Author Interview and Review: Order of the Dimensions by Irene Helenowski

Author Interview and Review: Order of the Dimensions by Irene Helenowski

Interview with Irene Helenowski.

Can you give me a Synopsis of Your Book? The book is about a graduate student names Jane Kremowski who is involved in developing a device that allows for inter-dimensional travel. She could also see how her life differs in different dimensions. But trouble ensues when the villain, Anton Zelov, gains access to it.

What drove you to write this book? I was watching a special on the Discovery channel featuring theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku about the multiverse theory and became fascinated with the notion that we could really be living different lives in different dimensions within our universe.

You are a bio statistical analyst (correct me if I have your title wrong) how did that play into your writing if at all? As a biostatistician, I work with different researchers at Northwestern here in Chicago. In my book, I focus quite a bit on academia life, since that is where my career lies. I also do quite a bit with probability, which I consequently read is also part of the multiverse theory as scientists have become interested in how possible are certain events if there are indeed other dimensions.

What is your writing process? I just try to write whenever I can about whatever comes to me.

You self-published. Can you share the pros and cons of self-publication? I know many authors are considering this option. It’s a lot of hard work promoting it yourself and unfortunately, a lot of people are still weary of picking up anything self-published. But I still try my best. And so far, I like the freedom of not having to answer to a publisher. I am still entertaining the thought of going the traditional route, perhaps with my next book, however.

If you were to re-write your book or edit anything in the published version what would you change? Actually, I have just re-written the book a third time based on some criticisms I’ve received and focused on doing more showing than telling.
What is next on the horizon? Hoping to finish up the sequel 🙂

Is there any one thing you would like to share with readers? Just hope they enjoy the story 🙂

If you are a person that wants to know ‘what happens next?’ than you will enjoy.

Review:  Order of The Dimensions by Irene Helenowski.

Jane Kremowski is a physics graduate student at Madison State University. She is part of a team that has developed a device that allows for inter-dimensional travel. After a successful testing, Jane decides to use the device. The book begins with Jane jumping from one reality to another. She ends up in different cities working at different universities on similar projects.

Dr. Anton Zelov visits the university under the guise of providing funding for further research of the Multiverser – the inter-dimensional traveling device.
Jane discovers Zelov has taken the technology her team developed and has created his own version of the Multiverser. Confused at first by Zelov’s capture of scientists at a convention, she is whisked away into a Multiverser where she discovers she is married to Zelov.

Zelov is a classic villain. He wants to create a New World Order, an Order of Dimensions. He uses different dimensions for his own evil, selfish purposes. He wants Jane, he wants power and he has a team of henchmen available to force is schemes on others.

Jane along with Randy, her husband in some dimensions, Emily, Michael and the other members of the Good Guys working for the Federation jump from dimension to dimension trying to thwart Zelov. Along the way she discovers ‘alters’ and dimensions where you can never tell who is good or bad.

A science fiction novel set in contemporary times, The Order of the Dimensions is a mesh of Sliders, Jump and Fringe. The author reveals different paths a life can take. A New World Order is a conspiracy theory in which secret elite, in this case Zelov, is conspiring to rule the world via world government and globalization.

The novel is fast paced, jumping from event to event. Helenowski’s writing style is third person omniscient driven by dialogue. The characters talk about what they are thinking and what is happening. I am not generally a fan of this method of writing as I like description and deep POV. If you are a person that wants to know ‘what happens next?’ than you will enjoy.

I admire writers that consider other avenues to publication. Self-publishing is a brave and confident step. Authors can make more money with a book they publish themselves but they most work diligently at self-promotion. The downside of self-pubbed books is the lack of a trained editor and copy editor. Self-publication is an entire topic for another blog.

As this is the author’s first novel I expect her to grow and improve as she works on the sequel. I feel petty mentioning that the overuse of adverbs drove me batty. It’s not like I am the queen of grammar because I fail repeatedly. Helenowski even mentions in her interview that she has rewritten based on criticisms and critiques.

Sci-Fi fans and Sci-Fi purists should consider adding Order of Dimensions to their library. And through October 31, 2013 Irene Helenowski is giving away a FREE Ebook copy of her book, follow this link: box.net link . In addition she will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for every book.

If you are a person that wants to know ‘what happens next?’ than you will enjoy.
I met the author through Book Blogs and was given a copy for review. Irene Helenowski kindly answered my questions.

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Tuesday Teaser 9/24/13

Tuesday  Teasers! Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be  Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do
the following:
• Grab  your current read • Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences  from somewhere on that page • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make  sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the
book for others!) • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT  participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Page 123. From an  everyday perspective, it seems good to do things that are kind of convenient;  there is no problem with that journey – which is to say, when you start to want  to live your life fully instead of opting for death when you begin to feel this  passion for life and for growth, when discovery and exploration and curiosity become your path – then basically, if you follow your heart, you’re going to find that it’s often extremely inconvenient.
Summary from Amazon “It’s possible to say yes to life in all  its manifestations, Pema Chödrön teaches—by embracing all the happiness and  suffering, all the intelligence and confusion that are a natural part of our existence. Doing so opens a wellspring of courage and love within our hearts. In this gift edition of her first book, Pema presents traditional Buddhist  wisdom that anyone can relate to.”

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Shine On Award

shineDeanna at The Book Lovers Attic and Rose at Insights into the Wonderful World of Books  (url: http://lovetoread8.wordpress.com/ both nominated me for the Shine On Award. Yippee!

What a great pleasure to be recognized.  This has made my day. Thank you for the kindness and support.

THE SHINE ON AWARD Here are the rules of the award:

  • Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.
  • Acknowledge that blogger on your blog, and link back.
  • Share seven random, interesting things about yourself.
  • Nominate up to 15 bloggers for the Shine On Award, provide a link to their blogs in your post, and notify them on their blogs.

Interesting being a relative term, and frankly I rarely find myself interesting…. Here are 7 things about me. If you read my blog you may have already gleaned this information.

  1. I love dogs. I love all animals but especially dogs. Also, I am foster for DFW Pug Rescue.  I am willing to take blind and hospice dogs.
  2. I am a pack rat but am trying to go through a purge of all my pack-rattery.
  3. I enjoy word play, making up words and read the dictionary occasionally.
  4. I’m already running out of interesting things to say. I enjoy crafting. Especially jewelry making and crochet. But I also make soap, polymer clay figurines, home dĂŠcor crafts.
  5. I have a blog about dogs & animals and a blog about crafting.
  6. I have a giant book collection, this is more than pack-rattery rather a deep love of the written word and freedom of speech. I had a difficult time learning to read as a child (dyslexia but when I was young we didn’t know what that was) but once I did I went gangbusters with reading.
  7. I am an animal rights activist.

Now I have really run out of things to say that are interesting. Here are the bloggers I am choosing. Please visit Deanna & Rose as well as the blogs below.

  1. Kimberly at Raven’s Ambition . I love her word play and crafting.
  2. Cleo at Cleopatra Loves Books . She is phenomenally supportive of other bloggers, entertaining and good book reviews.
  3. Rachel at RachelMankowitz The Cricket Pages. Again a supportive blogger, a fiction writer and blogs about her dog Cricket.  And she is funny drop by and read her post on Wishful Peeing. (I call it peeing on the world but have never blogged about this –  though I may write about how many dogs have to be in the bathroom when I am peeing and I Love Dogs and Animals. )
  4. Carrie at The Write Transition.  Author of The Seneca Scourge, she has a personal Mr. Nasty Pants that occasionally invades her blog.
  5. Lipsy at Lipsy Lost and Found, Judging Books by Their Covers. Lipsy loves books, vampires, unicorns, tennis and is from London.
  6. Emily at My Boyfriends Hotter Than Yours. With a blog title like that, how can you not want her to Shine On?
  7. Hutch a Good Life. About Guinea Pigs Nacho and Buddy and Basil the rabbit. Animal lovers will love visiting Hutch.
  8. The Patron Saint of Dogs .  Colleen says from Colleen. I know we can’t save every dog but what would happen to someone if they tried?

Thanks again to Deanna and Rose for nominating me!  I hope that you visit the above sites and discover new blogs and friends to share your thoughts with!

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It’s Monday. What Are You Reading? 9/23/13

what are you reading meme

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It’s a great way to see what others are currently reading?

I finished 600 Hours of Edward by Craig Lancaster. Marvelous!

 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishugiro.

If you read Unwind by Neal Schusterman, you will like this book.  If you haven’t read Unwindread it.  This 2005 dystopian science fiction novel was shortlisted for the 2005 Booker Prize (an award Ishiguro had previously won in 1989 for The Remains of the Day), for the 2006 Arthur C. Clarke Award and for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award. TIME magazine named it the best novel of 2005 and included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.

The Insanity of Zero by Michael Offutt. When an unforeseen event brings about the end of the world, a powerful artificial intelligence is born. Its task: save humanity from extinction. To understand those it must rescue, the computer decides to assimilate human emotions. But what happens when an omnipotent computer begins to fear its own death.

The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving-Kindness (Shambhala Library) by Pema Chodron. It’s possible to say yes to life in all its manifestations, Pema Chödrön teaches—by embracing all the happiness and suffering, all the intelligence and confusion that are a natural part of our existence. Doing so opens a wellspring of courage and love within our hearts. In this gift edition of her first book, Pema presents traditional Buddhist wisdom that anyone can relate to.

Edward Adrift by Craig Lancaster. Sequel to 600 Hours of Edward.

It’s been a year of upheaval for Edward Stanton, a forty-two-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s lost his job. His trusted therapist has retired. His best friends have moved away. And even his nightly ritual of watching Dragnet reruns has been disrupted. All of this change has left Edward, who lives his life on a rigid schedule, completely flummoxed.

But when his friend Donna calls with news that her son Kyle is in trouble, Edward leaves his comfort zone in Billings, Montana, and drives to visit them in Boise, where he discovers Kyle has morphed from a sweet kid into a sullen adolescent. Inspired by dreams of the past, Edward goes against his routine and decides to drive to a small town in Colorado where he once spent a summer with his father—bringing Kyle along as his road trip companion. The two argue about football and music along the way, and amid their misadventures, they meet an eccentric motel owner who just might be the love of Edward’s sheltered life—if only he can let her.

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First Amendment Rights / Writes! Banned Book Week.

“What if you had no right to read” should be foremost in Americans minds in the fight for our First Amendment rights.

BBW13_300x250This week is Banned Book Week The ALA, American Library Association, and this topic brought to my attention by The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say “Shhh”.   Disappointment and incredulity prevails when witnessing how U.S. First Amendment rights are continually trampled and disdained.

An entire list of Classic books that are banned can be found at the ALA website. http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics (Accessed September 22, 2013)

I read Harper Lee, John Steinbeck, George Orwell and William Golding as a child. Aside from the beauty of the literature, I broadened my horizons and knowledge. That these and other books have been banned or are banned at a minimum makes me sad.

 I saw the movie and then read the book Farenheit 451 as a child too. The impact of Ray Bradbury’s work was not lost on me. The descriptor “What if you had no right to read” should be foremost in Americans minds in the fight for our First Amendment rights. In 7th grade our civics teacher took us on a field trip to see The Lord of the Flies and Soylent Green, apparently I was a fortunate student.

Take a look at these classics that have been banned. Look further for books banned in the past year, I have only cited from the ALA 3 – more than enough to make my point.

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
1984, by George Orwell

Disappointment and incredulity prevails when witnessing how U.S. First Amendment rights are continually trampled and disdained.

CITED FROM ALA Lists
Some of the books banned in 2012 – 2013:
Totally Joe Atheneum Books for Young Readers by James Howe.

Marked for removal in the Davis, Utah School District (2012) because parents might find it objectionable. The title character, a thirteen-year-old boy, writes an alphabiography—his life from A to Z—and explores issues of friendship, family, school, and the challenges of being a gay teenager. Source: July 2012, p. 156.

The Family Book from Little, Brown by Todd Parr.

Banned from an Erie, Ill. Elementary school’s shelves (2012) because of a line
that reads, “some families have two moms or two dads.” The district also banned
 everything furnished by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), including learning materials and various programs aimed at preventing bullying. Source: July 2012, p. 157; Sept. 2012, pp. 202–3.

500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures from Southwest Community Resources by Elizabeth Martinez.

Banned from the Tucson, Ariz. Unified School District (2012) along with Critical Race Theory, by Richard Delgado; Message to Aztlan, by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales;  Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Rights Movement, by Arturo Rosales; Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire; Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson; and Occupied America: A History of  Chicanos, by Rodolfo Acuña. In a district with over 60 percent of the students coming from Mexican-American backgrounds, the school board “dismantled its Mexican-American Studies program, packed away its offending books, shuttled its students into other classes,” according to a January 21, 2102, New York Times editorial because “it was blackmailed into doing so.” The Times referred to measures taken by Arizona  Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal, who threatened to withhold millions of dollars if the school district didn’t terminate the nationally acclaimed program immediately. The superintendent has spent years crusading against ethnic studies programs that he claims are “brainwashing” children into thinking that Latinos have been victims of white oppression. On March 8, 2013, a federal court upheld most provisions of an Arizona state law used to prohibit the controversial Mexican-American Studies curriculum in Tucson. Activists plan to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Source: Mar. 2012, pp. 49, 51, 82–

The Dirty Cowboy Farrar Straus Giroux by AmyTimberlake.
Removed from the Annville, Pa. elementary school library shelves (2012) because of its illustrations, involving a cartoon cowboy taking his annual bath. The supposedly true story is of a young cowboy who needs his annual bath and instructs his dog to watch  his clothes while he bathes. When the cowboy emerges from his bath in the river,  the dog does not recognize his familiar smell and refuses to give back his clothes.
In the illustrations, the cowboy’s private parts are always covered. The book has received numerous awards, including the International Reading Association award in
2004, the Parents Choice Gold Medal, and the Bulletin Blue Ribbon from The Bulletin
for the Center for Children’s Books. Source: July 2012, pp. 153–54.

Again Cited from ALA http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/freedownloads (Accessed September 22, 2013). For the complete list go here.

Freedom of Speech is a Right Due All.

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Saturday Steals 9/21/13

Saturday Steals

Free September 22 to 26th,


The Captain’s Last Year, Fighting the Fire and Cancer: One Year to Live by Blaize Nolynne.

From the Author:  What would you do if you only had one year to live? Blaize Nolynne’s short story answers that same compelling question. Steven Williams is no different than any of us. He is a fire captain on a volunteer fire department and lives with his family in River Falls, Maine. The doctors have given him only one year to live, something that no one wants to hear. At first he denies this diagnosis of stage four stomach cancer. Treatments begin to fail and he realizes his time here is running out. The questions pop in his mind of what he should do with the one year he has left of his life.

Blaize Nolynne books are exclusively available on Kindle, but traditional paperbacks and hardcover are available elsewhere. For more: www.facebook.com/blaizenolynnefan  

Also Available:
How about a freebie from the U.K.? Language in the Blood by Angela Lockwood.
Free on Kindle 9/20-24/2013. Cameron Blair would have liked nothing better than to stay in Edinburgh and marry his childhood sweetheart. As the call to arms goes out, Cameron and his pals sign up to fight for their country. They are soon delivered into the nightmare of war, and there Cameron more than meets his maker.

The story follows Cameron as he comes to terms with his new ‘life’, from his first days as a hapless vampire in war-torn France to the glamorous modern day setting of the CĂ´te d’Azur. Along the way, he develops a distinctive taste for the finer things in life: jewels, yachts, small dogs and champagne-infused human…

Waking Up Married by Mira Lyn Kelly. Kindle FREE! From USA TODAY bestselling author Mira Lyn Kelly comes WAKING UP MARRIED, a free book in Harlequin’s brand-new contemporary romance collection—Harlequin KISS.

 

 

cover2b Irene Helenowski is giving FREE copy of her book, Order of The Dimensions. Follow this link  box.net link .  Through October 31, 2013.  Irene will also donate $1 from each download to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

 

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Liebster Award

liebsteraward_3lilapplesI’ve been nominated for the Liebster by Rose at blog: http://lovetoread8.wordpress.com/

The award is a way to recognize up and coming bloggers and encourage people to visit new/interesting blogs. Liebster means ‘dearest’ in German.

I appreciate the nomination and I think getting exposure to other blogs is positive. Who decides or is it actually awarded? I don’t know but a nomination means someone has noticed your blog. Please visit the blogs I have listed.

The rules my nominator asked me to follow:

  • Each nominee must link back the person who nominated them
  • Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator
  • Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award with less than 200 followers
  • Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer
  • Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

My 10 Questions and answers:

1. What got you started blogging? Changes in my life.

2. What is your favorite hobby? I don’t have “a favorite” but I do enjoy many hobbies.

3. If you could live in any place and time where would it be? I would live now but not here.

4. What is your favorite season and why? Again with the favorites.  Spring, because I love seeing the new green leaves and flowers blossoming.

5. What did you have for breakfast? Coffee.

6. Who do you admire most? My parents.

7.  Who is your favorite singer/group? Really? Really, I do not have a favorite.

8. Do you prefer electronic or print books? Print.

9. What is your favorite color? Yellow.  Or Orange.  And Red.

10. What makes you smile? My dogs.

The 10 questions for Nominees:

  1. What is your favorite font?
  2. What is the first book you remember reading?
  3. What is the first book you fell in love with and never wanted to end?
  4. How much time do you spend on the computer a day for work?
  5. How much time do you spend on the computer a day for other reasons?
  6. Do you have an animal companion? What type of animal and name?
  7. What is the motto of your life?
  8. What do you want for Christmas?
  9. Do you like cheese? (Really, I just wanted to ask something silly).
  10. Name one person you admire.

The ten blogs I am nominating are:

http://lovetoread8.wordpress.com/   Yes I am nominating Rose back. J

http://jenniferwindram.com/

http://stellroselong.blogspot.com/

http://pugsandpurrs.blogspot.com/

http://celestialkitties.blogspot.com/

http://mypaperhabit.wordpress.com/

http://laurelrainsnow.wordpress.com/

http://www.urbanwildlifeguide.net/

http://as-i-walk.blogspot.com/?expref=next-blog

http://planktongrl.blogspot.com/

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