trying time and just doesn’t know how to make the changes that are needed. That’s where Doris and WAKE Up Your Life comes in.
For more information about Doris' book and her work, visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/12/wake-up-your-life-by-doris-roper.html and her website http://www.witinstitute.com/
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