Shadow of the Soul by SYLVIA ROCHESTER

Shadow of the Soul is Sylvia Rochester's newest release. This genre is a real departure from her previous books, but one she says she thoroughly enjoyed writing. "Actually, it wrote itself," she says. Suited for young adults as well as adults, this poignant story involves overcoming adversity.

In l870 in the Cascades, a father surrenders a disfigured twin to a wintry grave and steels himself against the consequences. A trapper rescues the barely breathing infant from a wolf’s den and rears the child. The father lies out of selfishness; the trapper, out of love. But no lie is a good lie. The truth turns wife against husband, twin daughter against father, and threatens the trapper’s relationship with the boy.

The child grows to young manhood, befriended by the wolf that nurtured him and a dark anomaly--a fragment of that special bond born to twins--the shadow of the soul. Communicating through thoughts, this mysterious entity seeks always to reunite the twins.

This is a gripping novel from the first page to the last of Matthew’s journey to triumph over tragedy. At the same time, it's a tender story of love and forgiveness.

Superb read, Sylvia.

To see Sylvia's website or buy her book, click on the book cover or go to http://www.sylviarochester.com/

TODAY'S POLITICS--STRANGER THAN FICTION

For almost two years now, I've been a good citizen and kept up with almost every little tid-bit on both Obama and McCain so I could make a wise choice for president. Finally, in these last two weeks I see neither is what he says he is…they are just two politicians. Should I have known early on? Of course, but I'm an eternal optimist.

With the incredible turn of events in our economy in the past few weeks, the American people made it clear to their representatives how they felt. I'm stunned at the reaction of the two men we've chosen to represent us as our candidates for the next president. I would have thought that at least one of them would have stood up to lead in this crisis…neither of them heard the outcry of the people. I was so proud when the House voted down the Bailout Bill. I was sure our system of democracy had worked, but that was short-lived--our representatives hadn't listened either. Funny thing is, we'll reward them for not listening and vote them right back in.

Yesterday I received an email. I don't know who to give credit to for writing it, but it says everything concisely. You most likely found one in your mailbox as well.

What Exactly is a Billion?

• The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.
• A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
• B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
• C. A billion hours ago, our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
• D. A billion days ago, no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
• E. a billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government
  is spending it.
  
  While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's look at New Orleans. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.
  
  Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number...what does it mean?
• A. Well...if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman and child) you each get $516,528.
• B. or...if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.
• C. or...if you are a family of four...your family gets $2,066,012.
  
  WASHINGTON, D.C., HELLO! Are all your calculators broken?
• Accounts Receivable Tax
• Building Permit Tax CDL License Tax
• Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax
• Dog License Tax Federal Income Tax
• Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
• Fishing License Tax
• Food License Tax
• Fuel Permit Tax
• Gasoline Tax
• Hunting License Tax
• Inheritance Tax
• Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
• IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
• Liquor Tax Luxury Tax
• Marriage License Tax
• Medicare Tax Property Tax
• Real Estate Tax
• Service charge taxes
• Social Security Tax
• Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
• Sales Taxes
• Recreational Vehicle Tax
• School Tax
• State Inc ome Tax
• State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
• Telephone Federal Excise Tax
• Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
• Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
• Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
• Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
• Telephone State and Local Tax
• Telephone Usage Charge Tax
• Utility Tax
• Vehicle License Registration Tax
• Vehicle Sales Tax
• Watercraft Registration Tax
• Well Permit Tax
• Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt...We had the largest middle class in the world...What happened? Can you spell 'politician!' (END OF EMAIL)


What was really funny was taking the vote in the first place. They had already spent how many billions bailing out Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, AIG and all those other banks on Wall Street without even asking. Now that 700 billion is just a drop in the bucket. I saw in the news today, we're going in the banking business. When is someone going to stand up and say THAT'S ENOUGH--STOP--NO MORE!

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not voting for either of the candidates. I'm writing in my vote. I'm voting for MIKE HUCKABEE. At least he's not a politician.

THE JAVA PUMP is RELEASED

After we bought an old gas station turned coffeehouse, it was no time at all before we noticed our family had grown. We had doctors, lawyers, preachers, priests, recovering addicts (and those who were not recovering). Teachers, college students, musicians, contractors and homeless people all sat together on the patio and discussed politics, religion and philosophies unimagined and left as friends. People met there and fell in love there. We had weddings there and yes sadly, we even had a funeral or two. I knew I would never be able to write a book about all of these wonderful people and their stories without missing someone or something.

I decided to roll everything up into what I hoped would be a few memorable characters, and wrote a Mystery/Suspense novel to portray the essence of The Java Pump.

In 1928 on their way to begin their honeymoon, Jade and Scooter Underhill stop to gas up their car when two bootleggers jump from an old truck and spray bullets into the owner of the station. Jade and Scooter are killed in the crossfire and the small hill country town of Infinity Texas is changed forever.

Eighty years later, Mike and Lucy Haggerty buy the corner and with their family convert the building into The Java Pump, a coffeehouse complete with two ghosts.

To help Lucy draw customers, a reverend of grand spirit and girth, a priest and a rabbi, put together a band. The Three Disciples

Cooney Boutin, a recovering alcoholic raised in the swamps and bayous of New Orleans, isn't shocked he's the only one able to see the ghosts, but he is surprised when the Underhills tell him of their mission, and he has a major role to play.

**To read an excerpt or buy your book now, please click on the small cover to the LEFT. I hope you enjoy reading The Java Pump as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

(ONE OF THE CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK MAKES A KILLER GUMBO--THE RECIPE IS BELOW)


COONEY'S JAVA PUMP GUMBO

Makes approximately 16 nice servings (16oz) - freezes very well - Should be served over white rice.
Make sure to have rice ready, 'cause you--and whoever else is near, will want to eat it as soon as it comes off the stove.

Large Pot - approx. 10 quarts
White Flour - 2 cups - plain or all purpose - don't use self-rising
Vegetable Oil - 1 cup + some
Chicken Broth - 2 15oz cans + maybe some of one more
Kitchen Bouquet - 3-4 TBS
Tomato Sauce - 12 oz
Water - 5 15oz cans
White Wine - 1 cup
Shrimp - 3 1/2 Lbs - peeled & deveined (You can also add oysters, crabmeat (pick it well to remove shells) or gumbo crabs (small crabs with top shell and innards removed and broken in half) if you desire. Some people add fish as well, but we don't like fish in our gumbo, we only like shellfish.
Onions - 5 medium - MINCED
Celery - 3/4 bunch - MINCED
Large Bell Pepper - MINCED
Cut Frozen Okra - 20oz bag
Salt - 5 1/2 Tsp
Bay Leaves - 2 large
Granulated Garlic - 2 Tsp
Ground Oregano - 1/4 Tsp
Sweet Leaf Basil - 1 Tsp
Cayenne Pepper - 1 TspFile' - 3 TBS (powdered sassafras leaves)

Make a medium brown roux: Heat FLOUR in 1 cup of the OIL on medium high heat until flour turns brown - stirring constantly.) Safety warning: Roux gets very hot… DO NOT let it splash on your skin.

Put it on the side (or you can be making the roux while the rest is cooking, because you add it later. You can even make it in advance, just keep it in a covered jar in the fridge; it will last for weeks)

Coat bottom of pot with OIL and cook ONIONS, CELERY, BELL PEPPER and OKRA until soft. (Okra will still be a little slimy, that's OK), then add 1CAN CHICKEN BROTH, 1WATER, 1 CAN WHITE WINE and 1 CAN TOMATO SAUCE.

Stir the pot and then add the SALT, BAY LEAVES, GRANULATED GARLIC, GROUND OREGANO, BASIL, and CAYENNE PEPPER. Bring this all to a simmer and simmer until veggies are mushy (approx. 50 minutes) Stirring often.

Add 2 cups of ROUX (it will be thick, but it will dissolve), then add KITCHEN BOUQUET and simmer for 20 minutes

Add SHRIMP (see ABOVE for other seafood suggestions to use in addition to the shrimp or in place of shrimp) and simmer an additional 20 minutes

Add FILE' and stir the pot - If you need to thin the gumbo, use a little CHICKEN BROTH or WHITE WINE. Don't be afraid to use wine, as the alcohol will cook away.

Ladle the gumbo over a bed of rice, and serve the spicy delicious concoction to HUNGRY guests!

The Sentence and The Word

When I got my last manuscript back from my editor, I was appalled at all the semicolons he had added. For whatever reason, I've never liked the look of the semicolon. After pouring over 344 pages and restructuring many sentences, I sent the manuscript back.

While working on my new work-in-progress, I began to pay more attention to what I was doing. I thought more about sentence structure; the part it plays in my over-all writing. I've written long enough to realize if a person can't make a proper sentence, they have no business writing in the first place. It's like writing music. You write the intro for the piano and violins, but then these other instruments are going to come in. If you can write one good sentence, then you can write another, and another will follow. When I use the semicolon, the sentence just hangs independently for a moment, like the music of the piano and violins; waiting for the other instruments to join in.

When you're reading through your story and it seems limp and flat, take a couple of days to jazz up your verbs. Stronger verbs can make a huge difference. Replacing overused words in general can give your sentences more power--thereby, giving your entire book more muscle. Finding the right words can be a lot of work and consume a lot of time, but it will always be worth the effort.

Below is a list of strong verb substitutes I use. If you have more, please add them.

• Do--performed, executed, discharged, carried out, fulfilled, managed, brought off, negotiated, turned out, achieved, accomplished, conducted
• Came--approached, drew near, closed in, advanced, pressed upon, arrived, appeared, turned up
• Felt--had the impression, perceived, discerned, noted, understood, knew, bore, endured, sensed, and comprehended
• Filled--pervaded, penetrated, infused, charged, imbued, soaked saturated, rent, pierced, permeated, suffused
• Get--received, came by, realized, gained, won, achieved, attained, obtained, acquired, secured, procured, captured, seized, grasped, entrapped
• Gave--bestowed, presented, contributed, handed over, accorded, granted, entrusted, assigned, dispensed, offered, consigned, imparted, purveyed
• Held--grasped, clutched, clasped, retained, clenched, kept, maintained, embraced
• Knew--comprehended, realized, lay a hold of, discerned perceived grasped, sensed, recognized, ken, recalled, and discriminated
• Looked--glanced, glimpsed, studied, inspected, fixed one’s gaze, noticed, took in, gazed, peered, stared, squinted, peeked, glared, took in, regarded, surveyed
• Made--invented, concocted, fabricated, devised, simulated
• Pulled--drew, tugged, yanked, tore, ripped, rent, plucked, snatched, wrenched, dragged, extracted, lugged, and pried
• Pushed--propelled, wedged, advanced, pressed, drove, shoved, jostled, impelled, crammed
• Sat—eased into, settled, took, perch, plop down, relaxed into, sat astride, lolled, sprawled, settled, remained, rested
• Saw--perceived, beheld, discerned noticed, observed, inspected, scan, viewed, observed, visualized, gazed, peeped, and scrutinized
• Glance--He regarded her, cut a hard look, snapped her attention to, cast a glance, directed his gaze, his dark eyes traveled, his eyes swept over her, his eyes latched on to hers, his blunt gaze swerved to her
• Said--[WARNING be careful when substituting any of the following for a tag. You would be better off using 'said' for a tag.] uttered, pronounced, announced, spoke, mouthed, phrased, articulated, answered, responded, retorted, conveyed, declared, revealed, divulged, breathed, whispered, cried, told, imparted, betrayed, recited, reported, testified
• Set-- place, position, situate, plant, rest, deposit, tuck, lay down, stick, establish, mount, station
• Smiled--beamed, grinned, laughed, smirked, sneered, looked with favor upon, shined upon, blessed, favored
• Took--acquired, secured, obtained, gained, seized, gleaned, captured, removed, pilfered, stole, swiped, nabbed
• Walked--strode, paced, tread, strolled, sauntered, ambled, slogged, trudged, plodded, lurched, shuffled, slinked, tip-toed, advanced, staggered, scurried, traipsed, trooped, tromped, hiked, swaggered, rushed, scamper, schlepped, wandered, sprinted, stepped, strutted, tramped
• Watched--regarded, eyed, perceived, detected, beheld, scrutinized, surveyed, scanned, viewed, gazed, glimpsedWorked-toiled, slaved, labored, endeavored, travailed, strained, undertook, produced