Vocal Expressions

It’s been some time since I read a legal thriller in the vein of John Grisham. So when I got my hands on this novel by Michael Cordell, I couldn’t wait to dive in and meet the main character, Thane Banning. Thane is a real estate lawyer who went to prison for five years for a murder he didn’t commit. After claiming his innocence for many years, he was finally released on a legal technicality. Now a free man, Thane must adjust to living on the outside and finding ways to connect with his wife, Hannah.  Just when Thane is getting back on his feet and working at his old law firm, he is pulled in to defend, Scotty “Skunk” Burns, a former fellow inmate accused of murder. Unable to resist Skunk’s plea for help, Thane takes the case although he is not a criminal defense lawyer. Not only was this a risky move but he couldn’t blow the chance at going up against DA Bradford Stone, the same prosecutor who put him in prison for five years. Overall, the scenes, characters and dialogue were re...

Author’s Bio: Ted Weber has pursued writing since childhood, and learned filmmaking and screenwriting in college, along with a little bit of physics. His first published novel was a near-future cyberpunk thriller titled Sleep State Interrupt (See Sharp Press). It was a finalist for the 2017 Compton Crook award for best first science fiction, fantasy, or horror novel. The first sequel, The Wrath of Leviathan , came out in 2018, and the final book of the trilogy, Zero-Day Rising , is coming out Oct. 1, 2020. He also has other books on the way. He is a member of the Maryland Writers’ Association, and runs a monthly writing workshop. By day, Mr. Weber works as an ecologist for Defenders of Wildlife, and has had a number of scientific papers and book chapters published. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife Karen. He enjoys traveling and has visited all seven continents. Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your book? Ted Weber: I’m a big cyberpunk fan, and wanted to wr...

Author’s Bio: Mark R. Clifford is a proud fourth-generation San Franciscan, and the second-born in an Irish Catholic family of seven, making him a self-proclaimed expert in the pseudoscience of birth order characteristics. Mark served in the Marine infantry for ten years and as a Police Officer for over a quarter-century. TYPHOON COAST is about what still haunts him. In the Marines, he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. Mark received Special Operations training while attached to the 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa and was operating in the Philippines in 1991 during the historic eruption of Mount Pinatubo. His law enforcement career was equally eclectic. He rose to the sergeant's rank and served in a myriad of assignments to include SWAT and undercover narcotics. Mark still calls the San Francisco Bay Area home. He and his wife have been married for almost thirty years and have raised three beautiful children. He has written for the San Jose Mercury, Contra Costa Times, San ...

So, I have discovered a new local Baltimore author by the name of Tom Fowler who writes mysteries about cyber sleuthing and solving crimes. Anyway, before I delve into Fowler’s first novel (The Reluctant Detective) in the series, I decided to read the prequel (a novella) that introduces C.T. Ferguson, the protagonist. In the prequel, readers find C.T. living in Hong Kong for three years and working with a group of hackers (funded by him) who help Americans and dissidents escape the Chinese government.  Unfortunately, he gets busted and thrown in jail where he is served a steady diet of rice and water. His captors want him to “rat” on his fellow hackers and when he refuses to do so, he gets beaten up.  But C.T. using his wit (pretending not to understand the language) and skills, he makes one phone call to a longtime friend who then call’s C.T.’s father to find a way to get him out of jail. Just so happens, C.T.’s father had to reach out to a gangster with connections in th...

Author’s Bio:  Writer / Veteran / Talent Development / Leader / Cyclist Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your book? Shane Robitaille:   We need more positive and authentic stories of young people finding their way in the mad world.   DL: How do you handle writer’s block? SR: If I’m not feeling the writing vibe then I don’t write and do something different. DL: Describe your writing process? SR: For the novel, I wrote it from the perspective of a director on the set of a film. I picture each scene and all the dialogue as if I were looking at from behind the lens of a camera. This helps me create a more robust and authentic view of what’s happening with the characters in the story.  DL: What do you think makes a good story? SR: Such a hard question! For me, I think there are way too many superhero films. The world has so many real superheroes that make the world a better place but go unnoticed. My favorite stories are about ordinary people who do...

This is the first time I’m reading anything by this author. The synopsis drew me in: Lauren exacting revenge on Matt, her hustler ex-boyfriend who kills her husband and kidnaps her baby because she stole money from him. She then tracks him down from New York to Virginia and when she finds him, he forces her to commit a bank robbery in order to get her baby back. Interesting storyline, but I was sadly disappointed in its execution and resolution. Nevertheless, I thought it gave readers a good snapshot into the criminal/street life (drugs, bank robberies, and murders). The dialogue was authentic, the actions of Matt’s soldiers (Preech, Kanan and Juice) were realistic including the treatment of women (no respect whatsoever). There were frequent acts of violence some of which I thought was unnecessary. Overall, this was a fast read. The author did a good job of depicting Matt’s craziness, Lauren’s strength in enduring his vicious actions against her in the quest for getting her c...

In this novel, Tracy Price-Thompson weaves an epic tale of love, courage and sacrifice between two people from two different cultures: Bishop “Chicken” Johnson (Alabama, USA) and Abeni Omorru (Kenya, Africa). Bishop, a trained boxer flees from a troubled past to work with the Peace Corps leaving behind his “Brothaman” Malcolm and Malcolm’s grandparents (the Armstrongs). Abeni is psychologically scarred by the painful past of her female circumcision at the tender age of six and her reckless sexual behavior that left her feeling unloved. When Bishop meets Abeni there is an instant connection. He sees past her pain and loves her for the woman she is. Abeni for the first time is truly happy and sees a future with Bishop without being judged for her prior sexual behavior. They get married and welcome their beautiful daughter, Hundiata aka “Hunnie” into the world. They enjoyed many blissful years until they were summoned to Abeni’s parents’ (Banjoko and Ziwani) apartment to dis...