Talking Books

Most people live mundane, routine lives, to say that of Vincent D’Souza would be a severe understatement to someone who presently identifies as transgender, as well as a spiritualist. Vincent was born in Kampala in Uganda of Indian ethnicity but due to a brother’s health issues the family moved to the Kenyan coastline. The Family’s stay in Kenya was short-lived and in 1965 Vincent arrived in London in the UK. While in the UK Vincent went to Reading University to read Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering obtaining both bachelor and master’s degrees respectively. Vincent also had a short spell in the British Army. The British inclement weather eventually led Vincent with the support of a close friend to emigrate to Venezuela. Over the years Vincent moved back and forth between Venezuela and the UK before finally moving to Australia in 1991 where Vincent still lives to this very day just south-east of Perth in the wheat belt. Vincent has also lived in Germany and East Timor and has four nationalities and is entitled to two more. It would be a fair assumption to say Vincent has seen a lot of the world in all its various forms. 

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The family originally came from Goa a state in Western India, a state prior to 1961 having been a Portuguese colony evidenced with its 17th century churches, tropical spice plantations and of course now as a holiday destination with its beautiful golden beaches and warm waters of the Arabian Sea.

Having spoken to Vincent on several occasions I think it would be unbiased enough of me to say Vincent has had a varied and interesting career path to date; apart from his early academical years Vincent has turned to carpentry, plumbing, masonry, gardening, farming, sewing, alternative healing-Reiki, Chiron, Australian Bush Flower Essences, the journey and Biofeedback – as well as spiritualism, so quite a diverse life. Of course, to this extensive list we must add writing something Vincent has recently dipped his toe into. Is there no end to Vincent’s many talents!  Here’s our video chat:

Vincent’s book is a collection of prayers, prayers Vincent as a spiritualist believes he was guided to record and share to motivate people to know and heal themselves and the world-hence the subtitle on the book cover Prayers to Heal People and The World.

In the book, which is extremely well written you’ll see that Vincent has grouped certain prayers in a strategic and purposeful manner. The book has evolved over time and while he has written another book for the purpose of this podcast we’re concentrating solely on Happy People- Happy World for this short book is pact, teeming with interesting thoughts, facts and issues circling spiritualism and all that it encompasses. Oneness is key

This book will appeal to a wide audience particularly those who have a nose for everything spiritualistic. Enjoy, I certainly did. 

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Carl-Evert Jonsson.MD.PhD lives in the Stockholm area of Sweden, he spent most of his professional life working in medicine. Medicine is such a diverse field, and he chose to specialize in the area of reconstructive surgery, in particular treating burn injuries, both in the reconstructive and acute phases, as well as working in congenital malformations and post-traumatic injuries of the face and head. As an eminent surgeon he travelled the world working closely with other illustrious surgeons, but his main body of work and research was carried out in his native homeland and occasionally in Norway. 

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Right from a very early age Carl-Evert was dazzled, seduced so to speak to the world of captivating art and photography, something his teachers picked up upon actively encouraging him to pursue, channel his youthful energy. His joy of drawing, studying works of art as well as his passion for photography has stayed with him throughout his whole life and in his book, he shares significant moments with us through the camera lens.

If you want to see more of Carl-Evert’s work have a look at his website, www.cejart.se. And you can check out our video chat right here:

What strikes me the most about Carl-Evert’s body of work is the professionalism with which it has been carried out no doubt something he brought forth from his years of surgery, the careful skill of handling a scalpel, to the skill of the pencil in his drawings is very much in evidence as well as a sharp eye for accuracy and detail. 

Carl-Evert on his many travels be it personal or work related would very often have about his personage a jotter pad, a box of colours and of course a camera, just in case something of interest caught his eye, compelling him to either draw it, or photograph it and no doubt on the odd occasion do both. Some of the photographs he has taken he has shared in this book. I particularly like the picture attached to Figure 18 it’s a self-portrait of a young boy taken in 1948, it is in fact a picture of Carl-Evert sitting at a desk drawing when he was twelve years old, he took the picture himself, now-a-days we call it a SELFIE.

Primarily the book is about the techniques Carl-Evert has used to develop and print his photographs. He talks about the methods for digitally printing photographs on Japanese paper Washi which is made from the inner fibres of three plants. He touches on the history of Washi, its eastern origins, he also talks about classic egg-oil painting techniques.

I have to say that it has been a wonderful experience talking to Carl-Evert about his life and his body of work that has been captured through his photography, drawings and paintings and how he has projected the images using ancient Japanese techniques.

This book Carl-Evert has put together is aimed as he says in his introduction at the enquiring photographer searching for new experimental ways to project their own photographical printing skills. 

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Anthony Adams grew up on the outskirts of Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania in the USA. He was brought up within the traditions of Catholicism and like most members of the church he found himself at times questioning was this religious pathway befitting to how he sees a person should follow the Lord’s teachings. Anthony has probed, explored into other religious views and while he currently doesn’t adhere to one particular church’s ideologies and ways, he still has a deep faith in God, albeit a lose faith, nevertheless a faith that has seen him through difficult times and given him the inner strength to be a single parent to his children who are now in their twenties and older. To support his family Anthony has had to work hard and very often like now holding down two jobs to put food on the table, Anthony presently works as a Janitor in a local hospital as well as being an accomplished bartender.

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The Book of Revelations which occupies a central place in Christian eschatology is also called the Apocalypse of John, Revelation to John or Revelation from Jesus Christ and is the final book of the New Testament and consequently the final book of the Christian bible. The notion to openly talk about the inner workings of this complex but engaging last book of the bible in the form of his own book began as far back as 2004, so it would be fair enough to say Anthony has given some serious thought as to how he wanted to present his views and get his message out. 

When you read Anthony’s book, you’ll discover not only how exquisitely well written it is, but the detail and relevance to the cross-referencing of other scriptural citations in both the Old and New Testaments. But what was beholding for me was the way Anthony has set about explaining the meaning behind the scriptural passages, words.

You would be forgiven if you thought that this book was solely about Revelations, Anthony touches on the history of the Papacy, the thinking behind infallibility, the significance of the Church of Ephesus, the key points of some religions, the importance of the number seven referencing to the seven churches, the seven stars, the seven golden candlesticks and of course on the seventh day God rested after overseeing his creation of the world. Anthony touches upon the Apostle John’s exile by the Romans to the Aegean Island of Patmos where it is said he wrote Revelations.

This is a very well thought-out book and will appeal to those discerning readers who love history particularly biblical history, factual writings that make you think and want to do your own explorative research to see what drove Anthony to write this brilliant and absorbing book.    

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Shinete Maunze was born into a small rural community in the Kwekwe district, Midland Province of Zimbabwe. Its an area of mixed Shona and Ndebele people, people who are not adverse to dealing with ancient traditions of witchcraft and the custom rituals that encompasses that occultism. Shinete converted to Christianity, a faith that is close to her heart, a faith however that has brought her into hostile friction with other members of her family who don’t hold her religious beliefs with the same fortitude as she does, opting to put their trust in the native occult practises of witchcraft stemming from their Zimbabwean roots. Today Shinete lives in Essex not far from London in the UK, with her husband, she’s a science teacher to secondary school students.

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This is an emotive book that at times Shinete found difficult to write as it’s deeply personal, for it’s a book about the family conflicts that have engulfed the lives of several members of her family. At the heart of the family woes lies the contrasting beliefs of Christianity, the Catholic Church teachings, and necromantical trust of witchcraft sorcery that is endemically woven into the traditions of many African societies.

The characters of Gloria, Lizzie, Meg, Charlie, Juliet, Chanel and Cohen are wonderfully portrayed and how Shinete has managed to knit them altogether in what I can only describe as an eye-opening book is a credit to her literary skills. The unexplained deaths, ritual murders add to the intenseness of the plot.

The book is peppered with scriptural references which Shinete has skilfully managed to strengthen her own spiritual beliefs over those of what she sees as ill-judged sorcery ways, ways that some of her family have adopted which has led to all the divisive tensions raging within her family. At the nub of this book persists differing opinions around Christian views and occultism rooted in witchcraft with its sorcery and mystery.

Whatever your views are surrounding these historic beliefs have a read of this fascinating book to see what Shinete has to say.

The post Slaves of the One They Chose to Obey – A Family Torn Apart by Shinete Christina Maunze appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Cricket Rohman is an American author who has a voracious appetite for both reading and writing. The reading part stems right back to her primary years in the wilds of Colorado where she and her brother grew up among the coyotes, bears, cougars and bobcats, as well as the pretty blue columbine flowers native to the Rocky Mountains that dominate vast swathes of America’s west and north westerly states. When I saw where Cricket came from, I have to say I was extremely jealous, and I can see why she chose to put a lot of her book settings in this beautiful part of the world. Despite her unquenchable thirst for reading, like most authors Cricket didn’t cross over the bridge from reading to writing until the 1980’s, maybe that was a timing issue in her life, for when you look at her life, you’ll see that she’s been an actor, singer, teacher, school principal, educational professor and now an avid writer. 

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So far Cricket has written fourteen books with the fifteenth due out shortly. Her books are about the great outdoors, dogs, teachers, romance, and mystery thrillers. You have The Lindsey Lark Series, The Fantasy Maker Series, Creative Hearts Sweet Romance section of four books, as well as a couple of stand-alone books, like Christmas in The North Woods. But right now, we’re going to look at The McAllister Brother Series and Saving Madeline.

The McAllister Brother Series Consists of four books, Colorado Takedown, Montana Countdown, Wyoming Sundown in that order with Wild Weddings the fourth in the series due shortly. Cricket categorises these books as romantic western adventures. Having read the books and coming from a male perspective I’d tabulate them as western cowboy suspense thrillers with a touch of romance. Trace and Troy are the cowboy Mc Allister brothers, their father Clint has gifted them huge ranches to manage and build upon, The Mc Allister’s are rich, but they have enemies, both brothers are womanisers more so Troy but the main women in their lives Hannah and Ivy are dragged into the ranch stile life and the mire. Who is after the McAllister wealth, treasures and Why? These stories are full of tension, delicate love scenes, intrigue, crime, murder, family relations. For me, these books have it all, and are real page turners.  

Saving Madeline is an endearing book about the precarious lives of three women who find themselves living together in one apartment. Roxy a poor out of work actor coping with the harsh rejections of her profession and struggling to pay her way. Her neighbour Ginn a retired army veteran left blinded by second blast injuries she received from an I.E.D incident in Afghanistan. They move in together, for Roxy it’s financial support, for Ginn it’s emotional support, but having moved in together what they didn’t anticipate was Roxy’s mother Maddie being forced on them. Maddie has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and the story is how Roxy and Ginn go about coping with Maddie’s idiosyncrasies and disappearance as well as dealing with their own issues. 

What I can’t understand is why this author isn’t a best-seller yet, for her books certainly warrant that status.  

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They say you should never judge a book by it’s cover, and this is one of those books for behind the blue rose image lurks a sinister story of the shady underworld with its criminal activities and retribution along with revenge as well as sexual exploitation, some good, some not so. This is Claire Goff’s debut book.

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Claire Goff is a single mother and some of the content of the book stems from her own dysfunctional past particularly relationships which at times she accepts were torturous experiences. After numerous ill-judged liaisons Claire decided to put her life into order graduating from the University of Kent having read Drama, English and American Literature. While an undergraduate, she supported herself she did various cleaning jobs and numerous other pursuits. Claire’s life along with other members of her family reads like a game of snakes and ladders, but the one thing she does have that now sits at the core of her values is a steely determination to succeed, not only for herself but for that of her son and daughter for whom she lives and breathes.

The story is a modern-day story set in Kent, known as the ‘Garden of England.’ The eclectic characters that the story revolves around are no-nonsense, down-to-earth, hard-bitten and self-centered.

Be under no illusion this is a hard-hitting storyline telling an account of what some people face in life, and if you haven’t faced a life of this nature, then it’s very easy to be judgmental. I found myself asking, why doesn’t Kate the main protagonist just walk away. Nevertheless, the plot has many twists and menacing turns.

Have a read and formulate your own ideas as to what the characters should or shouldn’t do! 

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Larry Morphew has worked in broadcasting for over forty years, he’s hosted talk shows addressing crime, politics as well as general life issues. Across several radio stations he’s produced and directed no end of news programmes. Broadcasting has been his life, right from his teen years he knew he wanted to be on the airwaves be that late at night or early morning. The one thing Larry learnt over the years was that the later the show the weirder the phone-in chats became.

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Stepping away from broadcasting, Larry decided to use his editorial skills and dip his toe into writing, hence his debut Novel ‘Country Folk.’ The book will appeal to those discerning readers who love historical fiction, country and rural tales of America’s deep south from the early 1900’s through to the fifties. Larry grew up in rural Arkansas and was one of eleven siblings, he presently lives in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas in the U.S, with his wife and extended family. 

Sadie

 This story is a deeply touching story about a ten-year-old girl (Larry’s aunt) relaying the story of what she suffered at the hands of her father who blamed her for the loss of his wife due to a complicated birth. Thank goodness for a kind uncle.

The First Frost

 A story all about Nettie getting a new pair of shoes. This enchanting story of kids with bare feet dreaming of new shoes to face the harsh winters of rural Arkansas is wonderfully told through the eyes of his mother.

Tinker, Tut and Doo Dobber 

A dare-devil tale of three boys messing around in the surging waters of the local creek following days of torrential storms that had ravaged the area. They were lucky to get out alive.

 An endearing book of bygone days in rural Arkansas told from one family’s prospective. 

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Linda Harkey is a children’s author from New Mexico in the US, she lives with her husband Michael a retired surgical pathologist and their hunting dogs. Linda has lived with hunting dogs for most of her life as well as working closely with children, actively encouraging them to read. It was a combination of both these aspects of her life that ultimately led her to write the brilliant eclectic collection of five books all under the guise of Hickory Doc’s Tales.

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The stories are based around a pack of hunting dogs’ humorous adventures as they go about their daily activities with their owner endearingly referred to as ‘The Great One.’ Doc, the main character whose official name is Chicoree’s Hickory Doc is the old, wise leader of the pack of German Shorthaired Pointers who live at The Lazy Dog Hacienda Kennels on Shorthair Boulevard, Oklahoma, USA. The other pack members are, Zeke, Rush, Patch, Sadie, Rocky, Deacon and not forgetting Newt the Labrador Retriever. My favourite characters are Zeke, Doc’s annoying younger brother who thinks he’s a cut above the others with his ticked coloured coat, and Deacon the three-legged dog with a penchant for eating book bindings. 

The stories are funny, outrageous and seeing the characters beautifully illustrated as well; I only wish that they were available when I was 5-9 years old.  This endearing, but mischievous bunch of bohemian doggy characters are up to their old tricks as they flush out the quail birds.  Linda has cunningly managed to integrate Doc and his pack with Willie the crow, Pete the porcupine and B J the retired quarter horse. 

The books are simply magical, well worth a read especially for youngsters transitioning  to chaptered stories. Great books for kids with vivid imaginations.

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Salty Yeom’s debut book God’s Plan you might perceive as a book coming from a different angle pertaining to certain religious theories. I wouldn’t go as far as to say his views are radical, but they are certainly thought-provoking, so to any erudite reader who likes a provocative book around religious ideologies then this is the book for you to analyze, and maybe challenge the author’s viewpoints.

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The book touches on the current pandemic that over the last eighteen months or so has besieged the world in so many ways. Is the pandemic part of God’s plan as a sign of judgement on mankind or is it a menacing virus that has wreaked havoc across the globe with no intervention from a higher so-called being. Religion, whether you’re a fully committed believer through whatever denomination you follow to someone who has no religious inclinations, dominates our everyday lives. Salty Yeom I would say has some strong views here, which when I first chatted to him struck me as odd, particularly when you discover he comes from a scientific and mathematical background subjects in which he teaches young students in Daegu, South Korea where he lives. My conception of scientists is that they find it hard to accept the bible’s version of man’s origin for they usually want, evidence, proof so to speak rather than just believing, so for me Salty appears to have broken the mould here which for me is slightly odd.

When the pandemic first broke out in South Korea Salty lost his job, facing uncertainty he turned to prayer, forty days later he received a message from God to write his book about the current pandemic that has disrupted our lives.

It’s an intriguing read with interesting viewpoints, so go and have a look.   

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This book, imaginatively written reveals and touches on some of the issues the author herself has gone through both in her professional life and that of her personal life.  The characters are brilliantly interwoven to reflect the multi-layered storylines that are going on in this debut novel, ‘Katie, A New Chapter,’ which is set in Britain in the early nineteen nineties over a twenty-one-month period. 

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Katie is the main protagonist, who as a young woman has had to deal with issues that no woman at her tender age would dream of having to face let alone coming to terms with. Abuse both physically and mentally from past and present relationships, along with depression and anxiety issues have left her scarred leaving her no option but to seek professional counselling. Add to that having to go through a hysterectomy due to stage four endometriosis with the early onset of the menopause and all that entails, demonstrates that this is a young woman struggling to cope with life, but despite the odds being stacked against her, she forges a new chapter in life for herself. Hence the title, ’Katie, A New Chapter.’

Relationships can be complex and what Katie initially sees in John quickly evaporates as the darker, deeper side of his past manifests itself, highlighting drink addictions associated with violent behavioural patterns as well as sexual identity issues. Katie’s loose liaison with Tom is equally as interesting as she comes to realise all his womanising is an attempt to disguise a past hurtful relationship. But what of Michael the young bar person she works with, why does he want to meddle in her relationships? And who was behind Jack’s vicious attack and why?

This is a great read all chronologically set out. 

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