The Storyteller - Fiction Books! - Answering Service Resources

Home
>
Book Reviews
>
The Storyteller - Fiction Books!

The Storyteller - Fiction Books!

Review by Jessica Dearborn
Tolucan Times / Canyon Crier - California

"The Storyteller, Volume I" by Martha Whittington
AuthorHouse, Paperback, 514 Pages, $24

When inspiration hits, it is usually followed closely by desire. A willingness to do whatever it takes to explain your inspiration, to create a picture. For a writer, her tool is her pen. Storytelling in and of itself can be quite a challenge. For example, what are you going to talk about? What story are you going to tell? You must have a beginning that truly grabs, a keeper climax in the middle, and a bring-it-all-back- together-again, ending. And, the dialogue? you constantly find yourself asking, "Do people really talk like that?" At that point you will either cringe, cry, laugh, or simply allow yourself a few moments of madness as you do all of the above mentioned, plus tear your only copy to mere scattered pieces of what used to be. Foreboding as it may be, writing can also be individually and socially rewarding.

That is, if you should decide to tread through your insecurities and walk the uncertain path to the publishing world. Many fear this path and will therefore, never walk it. On the other hand, there are writers who are not afraid and not only do they walk it, at times they skip. And this is due to having a few good stories to tell. Besides, that's all a writer needs, anyway? a good story. Martha Whittington has earned the right to tell her stories. She trekked around the world in her early twenties, no doubt having her own adventures, making me wonder where she has been and what she's seen during her travels. And with her memories, experiences, and creativity, she has brought to the reader a colorful novel filled with mystery and encourages every reader, with the turn of each page, to utilize all of their imagination.

The author shares some of her tales in "The Storyteller, Volume I." It contains six short stories titled: "The Fennigan Case," "A Unique Team," "The Hidden Knowledge," "A Gifted Child," "The Witch," and "Sand." Although there is an obvious lack of editing, and the language and grammar are careless, the stories are compelling and are worth delving into. In "The Fennigan Case," two rookie reporters are sent out on a last minute assignment that takes them through a walking nightmare, and then they disappear. "A Unique Team" is centered on the consequences of a man's choices. Within the pages of "The Hidden Knowledge," there is a teenaged boy who discovers he has a special gift that changes his entire existence. In "A Gifted Child," a child is born with the kind of soul that when combined with his discovered powers, he becomes less and less likely to be voted as Mr. Popularity. "The Witch" is a tale of a malicious woman that terrorizes a small town. And finally, "Sand" rejoices two brothers bond, and the perils they endure throughout their travels. Whittington's storytelling ability is magical.

All the stories are luring, some nail biting, and there are moments that are a little hair-raising. It captures the readers' senses; inevitably questioning that in which you thought you knew. Once you regain your composure, it's interesting to reflect on the story and the characters that you've met. To assume you know where the story will take you is naïve. Martha Whittington is a naturally gifted writer and storyteller, and her work deserves to be read and acknowledged. As for her courage of facing the unknown world and the other world of publishing, she is fearless and inspiring.

www.storytellersbookclub.com

Martha Whittington

In The News:

Book Review: Bedlam South by Mark Grisham and David Donaldson
Blogger News Network - 4 hours ago
by Simon Barrett in Book Reviews, Reviews The disorder known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) came to the forefront following the Vietnam conflict. ...

Daredevil, X-Force among this week's comic book reviews
Creative Loafing, NC - 10 hours ago
By Carlton Hargro As usual, I read a ton of comics this week; however, no book stood out as incredibly good or awful. So for this edition of Comic ...

Book Review: Bear Any Burden by Ellis M. Goodman
Blogger News Network - Dec 1, 2008
by Simon Barrett in Book Reviews, Reviews I have mixed emotions about this book. I enjoyed it a lot, much of the action takes place at the hight of the Cold ...

John Freeman
Publishers Weekly, NY - 9 hours ago
by Craig Morgan Teicher -- Publishers Weekly, 12/1/2008 In the past few years, space for book reviews has been steadily shrinking, leading some in the ...

New Book for BlackBerry Users (and Abusers) Now Available at ...
MarketWatch - 7 hours ago
CrackBerry.com is updated daily with BlackBerry news, reviews, rumors, humor, help and how-to articles, and the site features an active forum community ...

Children's Book Reviews
Publishers Weekly, NY - Nov 30, 2008
FSG/Foster, $17.95 (64p) ISBN 978-0-374-33528-1 Of interest to adults as well as children, this handsomely produced black-and-white book intriguingly ...

Book Review: New Tricks
Monsters and Critics.com - Nov 30, 2008
Perceptive readers will likely pick out the villain within the first third of the book yet donâ€™t let that dissuade you from enjoying the interactions ...

Monsters and Critics.com
Book Review: Dangerous Women
Monsters and Critics.com - Nov 30, 2008
Morris went beyond writing a simple â€œscare tacticâ€ book, he examined the often complex history that created murdering women and provides thoughtful insights ...

Monsters and Critics.com
Book Review: Operation Blue Light
Monsters and Critics.com - Nov 30, 2008
The first portion of this book is the best as it follows Chabot through his developmental years. By the end, the story deteriorates into a rambling, ...

Monsters and Critics.com
Book Review: The Reach
Monsters and Critics.com - Nov 30, 2008
By Sandy Amazeen Nov 30, 2008, 22:41 GMT When psychology grad student Jess Chambers was tapped for a special assignment by the demanding but secretive ...

book reviews - Google News

Answering Service ResourceAnswering Service Resource