This was an interesting although somewhat dry look at the early history of American food safety laws. Audio may not have been the best medium for it, since it led to a lot of recitation of facts and encounters and quotes that blurred together. Or at least I found they did. I did find it interesting that Americans (the vocal ones) seem just as against regulation over a hundred years ago as they do now.

 

I could have done without some of the biographical details, but all in all it wasn't bad. Americans might find it easier to follow.

"True art is moral. We recognize true art by its' careful, thoroughly honest search for an analysis of values. It is not didactic because, instead of teaching by authority and force, it explores, open-mindedly, to learn what it should teach. It clarifies like an experiment in a chemistry lab, and confirms."

- John Gardner, On Moral Fiction, 1978

 

Okay, so this is a bit high-minded, but still it's something I aspire to in my writing.

 

I've tried to write strictly commercial fiction, but my characters and plots won't let me. At some point they tell me, "Hey, I'm not that shallow, superficial person and I won't let you portray me as such." At this point the vapid story I've been writing takes an unexpected direction and everything gets out of control and I'm back dealing with three dimensional characters in complicated situations that test their integrity.

 

Or at least I'm trying to.

 

How then does a writer, if so inclined, build their fiction on strong, ethical ground?

 

I subscribe to the method suggested by Carol Bly, Author of The Passionate, Accurate Story: Making Your Heart’s Truth into Literature. She suggests that even before beginning to write a story, consider composing a “Values Listing,” a written record of the things that are most important to you.

 

Then, throughout the writing process ensure these values continue to be identified in your work. That means these values are present in the issues and conflicts your characters confront and that they themselves are grounded in or address these same principles.

 

Here's the Value's Listing Questions. My answers are in capitals

 

VALUE’S LISTING:

 

1. Two goals or values which make life good or bearable or would if they were in operation. PRESERVING ENVIRONMENT/ ENCOURAGING THE HUMAN SPIRIT

 

2. Two goals or values which cause injustice and suffering or lessening of joy. WEALTH/MATERIALISM and the NEED TO CONTROL

 

3. Two missing goals or behaviors. As a child, you thought grown-up life would have these. Now that you are an adult you don’t see them around. HONESTY/INTEGRITY and RESPONSIBILITY/CREDIBILITY

 

4. Two injustices you see about you and should keep an eye on, even on your wedding day. RACISM/DISCRIMINATION and DESTRUCTION OF WILDERNESS

 

Considering my the list of my values, it's not surprising four of my novels could be categorized as Environmental Fiction, interpreted as a story of any genre; romance, mystery, literary, etc., with a subplot that addresses an important environmental issue.

 

In writing ECO-FI my hope is readers will be entertained by all the elements of a good story and will also come away a little more wiser about the environmental issues important to me and that effect us all.

 

ECO-FI TITLES:

SAVING SPIRIT BEAR - What Price Success?

LOVING THE TERRORIST - Risking it All

MAD MAGGIE - And the Wisdom of the Ancients

FOREST - Love, Loss, Legend

 

This stand-alone series will be part of my back-list promotion throughout 2018 and 2019 that will include upcoming FREE book days on Amazon. To be included in free offers of my existing books or the opportunity to receive Advance Reading Copies on new work, consider joining my ADVANCE READING TEAM at http://eepurl.com/cj5wjj

 

Buy links for these books include:

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com

Draft2Digital - https://www.draft2digital.com

 

Alex has planned and executed her life with laser focus since she first met her future husband at the play-doh table on the first day of kindergarten. They have a terrific life, a gorgeous house on the bay, and fantastic careers they love. There’s only one problem: Alex’s husband Michael is gay, a fact he neglected to mention in the 23 years since they first met.

Now, Alex’s perfectly planned life has completely fallen apart, her biological clock is starting to feel like the timer on a nuclear device, and she finds herself drooling over her completely-dreamy-but-definitely-off-limits client, a star chef opening a hot new restaurant. Armed with dating guidance from her oddball collection of advisers—including her gay ex-husband, a foul-mouthed political consultant, a perkily masochistic yogi, and a pot-smoking octogenarian—Alex navigates the booby-trapped world of modern dating, in her search for a second chance at love.

 

Daily is a splendid writer and my heart was in my throat through many of the scenes of this book. I think at heart this book stood out to me as a romance, though it did also address issues of self-worth and how one can view and value themselves as the world around them changes.

 

I can relate to Alex in how driven she is and in how she plans for things to go in a certain way so that she can meet success. I definitely would have liked to have seen more about her business--the scenes were she had events that could make or break it were really interesting and I was fascinated by her job as an environmental psychologist and wanted to learn more.

 

I loved seeing her entering the world of dating. I generally enjoy this, but it was especially great as she was a very put together character who just simply had never really been on a date in her life and because of that, there were many pitfalls that she had to work with throughout.

 

Her first "Tinder"-esque dates especially were intriguing, and I was curious about her friend's idea of needing to date a certain number of people of certain types before being able to marry. The "fish" especially resonated with me--that most people will have one person that is perfect in many ways, but there's something that just makes the relationship incompatible.

 

I felt like several scenes were sped through and could have used more detail to build up suspense and to really put me in the scene. I also wish there had been more resolution about a certain intriguing portrait.

 

This is a lovely women's fiction novel that I found to have quite a satisfying romance. I recommend it as a light read.

 

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

DNF at 60%

The writing in this was bad.

I was annoyed at the way the author was constantly telling us things instead of showing.

The things that most irritated me:
- We have Liam and his ‘condition’ (it is said he doesn’t have a condition, but he clearly does). I am all for the shy, absent-minded young guys, but this was ridiculous.

- What was with Jareth and his dead husband? Let me tell you, one year is not enough time to get over the person you were married to for six years. One year is an incredibly short time. And Jareth was all, oh I’m over it and want to move on.



- Liam was hit in the face and of course it was with brass knuckles. He lost consciousness for a long time and the gash in his cheek was so severe he needed surgery. He also got an infection after this and he spent a week in the hospital. This was so over the top, it was ridiculous.

- I love cats, I truly do. But the relationship Liam had with his cat was pretty unhealthy. The cat was never alone! He had a cat sitter and he took the cat everywhere. Let me tell you, cats don’t like to be carried around in a carrier and to be constantly taken everywhere.

I stopped reading at 60%.

Feebles for the Fable-Minded - Gerald M.... I love it, but not just because I wrote it. I still find it funny or enlightening, or both.