love to paint

Sometimes I read a story and there are parts that I love and parts that I don't.  I see potential, but it's unfulfilled.  That's the case with a book I read this week.  Dan Walsh is an author who has published 4 or 5 books in the past 3 years.  I really enjoyed his first two books, but I think he might have gone a little fast in writing this last one.   The book is The Discovery .  It has a story within a story.  The beginning of the story finds Michael and his wife Jenn going to the reading of his grandfather's will.  The story begins with the first 50 or so pages basically about Michael settling into his new house (his grandfather's old house) and buying everything he and his wife want.  Please forgive the cynical description of it, but that was what stood out to me more than anything else in the first section.  Except there is a twist.  Michael's sister wants to know who her grandfather and grandmother were.  There's no w...

Dan Walsh published his first novel about three years ago, I believe.  I read the first two novels and enjoyed them.  They were a bit cheesy, but I was impressed particularly by his first novel.  The second was quite predictable.  Recently he published his fourth novel, Remembering Christmas .  I sat down to read it, but found that it was a rare book that I had to pick up and set down.  You see, I never got drawn in.  Let me explain... Storyline:  The story is about Rick and the Christmas season that changed his life.  He hadn't planned to come down and visit his mom and stepdad.  But, his stepdad, Art, had a brain aneurysm and they needed his help.  He spends several weeks at the shop which bring about a change in his heart.  (Of course there's a little romance thrown in there.) Writing:   Mr. Walsh's writing in this book is fine.  This book didn't stand out to me, but it wasn't badly written. Plot:  The...

This year I've read several romantic books written by women.   The forward of this book made me think that this book was going to have a lot of romance in it--"To my wife, Cindi, my one and only love and inspiration behind any and every romantic thought I've ever had."   I was curious how it would be similar to and different from romantic fiction by women. Back in December, I read the first book in this series titled The Unfinished Gift .   It was the first novel by Dan Walsh and I was impressed that it was written so well for being his first novel.   The end of that book did wrap a little too neatly and quickly for my tastes, but all in all I enjoyed the book a lot.  The sequel is titled, The Homecoming. I knew that this book would pick up where the first left off and the first does portend a relationship between Katherine and Captain Collins, the two main characters.   And indeed that is at the crux of the plot for the second book.   In this story,...

I read the author's bio before I read this book and realized it is his first book. I have to say--I have read a lot of books this year and I have really come to appreciate how hard it must be to write a book. I've tried several times, but blogging is all I have time for right now. When I blog, I only write short entries. Undertaking an entire novel would be a very different thing. All that said, I think Dan Walsh does a great job his first time around the block! To read an excerpt from this story: http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800719241.pdf The story is set in the 40s during World War II. I believe it is set in Baltimore (I don't know of any other town with a Baltimore Pike). It made sense to me in light of the details included, because Baltimore is just south of the Mason Dixon line--it's not exactly in the North and not exactly in the south--but somewhere in between. A young boy has just come to live with his grandfather. His mother has di...