Just published a chapter from my next literary nover "The Neighborhood."
Read first review at:

http://www.writers-network.com/index.cgi?view=179853

New Book Review

Latest book review of The Brothers' Keepers

In 1996, then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton popularized the saying that “It Takes a Village to raise a child.”  The Brothers’ Keepers, a novel by John H. Paddison & Charles D. Orvik, reminds us that it can also take a village to destroy a child.  This heart-wrenching tale of five brothers in depression-era North Dakota calls into question what it means to be a community.  It is a story that rings true in these days riddled with headlines of child abuse, abandoned infants, and filicide.  The Brothers’ Keepers is a must read for anyone concerned about the welfare of children.

Suzanne Jacobson Cherry

Author of From the Ashes and In Silent Meditation

Hi, all--

I just wanted to share with you two reviews of TBK that appear on LibraryThing.com:

Young, naive Cora falls for Iver, a carefree "ladies man." After she gets pregnant, he is pressured by his family to marry her, yet he isn't ready for the responsiblity of having a wife and family, so he resents her. She ends up having five boys, but never really grows up herself and therefore resents the children at times because she wants to have the freedom to do what she wants. Therefore the five boys end up running wild and being left to fend for themselves, which leads them into all sorts of trouble and emotional problems. Eventually they are taken in by the Lutheran Welfare Society and are in and out of various foster homes. Even though this book takes place during and after the Great Depression, it could very well have been set in modern times. The same social problems persist today. The book was very well written; I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it. ( ) | lilmanmom Nov.14, 2011 |

Nov 14, 2011 | The Brothers’ Keepers is a novel that reads like non-fiction yet carries the creative weight of a well-written saga. The story, in brief, is about five boys who are all but abandoned by their parents, left to fend for themselves. When either of the parents is there (mostly the mother) they are emotionally and physically abused. This narrative has been told, similarly, many times and in many different ways. What sets this one apart from others is the manner in which the characters are portrayed. The authors do not impose a sense of pity on the children, but disgust for the parents. The children possess an unassuming inner strength, within their brokenness, that gives them a sense of power – a power that both binds them and pulls them apart. Within all of the children is an inner violence that, as adults, is tempered in various ways. The reader knows, before its reading, that none of the boys will grow up without deep emotional scars. It is impossible. All abused children – as adults - know this. Some of the boys are able to make relatively good lives for themselves, the rest cannot. Whatever their ending, the authors bring the story to a successful close without straying from its forceful beginning. One cannot help but be moved by such an account. It is Paddison’s and Orvik’s interpretation of this old and unfortunate tale that makes it a compelling achievement. ( ) | Bale | Nov 6, 2011 |

China Photo Narrative

I am finally putting the finishing touches on my newest work,
a photo narrative entitled China Photos and Reflections: A Grassroots
Look at Chinese Culture and the Chinese People. As a precursor to the
book’s publication, I have put on YouTube a few of the China videos that I used
in the narrative. I thought that youmight be interested in viewing them so I am sending the following URLs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXG8PMiMz8U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNykPbU0Zjo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5_N1xnR-6w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8eR8J_5Q_4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIDtvluydMc

Booksigning at Changing Hands Bookstore

Chuck and I are excited about our upcoming booksigning of The Brothers' Keepers at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe on November 12. Our book will also be on display in the "Local Authors" section of the store. For more information, go to our Amazon.com profile at:

http://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile

Hi....

Amazing what a bit of research and ingenuity can do. After several days of fumbling and bumbling, I have managed to create a finished albeit somewhat amateur trailer for my recently published book The Brothers' Keepers. I hope that you will view it and let me know what you think. Thanks. John

http://www.youtube.com/user/johnpaddison#p/a/u/0/ns7cYvQ7C5I