Title: The Days of our Lives

Author: Ken Corday Executive Producer of Days of our Lives

ISBN: 978-1-4022-4222-9 Hardcover with dust jacket

Publisher: Days of our Lives Publications www.sourcebooks.com

While The Days of our Lives hit daytime soap serial might be pure fiction, the life of its Executive Producer, Ken Corday, is not and lends familiarity into real life situations, despite his infamous family. This shows that even the rich and famous are only human, too.

On the jacket, a very clear description of the book’s contents can be found: The True Story of one Family’s Dream and the Untold History of Days of our Lives. Ken Corday writes beautifully as he opens up to the world about his family, background and events leading up to the creation of one of America’s top daytime soaps, Days of our Lives.

Originally a dream of his father and mother, Ted and Betty Corday, the family moved from New York to Los Angeles, bringing their dream to life. Unfortunately, Ted Corday found out soon after production began that he was terminally ill. Cancer reared its evil head, not showing any favoritism among its countless victims. Upon learning the devastating news, Ted Corday enlisted the assistance of William (Bill) Bell to write for the show and keep it alive, and it was under Bell’s brilliant and imaginative mind that it became number one, bringing top ratings to NBC.

Betty Corday took the helm of control, running it as tightly as a mother runs a home full of children before becoming ill herself and turned it over to son, Ken Corday, in the late 70s. Interestingly enough, Ken Corday was, and still is, a musician and though he didn’t really want to be in charge of the show, took it over and has been running it ever since.

Tragedy did not strike only the characters plotted into the scenes unfolding on the screen, but in the Corday family as well. Ken Corday’s older brother Chris committed suicide, though he didn’t dwell on that particular subject in the book, he did specify that to this day, none of the characters in Days of our Lives has ever committed suicide, despite all the adversities they’ve encountered.

I found the book to be extremely interesting as it brought to life the many facets involved in producing a show of this nature and magnitude, keeping it alive for many, many years and how despite their own family’s misfortunes, the Cordays were able to stay close-knit, loving and caring amongst themselves and the crew and cast of the longtime running show. Also included were pictures of the Corday family, cast and award ceremonies, which added an extremely real touch to the story inside the cover. And I was very surprised to learn that Mr. Corday also composes the music played on the show. Bravo, Mr. Corday. Well done, indeed!

Reviewed by Cindy Bauer for Bookpleasures.com

http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitepublisher/articles/2719/1/The-Days-of-our-Lives-The-True-Story-of-One-Familys-Dream-and-the-Untold-History-of-Days-of-our-Lives-Reviewed-by-Cindy-Bauer-of-Bookpleasurescom/Page1.html

Cindy Bauer is the well-seasoned author of the Memory Box Trilogy (Chasing Memories, Shades of Blue and Crystal Clear), an Inspirational Fiction series. She is an avid reader, a freelance writer and editor, and reviews books for Bookpleasures.com. She's also a volunteer partner with Books In Sync, a site dedicated to promoting authors and their books.

This book was received free of charge for the purpose of an unbiased review.

Title: Apparent Danger



Author: David R. Stokes


ISBN: 978-1-935456-11-7


Publisher: Bascom Hill Books

“Apparent Danger – The Pastor Of America’s First Megachurch and the Texas Murder Trial of the Decade in the 1920s”, brings to light a very descriptive and well researched tale of the life of J. Frank Norris, who built up the Baptist Church ministry in Texas to more than 10,000 members.

Not exactly an angelic “beacon” for the church, Norris has his faults, as any man, but for a man of the cloth to commit murder, was the story of the century. Backed up with facts only an enormous amount of research could produce, Stokes weaves the story brilliantly for the era in time, including dialogue, diets and demons.

Though murder is not what the townspeople would expect of their minister, it is obvious throughout that Norris is being guided through his various missions in life by the bible and God’s word. Taking the life of another man wasn’t exactly on his agenda, but when it did happen he wasn’t worried that he would not be exonerated from the sinful deed. His faith in the higher power was eminent throughout.

Despite barriers and adversity, Norris forges on to get the written “Word” out to as many people as possible. Stokes adds a nice mixture of fact into the story as it unfolds with believable dialogue, making the reader feel like they were there, witnessing it all, bringing history to life in a wonderfully told story of the life of Norris.

For anyone who loves a good story, I recommend Apparent Danger. Stokes will have you turning the pages into the wee hours of the night as he weaves an interesting historical tale of the forgotten trial of the decade (1920s), when Norris killed D.E. Chipps, bringing much adversity to the small, sleepy community in Texas. A true crime weaved beautifully into a fiction story sure to grab the attention of anyone who likes a well-blended novel containing every possible facet still found in life today, from perjury to gangsters, to a church that includes its very own newspaper and radio station. There’s a little bit of everything in this story.

Lots of interesting and unexpected twists and turns that even the non-history buff will love. The J. Frank Norris account is one of the best stories I’ve read in a long time, so be prepared to be caught off-guard when you open this one!

Reviewed by Cindy Bauer for Kathy Wilkes Communications

Cindy Bauer is the author of the Memory Box Trilogy (Chasing Memories, Shades of Blue and Crystal Clear) – Inspirational Fiction

This book was received free of charge for the purpose of reviewing.

Letters From The Lost - A Memoir of Discovery

Letters From The Lost
A Memoir of Discovery
by Helen Waldstein Wilkes
ISBN # 978-1-897425-53-4
Publisher: Athabasca University Press
www.aupress.ca

With vague memories of early childhood, author Helen Waldstein Wilkes felt an immense emotional desire to further investigate her heritage. This started when she opened a box filled with letters that her father had left behind. Letters from the lost, her Jewish ancestors, of whom many never survived their unforgettable journey to freedom.

Many have only read about, or watched on television, the collective history of an era deeply embedded into our minds as the Holocaust. But never have you experienced it so closely, as I did while reading this unforgettable memoir.

Escaping Prague as the Nazi’s moved in swiftly, Helen and her parents were able to enter Canada, where they began a new life. Life was different there. Their only connection to family came from the many letters her father had stored in a cardboard box. With a red lid.

Once Helen opened the box, everything changed. Now retired, she began a journey, traveling all over the world, to find family members and to learn more about her family history – the “roots” she’d been missing her entire life.

In an unforgettable read, the author has cleverly included the context of the letters, pictures she was able to locate, and her own heartfelt story behind the discoveries. It was an emotional journey for me as well, as I learned more about this family and their struggle to survive in a most overwhelming time.

I’ve always enjoyed reading memoirs, but by far this one has been the most memorable. An unforgettable story, filled with history, love, emotions and facts, Letters From The Lost is a read you won’t want to miss. Read the letters in the box and prepare for a historical lesson you won’t read about in the history books. You will experience suffering, joy, love and fear. You won’t close the book as the same person who opened it to read.

About the Book
On March 15, 1939, Helen Waldstein’s father snatched his stamped exit visa from a distracted clerk to escape from Prague with his wife and child. As the Nazis closed in on a war-torn Czechoslovakia, only letters from their extended family could reach Canada through the barriers of conflict. The Waldstein family received these letters as they made their lives on a southern Ontario farm, where they learned to be Canadian and forget their Jewish roots.
Helen Waldstein read these letters as an adult―this changed everything. As her past refused to keep silent, Helen followed the trail of the letters back to Europe, where she discovered living witnesses who could attest to the letters’ contents. She has here interwoven their stories and her own into a compelling narrative of suffering, survivor guilt, and overcoming intergenerational obstacles when exploring a traumatic past.

About the Author
Since receiving her PhD in French Literature, Helen Waldstein Wilkes spent 30 years teaching at every level in Canada and in the U.S. Her research interests include cross-cultural understanding, language acquisition, and neurolinguistics. Now retired and living in Vancouver, she is actively examining her own cultural inheritance and its impact.
Reviewed by Cindy Bauer – Bookpleasures.com
http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitepublisher/articles/2419/1/Letters-From-The-Lost-A-Memoir-of-Discovery-Reviewed-By-Cindy-Bauer-of-Bookpleasurescom/Page1.html

BookPleasures in an international community of over 40 reviewers that come from all walks of life and that review all genres. The site has been in existence for over 5 years, receives 7000 unique visitors per week, and has posted over 4000 book reviews and over 500 author interviews.

Cindy Bauer is the well-seasoned author of the Memory Box Trilogy (Chasing Memories, Shades of Blue and Crystal Clear), an Inspirational Fiction series. She is an avid reader, a freelance writer and editor, and reviews books for Bookpleasures.com. She's also a volunteer staff member at Visual Arts Junction and contributes articles on writing, publishing and marketing works.