Book Review: Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at Way by Robert Gates

Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War by Robert M. Gates

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Robert Gates' book provides extraordinary insight into the behind-the-scenes working of two presidencies. The title alone is telling: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. Not a Secretary of Defense, but a secretary at war.

Nowhere in this book does Gates forget to remind us he served in the Department of Defense when the U.S. was conducting two unpopular wars. Nowhere does he denounce the two presidents he served as SecDef, Bush 43 and Obama.

Gates details his support for his troops in nearly every interaction he has with the White House and Congress. He is critical of the White House under both presidents, often railing against principals who have really very little experience with the troops, micromanagement and political realities where budgets are approved or not based not on the actual needs of wartime reality. In most cases, math trumped approved strategies.

Late in a book that would have benefited from tight editing, he takes on Congress: "Uncivil, incompetent in fulfilling basic constitutional responsibilities (such as timely appropriations, micromanagerial, parochial, hypocritical, egotistical, thin-skinned, often putting self (and reelection) before country--this was my view of the United States Congress." He pulls few punches.

Gates is an angry man. He is also a fair man, taking responsibility for his actions and fighting for the troops.

For all his candor, he writes: "I was put off by the way the president (Obama) closed the meeting. To his very closest advisers, he said, 'For the record, and for those of you writing your memoirs, I am not making decisions about Israel or Iran.' I was offended by his suspicion that any of us would ever write about such sensitive matters."

And yet Gates did. While the current president is still in office. One wonders what his motive was.

Book Review: Imagine: The Story of a Song

IMAGINE: The Story of a Song by Charles J. Shields

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I try not to thrust myself in the middle of a book review, but this time I refuse to restrain myself. Charles Shields takes one of my favorite songs, an anthem for peace, and provides backstory on how the song was written. This slender book treats the song with the dignity it deserves. By delving into the backgrounds of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, of their formative years against war-torn Japan and England, the privations they suffered and their dedication to their respective art forms, he brings a new dimension to appreciating a song that defines a generation and defies time.

Many who came to love John Lennon's music more recently mistake this for a Beatles song. By the time this was written, the Beatles were no more. Couple this with "Give Peace a Chance." Lennon and Ono were on a path to share messages of peace and love through music. Imagine might be the best song written by Lennon. It might be the best song ever written. That's a matter of personal preference. For me, it's the voice of my generation seeking to give mankind a second chance to "get it right."

This slim volume is not a book about the Beatles. Not a book about John Lennon himself. A book about a song, what influenced the writer, how it came into being, what was happening in the life of the writer and singer.

I recommend this to anyone who has ever been moved by lyrics and melody. Imagine has both. If I could write any song ever, it would be this one.

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Book Review: Caught by Deirdre Thurston

Deirdre Thurston's collection of essays and short stories is a delightful escape for summer reading. A combination of universal themes of friendship, love and loss, guilt and memories overlaid with a strong dose of New Zealand phraseology takes the reader down familiar paths that often end with an unusual twist.

"Love Story," a nostalgic memory of a grandmother, is triggered by an elderly couple who sit next to the narrator in a movie theater. From the way the woman is dressed to the scent of talc, the narrator indulges is a series of memories, often wondering if the woman sitting near her has similar memories.

"Mae" takes the reader into a family tragedy where a child dies in a hot bath. Here the narrator faces guilt at the loss of her younger sister. Events from decades earlier still color the narrator's memory of that dreadful day.

"Ali" brings two best friends together to catch up on their lives. One is married, a bit dumpy and settled; the other is oft-married, elegant and in love with a long-distance trucker.

Painful memories of birthdays past where narrators don't receive recognition or gifts they want. Celebrations of a daughter turning twenty-one. A longing to learn to ride a bike when the narrator thinks she's too old and plump. Each story, each essay is a small gem waiting for you to find and polish it.

Book Review: Virginia Is For Mysteries

If you've never tried to review an anthology, you don't know how hard it is. No matter what you say about the individual stories, one or more of the writers is bound to think, "Oh phooey. She didn't like my story." Not true.

VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES contains 17 stories, all set in Virginia, all east of Richmond (as if there're no good writers or stories west of Richmond). A Virginia chapter of Sisters in Crime developed the idea of the anthology, with proceeds going to Sisters in Crime. This was truly a labor of love.

Okay, I have to call out several stories which I particularly enjoyed. (Did I hear writers sucking in their collective breaths in hopes I'd pick their contribution? I hope not, but as a writer I'd be holding my breath.)

In Teresa Inge's "Guide to Murder," Connar Randolph leads several tourists on a visit to her home, Cavalier on the Hill, in Virginia Beach. All goes well until one guest makes snarky remarks about restorations. Connar ignores him, leads the group to the roof for a spectacular view and then downstairs to the gardens. Things take a turn for the worse when snarky guest turns up dead. Replete with plot twists and red herrings, "Guide to Murder" leads the reader down an unexpected path at the end.

"Death Comes to Hollywood Cemetery", Vivian Lawry's historical fiction, features a "soiled dove," Civil War era jargon for a prostitute, who has a thriving clientele of Butterflies. These men like their sex a little kinkier that the up-tight times suggest, including cross-dressing and rituals with chocolate and sugar best left to the imagination.

Maggie King's "A Not So Genteel Murder" is set against the backdrop of a birthday party for a wealthy woman, where murder, mayhem, mistaken identities and a healthy dose of the recent past combine to keep the reader turning pages until the last one. And then, the reader will say, "I didn't see that coming."

"Best Friends Help You Move the Body," by Jayne Ormerod, two friends spend boozy nights dreaming up plot twists, but none they imagine is as outrageous as the real thing. One woman is a not-yet-published writer with aspirations of producing a mystery novel.  When the other becomes a person of interest following a murder in her neighborhood, her friend sets out to prove she couldn't lift and carry a body to the trunk of a car. A wonderful girl romp that begs to be enjoyed at the beach.

Last, but by no means least, is "Death in the House" by Rosemary Shomaker. When a member of the Virginia House of Delegates collapses during a discussion on a bill allowing gay marriages, a set of events cascades nearly out of control to the unexpected ending.

17 stories. Each a little gem. Each worthy of reading on the deck, at the beach, in the mountains. A collection to be enjoyed again and again. I'm keeping it in my guest bedroom for late-night perusing.

Book Review: An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff

Looking for a gift for Mother's Day? This one might fit the bill.

An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny by Laura Schroff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Schroff writes of two people who would never met but for a small act of compassion that puts them both on a journey of mutual development.

Sentimental, to be sure, and certain to bring a tear to the eye, Schroff's tale of passing a young panhandler on the streets of Manhattan with little a thought, only to stop in mid street, turn around and walk back to a dirty black boy. He asks for change. She, this white woman with money and a good job, asks if he's hungry. He is. She takes him to McDonald's and buys him a meal. She eats with him. She walks to the same corner every Monday, making dinner with Maurice, who's 11, a ritual.

Her friends warn her not to get involved, but Schroff sees something in this boy. A bit of herself. A spark of ambition. A survivor. Slowly their relationship develops into one of trust.

Schroff teaches Maurice responsibility, how to act around others, how to believe in himself. He teaches her to love, trust and accept people as they are.

If I have a wee complaint about the book, it's that it tends to be repetitive. Stories what have an impact the first time they're told lose when similar stories return.

If you want to feel good about mankind, pick up this book and a tissue. It's worth the read and the cry.



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Writing Process Blog Tour - Betsy Ashton

My incredibly talented writer friend, Maggie King, author of Murder at the Book Group, and contributor to Virginia Is for Mysteries, tossed me the baton for the Writing Process Blog Tour. Does that mean I can sit back and think cute thoughts? No, it means I have to answer four very ordinary questions.

1. What am I working on? 
Heck, how does any writer answer that question? I always have at least three works in process. Right now, my second edition in the Mad Max series is with my agent for final edits before it goes to my publisher. This one has a working title of Uncharted Territory. It's locked for now, so I turned to two other projects. I'm workshopping my serial killer psychological crime story with a few trusted beta readers, while doing a ton of research on viruses and plagues for the third Mad Max entry. Plus I charted out two novellas in the mystery/crime genre.

2. Why do I write what I write? 
I write because I breathe. It's as simple as that. I love to write about strong women who aren't cute and in their twenties. Max is in her fifties, still sexy, still rich, still interesting. The killer is younger and deeply troubled about her calling in life, which is to kill people who she feels need killing. So, I write what I want to know about, because I certainly don't have first-hand knowledge about killing people. Or do I?

3. How does my work differ from others in the genre? 
I drive my agent nuts, because my mysteries don't start with a crime. No murders, no robberies right away. I start in the main character's head and examine what makes they do what they do. So, I don't spend a lot of time worrying about the narrower rules of a genre. Psychological fiction appeals to me, the darker the better. Even when my main character isn't dark, and Max is anything but dark, I surround her with evil and conflict so that she can grow. Some readers might be disappointed because I'm not "like" <fill in the name of a prominent mystery/crime writer here>. Yup. That's true. Sobeit.

4. What is my writing process? 
I plant my butt on my ball at my desk seven days a week. Yes, I sit on a balance ball instead of in a chair. I often edit hard copy standing at my breakfast bar. I work on something, even if it's bad, every day, usually for 4-5 hours at a stroke. I treat writing as my career, which it is since I retired from earning a paycheck. I rise, shower, dress and put on makeup as if I were going to an office. Discipline keeps me focused on the job at hand, to wit, churning out words, some of which might actually work. Others might be keepers. Still others are terrific except not where they are or in the manuscript where I think they'll be perfect. No bunny slippers, no pajamas. I do take time out to feed my stuffed llama and a thread-bare bear. Otherwise, they'll eat me alive.

I'm passing the baton to Kimberly Dalferes, author of I Was In Love With A Short Man Once, Mary Billiter, author of The XYZ Affair and Susan Union, author of Rode to Death, a mystery set on a horse ranch near San Diego and is the first in the Randi Sterling Mystery Series. 

I'll let each of these ladies tell you about themselves.

I can't wait to see what each of these ladies write about. And thanks to Maggie King for inviting me to hop on this tour.

Book Review: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've read the gushing and less than gushing reviews of The Glass Castle both here and on Amazon. I fall somewhere in between.

Walls' voice is funny but it's not original. Yes, she writes with a Southern accent (without writing in dialect). It's easy to read and enjoy.

Her story, however, breaks no new ground. She calls this a memoir. As such it should be relatively truthful. As a few reviewers have mentioned, the early act of a three-year-old boiling hot dogs defies credibility. Still, it's her memory and maybe it didn't happen at three but later. Or maybe she heard enough stories about it to "remember" it herself.

Her dysfunctional family, while entertaining, is just about as dysfunctional as Frank McCourt's family in Angela's Ashes. I found myself wishing the old man would skedaddle and never come back. An amoral alcoholic father who thinks nothing of pimping out the narrator was almost enough to make me stop reading.

What made me question whether this was a novel or a memoir came when I went to Google Maps to check on the house on Little Hobart St. Walls makes a huge deal over the house, how you had to climb rotting stairs, shinny out the back window to get up the mountain behind the house. Granted in Google Maps the house is as it stands today. Brick. No steep steps from street to rotting front porch. In fact the house is at street level. No mountain behind it.

I hoped for more authenticity. Not sure if I'll read anything else by Walls except maybe a novel.



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