From as far back as Kimberly can remember, she has either told stories or written stories.  In the first grade, she stood and made the announcement that her family couldn't afford a stove and they were starving.  Not until the community started to deliver food to the house did her parents find out that the motivation had come from their six-year-old daughter.

Combining her two passions of writing and composing, Shursen's first full-blown musical was produced in Minneapolis by a Broadway producer and went on to open in  Sweden.  Her second musical was produced in 2009.  Plans are in the making to re-open "Eden" with a larger cast and  orchestra.

With  three grown, successful sons, Shursen has a background in marketing and shares her home in the Midwest United States with George and Gracie Burns - a Yorkshire Terrier and Bichon Havanese. 


BRIAN: Kimberly, it’s wonderful having you at the Underground. I’m going to jump right in about your book, Itsy Bitsy Spider. Where did you get the idea for the novel? How long did it take from idea to publication?

KIMBERLY: Thanks, Brian. It’s fun to be home again as I remember when the four of is started Underground Book Reviews – the brain-child of Amy Biddle – it was so much fun to toss around ideas for this site that would review books and interview authors. 

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” took a little over a year to complete—and  then another six months for editing. For years, I’ve heard and read of abuse that mostly focused on lower socio-economic groups. I started to wonder how many adult children had gone to their graves not telling their stories because the abuser controlled them by using power or money. Thus the birth of “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” the story of the powerful Boston Mayor Jack McCallin and his step-daughter Claire. McCallin has threatened Claire that if she ever tells ‘the secret,’ bad things will happen.  
 

BRIAN: Itsy Bitsy Spider is a contemporary action-thriller sent in modern day Boston. As  someone who loves that town, I’m curious why you picked that particular setting?

KIMBERLY: Boston has such a diverse community from multi-cultured citizens to the established wealthy. My characters represent the  diverse communities from blue collar to elite. I educated myself on the city by studying pictures and reading about the suburbs I wanted to write about. I mentally visited the JFK Library, the Globe headquarters in Dorchester, the  St.Charles River, Harvard, and Larz Anderson Park just to name a few.


BRIAN: I’m shocked, because I just assumed you’d been there by how well you describe it.  You obviously did your homework

Indie authors comprise a big slice of Underground Book Reviews audience, so I’d like to ask a few questions about your writing and publication experience.  First, did you try to
publish Itsy through traditional means? If so, what was your experience? If not,
why?

KIMBERLY:  Yes, I did try the traditional method, but not for long. The wait for an answer to my query was harrowing, and even when I received a response it was a form letter. Unless I was a ‘name’, I didn’t stand a chance.  Smaller publishing  companies were interested, but wanted to know my marketing plan. I felt if I had to do all the work, why not publish the book myself?  
 

BRIAN:  You’re a marketing professional by trade. Marketing is a tough nut to crack for any indie author. Can you share your marketing strategy for Itsy Bitsy Spider with our readers?

KIMBERLY: I started pre-marketing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” six months before it was published.  There’s a fine line between “oh my God, be quiet already” to “that’s a book I want to read.”  Once a week, I posted on linked-in, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter with  posts such as “soon to be released,” or “two more weeks before…”   I invited people to become friends especially to Linked-In as I feel the  site is the best way to find your readers. I also wrote dozens of book clubs  finding e-mails on the net. A few months before the novel was published I  gathered thirty authors together and formed a gorilla marketing group. I interview one of the authors every two weeks for my website. The rules are that each author has to market the interview twice a week for two weeks on all their social sites. Not only do the authors get exposure, but readers who read their interview will take a peek at my work. All the authors in this group are not only quality writers, but quality people,  and it is a privilege to get to know them personally and professionally. The novel was released on May 1st. On Mother’s day weekend I offered the Ebook free to generate exposure and reviews. Imagine how elated I was to discover that almost 1300 books had been downloaded.


BRIAN:  Itsy is tightly edited, but indie writers often get a bad rap for poor editing from the publishing establishment. Tell us about your editing process and, please feel free to promote any editing services you used. 

KIMBERLY: Thank-you. Yes, I agree, if you don’t cough up money for editorial services, you  will not have the reviews or readership you might deserve. There are always errors in every novel and I have found major, ongoing errors in some of the best-selling books. Ann Cooper-Westlake was my editor for Itsy Bitsy Spider.  I feel it is important to have a relationship with your editor and Ann and I established a friendship outside of the editing process. She is very dear to me and can be found at http://writerscrampeditingconsultants.com/Books.html


BRIAN:  You cover is excellent. Did you come up with the concept yourself?  Who did it for you? 

KIMBERLY: Createspace did the cover. I offered ideas, but the team developed the cover.  Many women have written to tell me they have a phobia about spiders, but have to read the book.  The cover of a book is key to someone picking your book. I know this from  my experience in developing brochures and ads in marketing.


BRIAN: What’s your number one piece of advice for aspiring  authors?

KIMBERLY: You can’t do it all.  If you are creative, you don’t have to  have perfect skills in editing, but it takes a village to put your novel out  there. You, Brian, Amy and Katie were a part of the creation of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” as all three of you were beta readers. When I left the underground,  Katie became my beta reader. As a creative person, it’s difficult to take a  step back from your writing however, whoever your trust to be your beta reader represents all readers and, if they don’t understand or feel the emotion you hope to impart, chances are neither will your readers. My advice to aspiring  authors is to find a writing partner who’s writing you respect and open up to their suggestions.


BRIAN: Describe for our readers what kind of dog a “Bichon Havanese” is. I’ve never heard of the breed, but that’s a heck of a name. 
 
KIMBERLY:  Gracie Burns is nine pounds and looks like a miniature sheep dog. She is the sweetest dog ever unless George Burns gets in her way. Gracie is nine and George is ten. They are the first to hear what I have written as they sit at my feet when I write.


BRIAN:  What’s next for Kimberly Shursen?

KIMBERLY: “Hush,” the present-day courtroom drama that revisits the Roe vs. Wade case that legalized abortion, will be out this fall. Penning out at around 100,000 words, the edgy drama that borders on a thriller took months of legal research. My editor for this novel is Joelle Walker who not only has years of experience as in editor in publishing companies, but worked as a paralegal. Staged in Minneapolis where I lived for over 25 years, the “Hush” will also travel to Geneva, Switzerland where one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world will do anything to stop this trial. Why? Well, you’ll  have to read the book.  
 

BRIAN: Kimberly, thank you so much for joining us today. For our readers, you can read my review of Kimberly Shursen’s debut novel Itsy Bitsy Spider here on Underground Book Reviews. 
 
Kimberly Shursen Links:
Itsy Bitsy Spider on Amazon
Kimberly Shursen’s Website
Kimberly Shursen  on Facebook, Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn.  

Matt Langford, author of The Watchman, is a 39 year old full-time ICU nurse in the UK. In his own words: “I rent two  young children and a wife.  I pay  the basic rate so they tend to shout at me rather a lot.  My wife is just about to re-enter full-time education. I manage to fit my mountain biking within, around and underneath my three  full-time activities.  My time is  my passion.  I have been writing  since the age of 11 when my short story, The Clay Hog, was read out in my school  assembly. The reviews were startling. Since the advent of the internet I have  had several short stories published and my work has appeared in the ABC Tales Magazine.  Sadly, The  Clay Hog is now lost, presumed an archive. I also enjoy playing the guitar,  although others may not agree.”


BRIAN: Matt, thanks for joining us today in The Underground.  The Watchman is a fascinating novel about the world, and a family, seen through the eyes of a mentally disabled teenage boy named Adam. Why did you select this particular, and if I may add ambitious, subject matter for a first  novel?

MATT:  The advice I’ve always received when asking about inspiration for writing is ‘write about what you know’.  There is little I don’t know about living within a family where a child has a learning difficulty.  I started writing the novel over ten years ago and, to be honest, my reasons for writing then were very different to my reasons for writing now.  The events that inspired  The Watchman were still fresh in my mind and all the principle players were alive and well and still played a large part in my life. Ten years on and things have changed. My relationships with my family have evolved and I’m a lot more mature.  If I was to start The Watchman from scratch now, I doubt the feelings and emotions I would convey would be anything like how are in the novel at present.  
 
I unearthed The Watchman about a year ago following an 8 years hiatus on my hard drive and found many problems with the initial draft.  I’d included many short passages called ‘Gobbledeegooks’ which were, essentially, asides from Adam’s narration and information taken from the ‘real’ world.  I read the draft through over and over again until it finally dawned on me that these passages detracted from the essence of the novel – namely Adam’s world, which is what the story is all about.  So I cut them all (except for the  opening paragraphs – a diary entry from Jane, who would go on to be Adam’s mother).  I also cut about 90% of the dialogue.  Soon I found that the more I took away from the outside world and the more concentrated Adam’s world became, the more the story developed.  (If I was more brave I would have no dialogue at all. But I’m a bit of a woos).  I lost about 30000 words!  Which wasn’t easy.  But without this cull I don’t think the finished piece would have worked at all.

In a sense I ended up going through a process with my 14 year  old, my 26 year old, and my present self!  An odd meeting of minds I’m sure you’ll agree.   We all had different reasons for writing this book that complemented each  other wonderfully.  What I told my younger selves was that ultimately, the best stories come from within micro-worlds. Nothing is more micro than a family.  Every  family has a Hollywood blockbuster bursting to be written.  I wouldn’t be so bold as to claim my family was particularly more  interesting than any other, but it certainly contained elements that others should be made aware of, and I feel people will feel more affection to their own stories once reading The Watchman.


BRIAN: I take it, then, Adam was inspired by someone in your personal life. How difficult was it to write from the perspective of a mentally disabled person?

MATT:  Adam  is a character based on my brother, Deny.  When I started writing The Watchman my idea was to write nothing less than a memoir. As the writing progressed Adam took on his own personality, his own  words, his fears and his own outlooks. Soon, The Watchman evolved into a fictional novel with characters and events merely based on real life and real people.  I’m unable for one moment to imagine how Deny thought or made sense of  his world.  Like Adam, his only  communication came via made up words, gestures and physical contact.  He was unable to convey any tangible feelings other than frustration –and  this is what inspired me to portray Adam in the way I have.  Deny was an incredible personality and genuinely moved everybody he ever met.  I remember grown men crying in his presence simply because Deny treated them without prejudice and without judgment. He was extraordinary and inspirational. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago. He was truly unique.

Once the character of Adam was established and his motives, personality and language decided upon, he kind of wrote himself. A tip for writers – the stronger the character is in your mind, the  easier it is to write for them.  You should be able to drop your character into any situation and write about their responses.  So, regardless of Adam’s predispositions, I didn’t find it difficult to write for him once the blueprint was established.


BRIAN: From idea to publication, how long did it take you to  write The Watchman? 
 
MATT:  Every one of my 39 years!  I first put  pen to paper in 1999.  That draft was complete about a year later.  I  added nothing until last summer. Over the last 12 months I’ve cut, edited and added about 50% of the entire novel.  

Underground Book Reviews writer and assistant editor Brian L. Braden is pleased to announce the publication of BLACK SEA GODS, his first full length novel.  

As a way of saying thank you to all our UBR readers and authors, BLACK SEA GODS is free today and tomorrow on Amazon as an e-book.  

A fresh, new direction in historical fantasy, BLACK SEA GODS transforms recently re-discovered Black Sea legends, possibly the root of all Eurasian mythology, with ancient Chinese mythology to create an unprecedented epic fantasy series.

***

The fish have disappeared from the sea. The animals have vanished from the land. All humanity, and even the gods, tremble under the specter of a pending cataclysm. The demigod Fu Xi races home from the edge of the world bringing news of a looming god war, but finds his land under attack by monsters he once called his children. He discovers a terrible curse has been cast, one intended to destroy the gods and all life. To his shock, Fu Xi learns mankind’s hope rest solely on him, a simple fisherman and a banished slave girl.

Beset on all sides, Fu Xi knows he must act quickly and races west to rescue the saviors. Unaware of the real doom that awaits, Aizarg the fisherman and his party begin a perilous journey across a dangerous steppe. They seek the last of the Narim, the legendary Black Sea Gods, who hold the key to their salvation. Leading them is the rescued slave girl Sarah, the only one among them who knows the path to the land of the god-men.

Over seven days the defining struggle of gods and humans begins under the onslaught of a powerful force whose true objective and origin remain a mystery. Fu Xi knows the secret to victory resides in a fisherman and a slave girl, whose lives he must protect, even if it means the rest of the world must perish.

***

Keep up with the latest updates on Brian Braden’s writing projects on his blog, Facebook and Twitter . If you miss the free promo, you can still buy his books, Black Sea Gods or Carson's Love, on Amazon.

A lifelong resident of Alabama, Rhett Barbaree originally hails from Andalusia and now lives in the peach city of Clanton with his wife and two children. He graduated from Chilton County High School in 1978 and then attended Troy University. Self-employed in marketing and advertising sales, he hopes the success of his debut novel, Thank God for Boll Weevils, will allow him to change vocations to full time author.

BRIAN:  Rhett, welcome to The Underground. I’d like to give our readers a little background on how I found your book. I was scanning what seemed like hundreds of monthly review requests, when my lovely wife dropped your  autographed novel in my lap. It’s not only a book about Alabama history, but  about my very hometown, Enterprise. In fact, your fictional Melrose Plantation would only be about three miles from my actual house. I read the first few pages and, what do you know, it was pretty good. So, to quote your protagonist, Janie, “There was no doubt in my mind God had set me up for the whole thing.”

So,  why did a father and advertising professional from Clanton, Alabama decide to
become a writer?  

 
RHETT: Well, Brian I would have to say that was definitely a God thing as well. It  happened when I was teaching the youth at church. Driving home from work one afternoon it dawned on me that I hadn't prepared anything for their lesson that evening, so I said a little prayer and what God impressed on me was the story about the boll weevil, something I can promise you was the farthermost thing  from my mind at the time. Later, while I was putting everything together I knew He wanted me to share with a larger audience, so that's how it happened.    
 

BRIAN:  UBR has subscribers from all over the world, many of which may never have heard  of a boll weevil. Please give us the quick and dirty about what happened to the
South’s cotton crop in the early 20th century, and why you picked this  particular event on which to base your first  novel?

RHETT: The boll weevil is an agricultural pest that lays its eggs in the cotton boll and when the eggs hatch, their young eat the cotton forming inside the boll. The  insect came over from Mexico into Texas in 1893 and spread continuously across the cotton belt, destroying tens of millions of dollars worth of the South's cash crop. It wasn't brought under control until the 1930's when the agricultural scientist of that day came up with a spray solution that sterilized the males.

As far as why I picked this subject I would have to say it was rather God picking me to write about it and I've asked myself why several times. I think there are really several reasons. One is I love southern history. Another is I spent so  much time growing up on our old family plantation in south Alabama. It gave me  a sense of background for the book and then also I am one to see symbolism in things. To me the boll weevil monument in Enterprise represents something that  is symbolic in all our lives. Everyone of us experience adversities and  hardships in this world, but, if we can find the courage to lift up those kind of  things to God, He is faithful to turn them into something good. He certainly did with the boll weevil situation.


BRIAN: You classify this as “southern fiction” in the search recommendations in your
book. However, the novel has strong inspirational overtones. Religious-themed  books comprise a whopping 11% of all US book sales, with over 60% of those being  Christian-based. Two questions: Would you also classify Thank  God For Boll Weevils as Christian literature, and is the Christian book  market something you will pursue for future writing projects?  

RHETT: Yes, most definitely, to both of your questions, but I also am writing another historically-based novel. So much of my passion lies there as well.


BRIAN: You  spend a great deal of time and detail on the well-known George Washington Carver and not-so-well-known H.M. Sessions historical characters. How did you conduct  your research and where did you draw the line on what was fictional and not  fictional regarding these characters?

RHETT: I read everything I could get my hands and eyes on. I also bought several DVD's  from the History Channel about cotton and George W. Carver. Even so, there were  gaps I had to fill in as far as their characters were concerned. Take for  instance Mr. Sessions. I found nothing regarding what his original intentions  were when he financed the venture for growing the peanuts. There was no large  market for them, so I sensed he had intentions of becoming a distributor for the  seeds. Of course, it was Carver and the uses he came up with for the peanut  that really made it into a viable market and caused their popularity to  spread.

As for the fictional accounts of each of the men I tried to keep the boundaries pretty tight but did use their characters to paint the larger picture of what  happened. I guess you can say I may have embellished the spirit of their  character a little but I really feel if they had a chance to read what I wrote they would approve.

TITLE: Thank God for Boll Weevils

 AUTHOR: Rhett Barbaree

PUBLISHER: Tiger Iron  Press 

COVER DESIGN: Julianne  Gleaton 

GENRE(S): Southern Fiction/Christian Fiction

 LENGTH: 162 pages

THE RUNDOWN
Big stories are often told by small books. Thin novels tucked away in the back of museum gift shops, historical societies, and indie publisher websites can hold sweeping tales of civilizations in crisis and the giants who save them. Thank God for Boll Weevils by debut author Rhett Barbaree is such a book. This is the gentle, unpretentious and inspired story of two girls. Separated by race but united in  faith, they trust God with the little and big things in their lives. By  Providence they find themselves in the right place at the right time to help  save a civilization from economic destruction wrought by a bug. 

We follow nine-year-old Janie through her everyday adventures growing up on her father’s cotton plantation in south Alabama in the early 1900s. Janie’s world forever changes when Sipsey, a black sharecropper’s  daughter, arrives at Melrose Plantation. The two girls become fast friends as they grow to womanhood in a culture caught between the dying remnants of the Civil War generation and the dawn of the New South. That world is threatened when a tiny cotton-eating insect, the boll weevil, sweeps across Dixie. Enter  one of Sipsey’s Tuskegee college professors, famed scientist George Washington  Carver, whose timely peanut research saves, and forever changes, the South. The  challenges faced by the characters in Thank God for Boll Weevils are viewed through the prism of an uncomplicated, practical Christian faith, where daily relationships of trust are established with a loving God and outcomes are left in His hands. This faith saturates the culture like the Alabama humidity, transcends racial barriers, and forges two girls into lifelong sisters.

A very easy read, Thank God for Boll Weevils is mostly told though Janie's perspective, but occasionally through Sipsey’s. Barbaree’s dialogue is effective and authentic,  his prose adequate to the task at hand. He hits his stride when he slows down the narration and we see the girls moving though their daily lives, interacting with Melrose Plantation’s colorful cast of characters. Barbaree absolutely shines when telling the tale through Sipsey’s perspective, especially when she first arrives at Melrose as a child. We feel her trepidation and experience her  relief as she surrenders her problems over to God. In fact, I think this would  have been a better book if Barbaree wrote the majority, or even all of it, through Sispey’s eyes, not Janie’s. Through Sipsey we see Barbaree’s writing at  its finest.

While a good first novel, Thank God for Boll Weevils has a few challenges. Fortunately, because the novel  is short none of these issues sink the book. First, the pacing is very uneven.  Some parts seem to drag, especially in the middle, due to a marked lack of tension. In other places it zips by, exacerbated by the first person perspective that shallows the prose and occasionally gives the impression of a letter, not a  novel. When delivering the novel’s spiritual message, Barbaree is most effective when he masterfully weaves it into the dialogue and characters’ internal thoughts. Sometimes, however, he delivers the message in sermon-style chunks.  The net effect is as if someone hit the plot’s pause button and everything came to a stop. Overall, the reader hits a bump here and there, but always gets back on track. 

With its original blend of Southern flair, historic fiction, and  faith-based messages, Thank God for Boll  Weevils is  suitable for all ages and a worthy read. With only a few “bugs” this debut novel earns Rhett Barbaree a solid down payment of 80 out of 99 cents on what I believe is a promising writing career. 


99 Cents Worth of Rhett Barbaree Links:

Thank God for Boll Weevils on Amazon
   
Rhett Barbaree on Facebook

Thank God for Boll Weevils on Facebook
 

If you enjoyed this review, follow Underground Book Reviews on Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to our newsletter.

You can also follow Brian Braden on  his blog, Facebook and Twitter 
and buy his book, Carson's  Love. If you are an agent or publisher you can make the smartest financial decision of your life and offer Brian a contract on his brilliant 
novel, Black Sea Gods. 

JW Bull is the author of Pickin' Tomatoes and the fiction winner for the 2012 Shirley You Jest! Book Awards, the  Shirley LOL. Born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, she grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. Raised by parents who encouraged their children to follow their dreams, JW received a bachelor of violin performance from Furman University and also worked as a sous chef in a French restaurant. Currently, JW lives in Atlanta with her husband and two sons. When she's not teaching violin, playing in The Georgia Symphony, or cooking, she’s busy writing her next book. 


BRIAN: JW, welcome to The Underground. If I were a UBR reader and just scanned you bio I know the first question I’d want me to ask...what does JW stand for? Or is it a trade secret?

JW:  JW stands for Jennifer Wyer (Wyer is my maiden name). I like having my writing name different than my violin name. Kind of makes me feel special. 


BRIAN:  You’re an accomplished violin player, I can vouch for your writing talent, and you’re a “sous chef.”Okay, question two, what’s a sous chef? 

JW:  The definition of sous-chef is technically the second in command of a kitchen. A  sous-chef trains under a chef. I have no culinary school training as a chef-although it is tempting to fabricate some, like my character Maggie did in Pickin’ Tomatoes. Just kidding, I  would never do that…okay, maybe I would.


BRIAN: How much, if any, of Maggie, the plucky protagonist in Pickin
Tomatoes, is drawn from you and your experiences?

JW: All the wackiness of Maggie Malone is me unfortunately. I do try to portray a graceful, professional image to my violin students and parents but occasionally some of my nuttiness leeches out and I have to do damage control. Just a couple years ago, I was at home, my dogs barking for biscuits, and I was struggling to open the stupid box of treats. Why must pet food companies package their dog biscuits in impenetrable cardboard fortresses? Must they fuse every side so seamlessly that you have to resort to using a serrated knife to open it? So, when I understandably sawed off the top of the box with a long serrated knife, I also took off the majority of my finger tip-yes, my left index finger which of course is mandatory for a violinist to have. But when your dogs are barking hysterically for a treat, there’s no time for fumbling. Just give them the  freakin’ treat! Needless to say, I had to do some creative explaining to my  violin parents why I needed to teach with a two inch metal finger splint for six weeks. However, JW Bull, like her protagonist Maggie, is nothing if not creative. 


BRIAN: You  self-published this book. Did you try to market it through traditional  channels? If so, what was your experience? If not, why?

JW: I began writing this book in 2006 under the title, The Chef of Hearts. I immediately snared a top agent, had the book turned down by six top houses, and the agent drop me like a hot potato. In his defense, the book needed an editor and I thought I could do it myself. During the next five years, I hacked away at the book and then resubmitted it to another agent in 2011. Once again, same scenario (I’m a slow learner). Finally, I reached rock bottom with my disease-hello, my name is JW Bull and I am a flawed writer-and I hired an editor. See, I do eventually learn, as long as there are no dog biscuit boxes around. That’s a hard habit to kick.
 

Imagine someone genetically spliced An Unmarried Woman with I Love Lucy (if there was an episode where Lucy leaves Ricky because he shagged Ethel) with Chef Paula Deen occasionally popping up and offering you something tasty to eat. The result is a funny, original and entertaining debut novel from self-published author J.W. Bull. A delightful piece of light women’s fiction, Pickin' Tomatoes reads like a good television sitcom.

Maggie is a plucky, forty-something redhead. Separated with a  newborn, she is about to finalize her divorce from her philandering husband of 20 years. Desperate for a new life, Maggie lies on a job application and, just like that, finds herself masquerading as a gourmet chef and relationship advice  columnist for a major women’s magazine. Living a lie and loving it, she flops  from one humorous situation to the next (both in and out of the kitchen) as she gains national fame as America’s Chef of Hearts. The plot simmers along as Maggie answers letters from fans seeking relationship advice, her witty responses always accompanied by a relevant recipe. The reader alternately laughs and cringes as the inevitable, but entertaining, boiling point arrives when Maggie must confront her past and  her lies. 

Pickin' hits all the right chords, from tight story development, to light and downright funny  dialogue, and it's topped off with a memorable protagonist. Combining a fictional  novel with a cookbook is a unique, and smart, angle. I’m by no means an expert on women’s fiction, but I cannot fathom women not enjoying this book. Heck, I’m  a guy and I thought it was funny because I know women like Maggie. However, it barely misses my Tops Picks for two reasons.

While a tasty read, Pickin' needed a little more seasoning regarding the supporting characters, from Maggie’s best friend Justy, to her belligerent ex-husband Richard, to her hunky editor Peter. These characters are well written in the sense they fulfill their assigned roles relating to Maggie, but do little more. They don’t balance the care and  depth J.W. Bull bakes into Maggie’s excellent character. Also, I think the book could be slightly shorter. About two-thirds into the story I was ready to dispense with the reoccurring kitchen capers and get on with the plot. 

However, these critiques are minor and, combined with the fact  this is a debut, self-published novel, Pickin' Tomatoes is certainly a yummy  dish.  J.W. Bull combines all the right ingredients for an entertaining and easy read. She starts with a base of light, character driven humor, throws in some tender moments for depth, a dash of love and friendship, and tops it off with a garnish of wackiness. Bake it on your Kindle or Nook for 279 pages and Pickin' Tomatoes will serve up to 89 out  of 99 cents. 


99 Cents of J.W. Bull links:

Pickin' Tomatoes website

 Pickin' Tomatoes on Amazon


If you enjoyed this review  follow Underground Book Reviews on Facebook and
Twitter or  subscribe to our  newsletter.

You can also follow Brian Braden on his blog, Facebook and  Twitter and
buy his book, Carson's Love.  If you are an agent or publisher you can make the smartest financial decision of your life and offer Brian a contract on his brilliant novel, Black Sea Gods. 

Jodi McClure is a Jersey Shore native living in North Carolina. She worked twelve years as a bench technician for the cable company until digital converters made her job obsolete, then she settled down to write. Jodi is the author of three novels and the 'emotobook' sci fi serial, Swing Zone. She writes the  cooking blog, Killer Gourmet, creates a monthly newsletter, Novel Tease, for young authors, and is a big gaming enthusiast. She is married with two children.

 BRIAN: Jodi, welcome to the Underground. We’re glad you joined us today. I’m going to dive right into your bio. What is an ‘emotobook’?

 JODI: Thanks for having me, Brian. Emotobooks are short stories
and serials that are illustrated with abstract art in moments of strong tension  or emotion. The visual stimulation is supposed to heighten your reading  experience. They’re produced by Grit City, a small indie publishing company out of Philadelphia. The reaction to the concept has been mixed. Some people love the idea, others don’t really get it. I find the idea fascinating myself. I love being part of something that’s new and innovative. Anything that challenges tradition and pokes holes in the status quo. Whether or not it catches on remains to be seen, but they’ve definitely got the pioneering spirit.  


BRIAN:  Was it really obsolescence that inspired a former cable technician to become a writer or is there a deeper story you’d like to share with our readers? 
 
JODI: Well, I’ve always been a writer, but I just wrote for myself. After integrated circuits sort of killed my profession, my mother bought me a computer with the hopes that I could transition into programming, but instead, I discovered the earliest vestiges of the internet, which was a fascinating world in its infancy. Following in the footsteps of some other writers, I threw one of my serials out there and found it surprisingly well received, so I just kept right on going. Having an appreciative audience is a great motivator.       
 

BRIAN: I was impressed with both the simplicity and sophistication of Homebound.
As a writer you accomplish a lot with very few words. What authors most inspired
your writing style?   

JODI: I grew up reading Hollywood trash novels. Harold Robbins, Jacqueline Susann, Jackie Collins. Stuff that was in my mother’s book collection. They were all authors that relied heavily on scenes and dialog, so that was how I wrote early on. Not being formally trained, the best I could do was note and copy little things I liked from other authors, but it wasn’t until about two years ago, after reading a few books by Hemingway, that I started to really refine my personal style. I loved the way he would use imagery throughout his stories to connect a theme, and how his tiny glimpses into a person’s mind could tell you so much about them. Both were concepts I employed pretty heavily in my later work, so I would say he was my biggest influencer style wise. 


BRIAN: What was your inspiration for Homebound? 

JODI: It was born out of a scene for another story I wrote,  where a condescending character normally tightly in control reaches out for the
comfort of a servant who’s been nursing him. In the end, I didn’t include that scene, but that vision was such a strong one, it really stuck with me - to the point where I decided it needed a story of it’s own.  

 Jodi McClure’s novel Homebound is about a broken man who rediscovers himself, and love, within the confines of his childhood bedroom. A gentle, easy read set in the contemporary South, Homebound reminds me of  a country song  about healing, tenderness, and love.  

John crashes to earth, both literally and figuratively, when a  motorcycle accident renders him bedridden. Helpless for months in his childhood bedroom, John has nothing but time to contemplate a failed marriage and a failed career. He is a broken man in every sense. Enter Cloey, the small town nurse and beauty hired to take care of him. Over the course of the story Cloey and John form a relationship of trust, solve a mystery, and, of course, fall in love. 

On the surface, Homebound sounds like a sappy, run of the mill love story, but it isn’t. McClure’s intelligent prose and excellent dialogue forge John and Cloey into believable and likeable characters without a single drop of sap or saccharin.  McClure accomplishes what few writers can: build a simple setting and two likable characters into a compelling story that holds the reader without gimmick or shock. I smiled and occasionally laughed at John and Cloey’s banter and their evolving tenderness. If I could sum up McClure’s style it would be “gentle subtleness” that tugs at your
heartstrings and, well, makes you feel good.   

I only had two minor issues with Homebound. The mystery left by Cloey’s deceased grandfather was a promising, but ultimately disappointing, plot twist. It provided a medium for Cloey and John to draw closer together by searching for clues in classic books. However, beyond its utility in this aspect, it never really got off the ground and wrapped up too abruptly at the very end. The other issue was Homebound’s  length. At only 72 pages it could be considered a long novelette as opposed to a novel. Regardless, these minor critiques don’t detract from what is otherwise an entertaining book.  

Homebound is suitable for all ages and a delightful read.  If you’re ever homebound on a rainy day, I highly recommend this light read to pass the time.  Homebound
left me smiling and gets 86 out of 99 cents. 


99 Cents of Jodi McClure links:

Homebound on Amazon

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You can also follow Brian Braden on his blog, Facebook and Twitter and buy his 
book, Carson's  Love. If you are an agent or publisher you can make the smartest financial decision of your life and offer Brian a contract on his brilliant novel, Black Sea  Gods. 

As a writer and a book reviewer, I’ve made some  observations and learned a few lessons over the past few years about the state  of mind of many emerging authors. If you care to listen, I’ll share a few. Take them for what they are, the opinions of an unpublished author. 
 
First, I think many new authors fail to take an honest account of their motivations before jumping into writing. Motivations are legion, but every writer wants their work published. It may not be the only motivation, but it’s likely the most important. I call this powerful motivation the Writer’s Drive. However, when a writer doesn’t have other goals besides publication, such as improving the quality of their work, the Writer’s Drive can become overpowering. A relentless, obsessive, and often frustrating quest for publication can cloud judgment and seriously interfere with their craft. To put it another way, too much Writer’s Drive is a bad thing. 
 
Writer’s Drive often leads to Writer’s Desperation, the overpowering desire for feedback and validation. Desperation leads to anxiety and impatience. It often comprises a writer’s work as they rush it to publication before its ready. Alas, desperation often leads to fear. 
 
Writers often fear criticism because writing is  an intensely personal experience. 
To some degree or another, writers must lower their shields and open themselves up to the judgment of strangers, resulting in varying degrees of apprehension, or what I call Writer’s Fear. Like any other human endeavor, most people who try their hand at writing fail. After the sixth grade most ballerinas and baseball players give up and become other things. Sadly, it takes more time for writers to get a clue.  Unlike sports, writers can insulate themselves from scrutiny and, to avoid hurt feelings, friends and relatives sometimes aren’t entirely honest. When writers finally hit a wall of honest, often brutal, feedback, they have three choices: quit, learn and adapt, or lie to themselves. Which brings me to my last observation: writers can be self-delusional.
 
There isn’t a writer out there who hasn’t suffered Writer’s Delusion. We’ve often ignored a golden nugget of advice that a manuscript might need major work. People naturally hear what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. It reminds me of the movie Dumb and Dumber when the Lauren Holly tells Jim Carey he only has a
one-in-a-million chance of ever going out with her. He smiles and says, “So you’re telling me I have a chance!” Yep, that’s us writers. 
 
There you have it - A strong, unchecked drive to publish often leads to desperation, fear, and self-delusion. In other words, it leads to a very frustrated writer. So I come back to the point about motivations. As a writer, if you’re honest about your motivations you can often find other reasons than publication. Getting published is a natural, long-term goal, but there is more to writing than seeing your book in print. Improving your craft, for example, is an important and attainable near-term goal. 

Bottom line, you need something to keep you motivated on the long road to publication that doesn’t stress you out, keeps you writing and moving forward. Find reasons that are uplifting, relaxing, and positive. This will give you patience and peace of mind. It also beats the hell out of fear, desperation and delusion. In time, one way or another, the publication thing will take care of  itself.


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You can also follow Brian Braden on his blog,  Facebook and Twitter and buy his  book, Carson's  Love. If you are an agent or publisher you can make the smartest financial decision of your life (and alleviate Brian's fear and desperation) by offering him a contract on  his brilliant novel Black Sea Gods.