Merry Christmas to all I've reviewed and all who follow my reviews

Merry Christmas Constant Reader.

I don't have a new book for review, (yet), but I wanted to take this time to tell you what I'm doing for all the authors I've favorably reviewed here. It's a small gesture for Christmas. I'm going to post the review I posted here on their author page on Goodreads.
Big deal, you may be saying.
Well. Yes, as a matter of fact it is.
Authors live and die with reviews, and if I've given them a good one, I need to post it where it will do some good.
Goodreads prides itself on the reviews posted there, so mine are about to join.
My TWU reviews are already posted on Amazon. Posting on Goodreads is just one more way for folks to find a good read. Pun intended. ; )

Review: Strange Roads by Steven Lloyd

Strange Roads
by
Steven Lloyd
Available in Kindle format
and in paperback
on Amazon

If you decide to come along on a journey with Mr. Lloyd, rest assured the roads he travels in his short stories are strange.

Steven Lloyd submitted his most excellent short story "The Wooden Box" to me last year and it was absolutely excellent (you can find my review of it here in the entry dated August 23, 2013. The story is part of this collection, or available by itself through Amazon.)

So imagine my delight when I was presented with Strange Roads, a small collection of more of Lloyd's short stories.

All of them will get under your skin. Some will horrify in a subtle way that lingers. Others will hit you over the head.

Among my favorites were "The Wooden Box", and like a juggernaut put into motion, it drags you down the road with you in it's wake..
"The Wallet"- just how much will one man go through to get his property back?
"Where There Be Dragons" - a wonderful short fantasy that is charming as hell.
"Dogwood Summer"(an excerpt), which I've been told by Lloyd will be fleshed out at some point as I wanted way more than the story delivered. Not that it came up short. It was so good I wanted more. Now!

This is a worthy addition to any horror lovers library. The horror is subtle in some cases...splatterpunk this is not, but that's OK.  The best kind of horror short story is one that doesn't bludgeon you to death. It lingers in your mind's eye long after you've read the last sentence.

Lloyd crafts his stories as if he's mining precious gems.
I can't wait for him to continue mining in this vein.

Not Gone and Never Forgotten

Bet you thought I'd disappeared.
Nope, no such luck.

Moved twice and about to move again (same apartment complex, larger apartment).

My mother passed away in May, peacefully in her sleep, which was how I hoped it would be.

I've been writing more cook books - 19 available now, under T. L. Sheppeard on Amazon, for the Kindle for $2.99 (go check 'em out).

Been doing a lot of for pleasure reading. I've discovered the brilliant writings of Cory Doctorow. Though intended for a young adult audience, the subject matter is relevant to any and all and is presented beautifully. If you like science fiction that's science fact and relevant to the times (cyber stuff, hacking, spying, how much privacy do we really have?), then you'll eat his stuff up - Homeland and Little Brother are the two I've read.

I liked the Anita Blake novels by Laurell K Hamilton and have read a great deal of them. But, I've found a series that I think is head and shoulders over Hamilton's books - The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward. I've read the first two and am on the third and have the rest on my Kindle to read. Full of sex, violence, blood, interesting vampires, this series is better written than the Anita Blake books. Too often Hamilton will come up with a nifty premise, only to drown it to death in sex, and then wrap it up nice neat in one chapter, telling us how things were resolved rather than writing it and showing us how. Lazy writing is what that is.

Got some interesting books coming up in the following weeks for review...
So stay tuned.

Hey, Reviewers Need To Eat, Too

Good afternoon constant reader.

I've not deserted the Universe. I've been busy with proofing books for a writer, and writing my own series of cook books. Both are time consuming and haven't left a lot of time for reading and reviewing.

The thing is book reviewers have to eat, too and pay their bills, so I've been engaged in things that will make me some money.
The Written Universe started out as a labor of love, with no expectation of making any money off of it.
Circumstances have changed, I have changed, so my time is spent differently these days.

I intend to use this blog to advertise my cook books from time to time and I intend to post relevant reviews from time to time, so don't jump ship and assume TWU is dead in the water.

I'm authoring a series of cook books, under the name T.L. Sheppeard. Check me out on Amazon. They're for the Kindle, run $2.99 a pop.

Holidays
Halloween 100 Recipes
Thanksgiving 100 Recipes
Christmas 100 Recipes
New Years 100 Recipes
Valentine's Day 100 Recipes
Saint Patrick's Day 100 Recipes

Foods

Ramen Noodles 100 Recipes
Sriracha 100 Recipes
Lasagna 100 Recipes
Nutella 100 Recipes

Diets

Paleo Diet 100 Recipes

**Coming Soon**

Easter 100 Recipes
Chili 100 Recipes

You can also find me on Goodreads

This is a new venture for me and I've got to say I'm loving every minute of it.
Cruise by Amazon and check out my cook books and buy one or buy 'em all.
No Kindle? No problem - get Amazon's free Kindle Cloud App Kindle Cloud App.
You can use your desk top (PC and Apple), tablet, lap top, or Smartphone (Blackberry, Android, iPhone, Windows Phone)

By the way, not only is Valentine's Day approaching on the 14th, but World Nutella Day is February 5th. 
I've got you covered on both fronts.