Friday, April 28, 2017

Friday's Film Adaptions: The Horse Soldiers by Harold Sinclair


Summary:
This novel is a fictionalized account of one of the most daring cavalry raids of all time. Set during the American Civil War, it vividly brings to life `Grierson's Raid', - the seventeen-day raid by a Union brigade through the heart of Confederate Mississippi. Conscious of the huge odds against them; exhausted, hungry and with a deepening sense of impending doom hanging over them as the enemy gathered forces on all sides, the Union soldiers rode south. Despite this, however, the raid was a triumph and dealt a staggering blow to the enemy. Harold Sinclair's novel brings vividly to life the human drama of this extraordinary episode and conveys superbly the tragedy of a civil war and a nation tearing itself apart.

Film
A Union cavalry officer leads his men on a vital mission behind Confederate lines.

Release Date: June 12, 1959
Release Time: 120 minutes

Cast:
John Wayne as Colonel John Marlowe
William Holden as Major Henry 'Hank' Kendall
Constance Towers as Miss Hannah Hunter of Greenbriar
Althea Gibson as Lukey
Judson Pratt as Sergeant Major Kirby
Ken Curtis as Cpl. Wilkie
Willis Bouchey as Col. Phil Secord
Bing Russell as Dunker
O.Z. Whitehead as Otis 'Hoppy' Hopkins
Hank Worden as Deacon Clump
Chuck Hayward as Union captain
Denver Pyle as Jackie Jo (rebel deserter)
Strother Martin as Virgil (rebel deserter)
Basil Ruysdael as the Reverend (Jefferson Military Academy)
Carleton Young as Col. Jonathan Miles, CSA
William Leslie as Maj. Richard Gray
William Henry as Confederate lieutenant
Walter Reed as Union officer
Anna Lee as Mrs. Buford
William Forrest as Gen. Steve Hurlburt
Ron Hagerthy as Bugler
Russell Simpson as Acting Sheriff Henry Goodbody
Hoot Gibson as Sgt. Brown
Jack Pennick as Sgt. Maj.Mitch Mitchell (uncredited)



Author Bio:
Harold Sinclair was born on May 8, 1907 in Chicago, Illinois. When he was about 8 years old he was sent, along with his sister, to stay with an aunt and uncle in Bloomington, Illinois. As a teenager he worked for the Western Union telegraph company. He dropped out of school, moved to Florida and later returned to Chicago and finally back home to Bloomington. He played in Jazz Clubs and followed a Bohemian lifestyle.

While working for a hardware store he wrote his first book, The Journey Home (1936). The book impressed an editor at Doubleday who offered Sinclair a four book contract.

His next three books, The American Years (1938), The Years of Growth (1940) and the Years of Illusion (1941) chronicle the history of the imaginary town of Everton, Illinois, from the 1830s to the 1920s. The history and characters in the trilogy were based on the history of the City of Bloomington.

In 1940 he publish, Westward the Tide, an account of the Illinois campaign of George Rogers Clark during the Revolutionary War.

More books followed; The Port of New Orleans (1942), Music of Dixie (1952), and a book commissioned by the Bloomington newspaper, The Daily Pantagraph telling the history of the newspaper, Daily Pantagraph 1846-1946 (1976). He also published several short stories, articles and book reviews.

The Horse Soldiers (1956) was a fictionalized account of Illinois Colonel Benjamin Grierson’s daring raid through Mississippi during the Civil War. This book became a bestseller and is best known as the inspiration of the John Ford/John Wayne movie The Horses Soldiers (1959).

His final novel, The Cavalryman (1958), was a sequel to Horse Soldiers. It was not well received by critics or readers. The book was optioned for a possible television series. That project did not come to fruition.

Sinclair died on May 24, 1966.


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Moments by RJ Scott

Title: Moments
Author: RJ Scott
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: April 10, 2017
Cover Design: Meredith Russell
Summary:
An actor on possession charges, hell bent on destroying his own life meets a man who quietly works to make the world a better place.

Jacob Riley is a typical Hollywood former child star with issues. He has already done prison time and at the age of twenty-six has been arrested again.

Ethan Myers is the owner and manager of Macs, an education center providing teaching and learning to local low income families. Losing his partner to cancer leaves him lost and alone and he buries himself in his work to start to mend his broken heart.

Sparks fly when Jacob has to complete his community service at Macs. Their relationship grows against a background of disenfranchised street gang members, arson, the Oscars, and despite their prejudices.

Can Jacob Riley be saved?

**Please note, this has been with Totally Bound and has been added to and re-edited. If you have proof of purchase I will happily replace the book.**

Re-Edited Re-Read Review April 2017:
If I am being completely honest, there really is nothing I can add to my original review.  I will say that I could not tell you what any of the re-edited or added bits were as every bit of  Jacob and Ethan's journey flowed together as beautifully as it did when I read it in 2015.  

Jacob is still a spoiled Hollywood stereotype who thinks the world is his oyster and he's lined up for the all you can eat buffet.  Ethan is still the humble man who wants to help the less fortunate.  When their journeys converge, fireworks are the result from the starting line, equally stubborn and determined the pair is perfectly matched.  Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we see what is really important in life, well Jacob hasn't really hit rock bottom but he is about at his last chance for redemption when he's forced to serve his community service sentence at Ethan's center. I do believe that we all have that one defining moment that can change us and that's what Jacob faces in Moments.
That's about the best you're going to get out of me as for the plot but I will say that I can't recommend Moments enough.  There are points that may seem cliche but there are plenty of points that are not and when you combine them what you have is a beautiful tale of redemption, friendship, love, and finding your place in the world which is something we all want.  Whether you are as I am doing a re-read or completely new to you, Moments is another winner from Miss Scott that you don't want to miss, you just might learn something about yourself as well as be thoroughly entertained and for me that is the mark of an excellent and amazing tale and talent.

Original Review September 2015:
I need to start by simply stating that you will not like Jacob Riley in the beginning.  He is the classic, some might say cliche, Hollywood child actor turned bad boy.  Whether you see Jacob as classic or cliche, it doesn't matter because it works and that's what makes Moments enjoyable.  Despite Ethan's panic attacks he is incredibly patient, more patient than I would be when faced with dealing with Jacob.  I don't do spoilers but I will say there was a point in the story that I thought the author might take a certain path with Jacob's character but she didn't and the road Miss Scott took was much better and appreciated.  Moments may not be what I would classify as an emotional roller coaster but it definitely pulls at your heartstrings and will stay with you.  Moments is another great example why RJ Scott is on my short list of "1-click without the blurb" authors.

RATING: 

Author Bio:
RJ Scott is the bestselling romance author of over 100 romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men and women who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn't with family either reading or writing.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn't like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.


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EMAIL: rj@rjscott.co.uk



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Condemned Pt 1 by Samyah Leighton

Title: Condemned Pt 1
Author: Samyah Leighton
Series: Redemption #3
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: April 25, 2017
Summary:
It’s said the truth shall set you free…but does it really?

Only hours after marrying Skylar, Jackson is placed under arrest and is being extradited back to Massachusetts to face the charges against him. His arrest goes viral and the internet gets flooded with rumors and theories about who his victim could be.

With DNA evidence on her side ambitious prosecutor, Adrianne Washington, is offering no deals and is ready to proceed to trial. However, her rush to judgment may have less to do with facts and more to do with a personal vendetta.

Unforeseen problems lurk around every corner and the newly married couple find themselves being tested in ways they never imagined. With the world falling apart around them, Jackson and Skylar are determined to keep their family together. Yet will all their efforts be in vain? Is the damaged that’s been done to their lives beyond repair? Does the truth really set you free or are there some secrets that should stay buried?


“Place your hands on the counter, spread your legs, and don’t move,” says the detective on my left. He goes about patting me down. I don’t know what he expects to find; they already did this to me before we got on the plane.

“Stand up,” Detective Simon says.

I almost laugh at the coincidence of his name and my situation.

Simon says take off your shoes and pull out the laces.

Simon says take off your belt and bowtie.

Simon says take off your watch, wedding band, and hand over your wallet.

Glaring at him, I comply. I do everything he demands. I get the sense he likes this part of his job—brandishing the power lent to him by the state over the people.

“Go with Detective Raleigh and he’ll get you processed,” says Simon.

I look him up and down before following Raleigh a little way away to a corner of the station. Here sits a table with a computer, scanner, and a camera. We stand in front of the computer as he enters my information. When he’s done, he places my right hand on the scanner and it captures my print. We do the same with my other hand. Next, I stand against the wall in front of the height chart and that’s when everything becomes surreal.

I can’t believe I’ve actually been arrested. My freedom, which up until now I’ve considered a God-given right, has been demoted to a privilege and now lies in the hands of people who don’t know the first thing about me. Raleigh takes a frontal shot of me then tells me to turn to my right. I take in a sharp breath as I turn and an unnerving nausea settles in the pit of my stomach.




Deceived #1
Summary:
A lie tore them apart… A truth will bring them back together.

Fifteen years ago Jackson Delaney met Skylar Deveraux. It was love at first sight. He adored her. He trusted her. And she betrayed him. Breaking things off, he left her behind and never expected to see her again.

Heartbroken and angry, Jackson forced himself to move on with his life but not before swearing off committed relationships forever. Love had made a fool of him once, he swore never to let it happen again. After graduating from college he got drafted into the NFL.

With the help of time Jackson was able to put the past behind him. Now at thirty-six-years-old he believes he’s living his dream. He’s rich, famous and a celebrated NFL quarterback who can have anyone woman he sets his sights on. His life is perfect until the death of his brother and sister-in-law unearths some devastating secrets from the past that forces him to question everything he thought he knew about his life.

All of the people who were supposed to love him are involved in some duplicitous schemes to conceal the truth from him and Skylar is at the center of the biggest scheme of them all. Now he must find Skylar to get the truth from her.

How will he handling seeing her again after all this time? Will the extreme passion they once shared still burn hot between them? And if so, can he ever forgive her deceptions and be able to reclaim the only woman he has ever loved?

Revealed #2
Summary:
Skylar's ex-husband Chris has discovered her secrets and is using them against her to get what he wants. And what he wants is her. Believing she’s the only woman for him, Chris is desperate to prove to Skylar that he’s the only man for her. He wants his wife back at all cost and he’s willing to do anything to keep her. Even blackmailing her into another marriage.

Skylar is desperate to protect Jackson and Sutton from the truth coming out so she agreed to return to L.A. with Chris. However, she’s struggling with her decision to leave her family behind and is hell bent on getting back to them. She tries her best to stay on Chris’ good side until she can find some leverage to free herself but when Chris sets the date for their wedding it kicks Skylar's quest for freedom into overdrive.

Jackson and Sutton are confused and hurt by Skylar's unexpected departure. Sutton is very suspicious and has doubts about the nature of her mother’s sudden absence but not Jackson. He believes Skylar willingly left them and he’s furious. Skylar's abandonment devastates Jackson and pushes him into the arms of an unlikely companion.

Will Skylar find a way back to her family before Chris get what he wants? Or will there be a wedding in Skylar's immediate future?

Author Bio:
Samyah Leighton is a loving wife and mother of four. She's always had a passion for writing and storytelling. She loves to read. Romance and erotica are her favorites genre. Samyah loves all kinds of animals and movies and music. She loves to cook and bake and window shop. She finds beauty in all types of love. For the most part Samyah enjoys the simple things in life.


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Condemned Pt 1 #3

Deceived #1

Revealed #2






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