Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – Author Updates – #Reviews #Dogtales Patty Fletcher, #Poetry Natalie Ducey, #Paranormal Thriller John W. Howell and Gwendolyn Plano

Welcome to the first of the author updates this week for authors in the Cafe and Bookstore with recent reviews.

The first author is Patty Fletcher and a review for Bubba Tails a collection of stories inspired by her Seeing Eye dog King Campbell.

About the book

NOW INCLUDES ‘WISH OF THE WEE GOLDEN ONE’ A CHRISTMAS STORY. A charming story about Christmas and Santa Paws and how the pups help deliver the Christmas gifts.

In this magical and love-filled tail, King Campbell AKA Bubba travels to the puppy nursery at The Seeing Eye to help ready a group of puppies who are just about to embark on the fabulous journey of learning to become Seeing Eye dogs. Just as he is about to finish his tail, a wee pup becomes very frightened of all that lies ahead, and one frightfully stormy night she runs away! Will King Campbell hear the urgent call from the puppy nursery in time? Will they find her and save her so she can fulfill her destiny?

The use of Tail instead of Tale for story and Magik instead of Magic is intended for these short stories. A great play on words from King Campbell

One of the recent reviews for the book

Robbie Cheadle 5.0 out of 5 stars  A lovely book that all ages can read and enjoy  Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2020

Bubba Tails: From the Puppy Nursery at the Seeing Eye is a delightful story for all ages, told from the perspective of King Campbell, an older and more experienced Seeing Eye dog (trained to guide the blind). King Campbell appears at night to the puppies at the Seeing Eye School, and their mothers, and tells them stories about how he came to be selected for the school, his training process and meeting his forever mother. His stories help to allay some of the puppies own concerns and anxieties about the future when they undergo their training to be Seeing Dogs and eventually become companions to a blind person.

This is a most insightful book about how Seeing Dogs are selected, including the qualities they need to have to do this job, as well as the training process they go through before they are matched with a blind person. I say matched because that is exactly what happens, the person is paired with a suitable canine companion. I thought this was very interesting as I had never really thought about how close the relationship between a blind human and their Seeing Dog is prior to reading this book.

The second part of the story when Campbell meets his new forever owner was the most meaningful for me. It was a wonderful experience for me to learn about how the Seeing Dog and their new owner must adapt to working together. The Seeing Dog needs to learn to read their human owner’s body language and respond to subtle signals. The human must also learn to trust their dog and this is quite a difficult thing to do. I can understand that putting your faith in a dog, no matter how much you love it, must initially be difficult when you are unable to see and protect yourself. I loved reading about how this amazing trust developed between Campbell and his owner.

This is a book that everyone can read and enjoy for the story and also appreciate for its detailed insight into the relationship between Seeing Dogs and their owners, and also the world at large.

Read the reviews and  buy the book: Amazon US

And: Amazon UK

Also by Patty Fletcher

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US

And on Amazon UK: Amazon UK

Connect to Patty via her blog: Campbell’s World

The next book with a recent review is the poetry collection The Heart’s Journey Home by Natalie Ducey.

About the collection

The potential of the human spirit has always amazed me. Through poetry, I try to capture the essence of the fragility and the resiliency of our hearts; the brilliant beauty of life’s journey.
We all love/loved deeply and most likely have been on both sides of goodbye. We know the exquisite and profound beauty of love. We know the immobilizing force of grief and the anguish between letting go and holding on. We know the acute distinction between second chances and new beginnings.

Life…It’s majestic and mystifying, and every day we are granted the opportunity to begin again. Let’s enjoy the Journey!

The Heart’s Journey Home is a celebration of our heart’s journey through life’s majestic beauty. The collection includes 23 poems titled: Reckless Words, Borrowed Angel, Nobody’s Fool, Silence of the Heart, Love’s Illusion, Fallen Angel, Let’s Dance, Where Does the Love Go, Young Love, Small Town Girl, Winter’s Gift, Destined to Fly, Eternal Love, The War Within, To my Sister on our 40th Birthday, Goodbye without Warning, Old Oak Tree, Names in the Sand, Can’t Let Go, Memories Linger, Caged Bird Sings, Surrender, and Heart’s Journey Home.

Read the reviews and buy the collection: Amazon US

And: Amazon UK

Also by Natalie Ducey

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US

And: Amazon UK

Read more reviews and follow Natalie: Goodreads

Connect to Natalie via her blog:  Natalie Ducey

The final authors today are John W. Howell and Gwendolyn Plano for their paranormal thriller The Contract.

About the book

The earth is under the threat of a catastrophic political event which could result in international warfare and destroy all life on the planet. In heaven, a divine council decides that extraordinary measures are essential. They call for an intervention that involves two souls returning to earth. The chosen two sign a contract that they will work to avert the disaster.
Brad Channing, a Navy SEAL, and Sarah O’Brien, a teacher, become heaven’s representatives on earth.

The story follows them as they individually and then together face overwhelming obstacles and eventually end up on a strategic Air Force base in California. It is there that they discover a conspiracy to assassinate the President of the United States. The terrorists have a plan for global dominance, and they are determined to complete their mission. Although military leadership appears to have the President’s best interests at heart, it is not clear who can be trusted and who should be feared. The action is rough and tumble as Brad and Sarah try to figure out the culprits of the plot that will turn into a worldwide conflagration unless stopped.

If you enjoy thrillers, this is one with enough twists and adventure to keep you riveted and guessing. If you like your thriller along with a good romance, Brad and Sarah’s initial attraction and eventual love will sustain you as they live out their heavenly and earthly desires.

One of the recent reviews for the book

Joy Nwosu Lo-Bamijoko VINE VOICE  4.0 out of 5 stars The Angels are Looking out for Us

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2020

This is a beautiful story. I kind of predicted how this story will end and I was not wrong. There was only one way it could have happened to give a satisfactory ending. Even though I guessed right, the ending was a masterstroke!

The story started with Peter and Teresa who lived their spiritual other-worldly lives and who were constantly sent to other worlds to solve problems. This time their mission was to planet Earth to stop a disaster from occurring, a disaster that would change the world if not stopped. To do this, they had to assume human nature. Peter assumed Brad’s body and Teresa, Sarah’s body.

Both Brad and Sarah were dead when their bodies came back to life when Peter and Teresa took over their bodies. The moment Peter and Teresa took over the bodies, they forgot all about their past lives.

Even though they lived different lives on Earth, poles apart from each other, their angels maneuvered them to meet and fall in love.

In their new role, they had to foil the assassination of the President. That was their contract.

This is a great story. Apart from a few lapses, here and there. I enjoyed it a lot.

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US

And: Amazon UK

Also by John W. Howell.

Read the reviews and buy John’s books: Amazon US author page

and on: Amazon UK

Read more reviews and follow John: John Howell Goodreads

Connect to John: John W. Howell

Also by Gwen Plano

 

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US

And Amazon UK: Amazon UK

Read more reviews and follow Gwendolyn on Goodreads: Goodreads

Follow Gwendolyn on her website: http://www.gwenplano.com/