Burtrum Lee by Mary Maurice – A Book Review

I am very pleased to be part of the WOW – Women on Writing Blog tour for Mary Maurice’s book Burtrum Lee

My Review:

Burtrum Lee by Mary Maurice is an interesting blend of history, medical breakthroughs and mystery.

The novel alternates between 1960 and 2004 Santa Fe, as we gradually learn about the mystery of Burtrum Lee Connor’s birth.

We meet a variety of characters – from Lee, who wonders what is missing in her life, to her grandmother Claire, one of the few who knows the whole truth to Katie, Dr. Stone and Calvin Kramer, all who want Lee for their own reasons.

Mary Maurice keeps us guessing right to the end.
Who is Lee? Who is Megan? How will they learn the truth? What is the truth? Why has it been hidden?

Read and try and solve the mysteries.

 

Publication Info:

Burtrum Lee:

Coated with a life of lies and deceit, Burtrum Lee Conner is sick to her stomach. Dozens of times throughout her life the feeling of not being who she is has tormented her. But she kept it to herself, believing that maybe it’s just a chemical imbalance of some kind considering she is one of the first artificially-inseminated babies of the 1960s. Now, there’s more though, something much deeper, much more maniacal than she could have ever imagined. She’s not the first test tube baby at all, but the first…

Burtrum Lee Conner, born into a world of scientific mystery, discovers that the life she’s been leading for the past forty years, is the wrong one. Her parents, Jed and Jane Conner, stealing her as an infant, brought Lee up as their own. Even her devoted grandmother, Clair Conner, kept this secret close to her chest until they were found out. And now, Lee Conner’s biological mother, Katie Lee, wants her back, but not before the diabolical Dr. Stone has his say.

Paperback: 219 pages

Genre: Scientific Mystery

Publisher: Silver Leaf Books LLC (August 28, 2017)

ASIN: B07576YGKS

Burtrum Lee is available in ebook and in print on Amazon and Goodreads 

 

About the Author: Mary Maurice    

When I was a child growing up in the Detroit area, I thought I wanted to be a painter, and then as a teenager the idea of being a musician intrigued me, then as a young adult, I realized that I’m a writer.

After attending Western Michigan University for two party filled years, I decided to leave academia and explore the real world to learn what life is truly about. For fifteen years I’ve traveled the country working in restaurants, writing and doing readings wherever I was welcome.

While living in Minneapolis during my twenties, I was fortunate enough to be tutored by Dr. Jonis Agee, who was at the time head of the creative writing department at St. Catherine’s College in St. Paul. Her lessons were imprinted in me for all of these years, and have influenced my writing ever since.

My adventures landed me in San Diego, Chicago, San Francisco, and Oregon, finally leading me to the Land of Enchantment where I’ve resided since 1994. Living in Santa Fe, and the beauty and isolation that surrounds me, has inspire my creative muse in ways that no other place has. While still working in the hospitality industry, my passion for the craft of writing has never been stronger. And I know with each sentence I write, and every paragraph I compose, my ultimate goal is to find the perfect word.

Find Mary Online:

Website: http://www.marymaurice.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marymauriceauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MMauriceAuthor

The WOW Blog Tour – check out these other stops:

Monday November 13th @ WOW! Women on Writing

Interview & Giveaway

http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/

Tuesday, November 14th @ Create Write Now

Mary Maurice is today’s guest author at Mari McCarthy’s Create Write Now Blog – don’t miss this intriguing guest post titled “Moving Beyond Writer’s Block ” and learn more about Maurice’s scientific mystery “Burtrum Lee”

http://www.createwritenow.com/

Wednesday, November 15th @ Beverley A. Baird

Beverley A. Baird reads and reviews Mary Maurice’s scientific mystery “Burtrum Lee” and shares her thoughts on this page turning novel!

https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/

Thursday, November 16th @ CMash Loves to Read

Today’s guest blogger at CMash Loves to Read is none other than Mary Maurice. Hear from her on the topic of “Finding My Muse.” and learn more about her scientific mystery “Burtrum Lee”.

http://cmashlovestoread.com/

Friday, November 17th @ Bring on Lemons

Crystal Otto reviews Mary Maurice’s Scientific Mystery “Burtrum Lee”!  – don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about Mary Maurice and find out more about this page turning novel “Burtrum Lee”.

http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

Monday, November 20th @ Lisa Haselton

Lisa Haselton interviews Mary Maurice about her scientific mystery “Burtrum Lee”.

http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, November 21st @ Margo Dill

Mary Maurice visits the blog of fellow author Margo Dill. Hear from Mary on the topic of: “What’s So Hard About Being Nice?” and learn more about Mary’s scientific mystery “Burtrum Lee”.

http://margoldill.com/

Wednesday, November 22nd @ World of My Imagination

Nicole Pyles reviews “Burtrum Lee” – the Scientific Mystery by Mary Maurice.

http://theworldofmyimagination.blogspot.com

Thursday, November 23rd @ Writers Pay it Forward

“Who Left the Skunk on the Side of the Road” is today’s topic at Writers Pay it Forward as Mary Maurice pens today’s guest post and discusses her book “Burtrum Lee – A Scientific Mystery”.

https://writerspayitforward.com/

Tuesday, November 28th @ Choices with Madeline Sharples

Mary Maurice writes an intriguing guest post at Choices today. She talks about “Keeping Readers Engaged”. Don’t miss this post and opportunity to learn about “Burtrum Lee – A Scientific Mystery”.

http://madelinesharples.com/

Thursday, November 30th @ Women of Wonder

Ginny at Women of Wonder reviews “Burtrum Lee – A Scientific Mystery” by Mary Maurice and shares her thoughts with readers. Don’t miss this exciting blog stop!

https://womenofwondercircle.com/

Row 80 – Sunday Check-In

It is Sunday Check-in for Round 4 of ROW80, where it is recognized that everyone has a life and we all do the best we can.
NaNoWriMo has started and I have written over a thousand words a day, working on a number of projects. Feeling good about what I am working on.

I will make note of what I have achieved after each goal and highlight it. (I have decided to post on Sundays only, until NaNoWriMo starts.)

Writing
*Write at least 1000 words a day. Yes
*Revise Catching Love, Finished revision course with Lori Wilde and working on Chapter 1. Much revision needed.
*Finish writing Saving Christmas.  I’m working on this for NaNO and have worked on 10 chapters so far.
*Win at NaNoWriMo – NaNoWriMo has started and have written just over 17000 words so far.

Blogging
*Blog at least 3x a week. YES – counting my 3 blogs
*Write and publish 4 reviews for WOW. Have done two.
*Participate in Yoga Challenge at Prevention for next 3 months. YES
*Walk 10,000 steps a day. I’ve achieved this twice this past week. But at least did 7000 each day.

Personal
*Read daily. Yes, yes, YES!
*Create art daily, taking part in several challenges. No
*Continue to declutter. Took a bag of books to Goodwill.

I will keep writing and working on these goals in the week ahead.

 

Larry Kilham’s “Free Will Odyssey” – A Book Review

I am very pleased to be part of the WOW – Women on Writing Blog tour for Larry Kilham’s book: Free Will Odyssey

My Review:

I have been a fan of sci-fi for most of my life and AI had become a fairly new interest.

Larry Kilham’s book “Free Will Odyssey” is both  sci-fi and a thriller, well mixed with Artificial Intelligence.

 

Peter Tesla is an idealistic engineer who develops an AI project called Electra, after his sister died of a drug overdose. She had urged him not to “stop until you kill this monster”.

Peter wants to save people from drug addiction by improving their free will.

There are twists and turns throughout the book. We wonder who can be trusted, what free will is and can it be altered.

Kilham’s look into the near future is subtle but certainly gives us some scary notions of what could take place.  Could a drug like Opa be used worldwide? How much does “big brother” really control us? One line that his old Professor Farnsworth, who leaves his company to Peter, sent shivers down my spine, as I see this happening all ready:

The next generation will be so controlled by some combination of drugs, media and amusements, that they will have no free will.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. It had interesting characters, tension, thought-provoking questions and easy-to-understand science. Kilham even provides links for further investigations on free will and AI.

 

Publication Info:

Free Will Odyssey

Peter Tesla, a prodigious young inventor, develops an electronic device to enhance the user’s free will. A major application is drug detoxification. Peter’s star client is the U.S. president. Along the way, Peter is tried for the mysterious death of a girlfriend and struggles with the machinations of a secretive industrialist.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Larry Kilham has traveled extensively overseas for over twenty years. He worked in several large international companies and started and sold two high-tech ventures. He received a B.S. in engineering from the University of Colorado and an M.S. in management from MIT. Larry has written books about creativity and invention, artificial intelligence and digital media, travel overseas, and three novels with an AI theme.

 

Find Larry Online:

Website: www.larrykilham.net

Twitter: https://twitter.com/larrykilham

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarryKilhamBooks/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Free-Will-Odyssey-Larry-Kilham-ebook/dp/B07566LDCQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504162783&sr=8-1&keywords=free+will+odyssey+larry

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36150438-free-will-odyssey

 

Be sure to visit the others in the blog tour, beginning with WOW- Women on Writin

———-Blog Tour Dates

Monday, October 30^th  @ The Muffin
Stop by for an interview and book giveaway!

http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/

 

 Wednesday, November 1st @ Lauren Scharhag

Today’s guest blogger at Lauren Scharhag’s blog is none other than Larry Kilham with an intriguing post about writing fiction in the narrative – don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about Larry Kilham and his latest novel “Free Will Odyssey”.

 http://laurenscharhag.blogspot.com/

 

 Wednesday, November 1st @ CMash Loves to Read

Today’s guest blogger at CMash Loves to Read is none other than Larry Kilham. Hear from him on the topic of “How I Became Interested in Free Will” and learn more about his latest book “Free Will Odyssey”.

 http://cmashlovestoread.blogspot.com/

 

Thursday, November 2nd @ Writers Pay it Forward
Larry Kilham is today’s guest author at Writers Pay it Forward and he discusses “addiction” as well as his latest novel “Free Will Odyssey”. Don’t miss this insightful blog stop.
https://writerspayitforward.com/

 

Friday, November 3rd @ Bring on Lemons

Today’s guest blogger at Bring on Lemons is Larry Kilham sharing his thoughts about “Invention and Company Building” – don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the greats. We will also have a giveaway for Larry’s latest book “Free Will Odyssey”.

http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

 

Monday, November 6th @ Beverley A. Baird

Beverley A. Baird reviews Larry Kilham’s latest work “Free Will Odyssey” – don’t miss this honest and enlightening review.

https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/

 

Wednesday, November 8th @ Bookworm

Larry Kilham stops by Anjanette Potter’s Bookworm blog with an insightful and thought provoking guest post about “Predestination vs. Free Will” – readers won’t want to miss this opportunity to hear from Kilham and learn about his latest novel “Free Will Odyssey”.

 https://bookworm66.wordpress.com/

 

 Friday, November 10th @ Janese Dixon

Don’t miss today’s author spotlight at Janese Dixon’s blog – the author is none other than Larry Kilham. Readers can learn more about Kilham and his thought provoking story: “Free Will Odyssey”.

http://www.janesedixon.com/blog

 

Wednesday, November 22nd @ Linda Appleman Shapiro

Linda Appleman Shapiro reviews Larry Kilham’s latest novel “Free

Will Odyssey” and shares her insight and thoughts with readers at her blog!

http://applemanshapiro.com/category/book-reviews/

 

Friday, November 24th @ Choices with Madeline Sharples

Larry Kilham pens today’s guest post at Choices with Madeline Sharples. Readers can learn more about Fiction vs Nonfiction as well as finding out about Larry’s latest book “Free Will Odyssey”

 http://madelinesharples.com/

 

Row80 – Sunday Check-In

It is Sunday Check-in for Round 4 of ROW80, where it is recognized that everyone has a life and we all do the best we can.

NaNoWriMo has started and I have written over a thousand words a day, working on a number of projects. Feeling good about what I am working on.

I will make note of what I have achieved after each goal and highlight it. (I have decided to post on Sundays only, until NaNoWriMo starts.)

Writing
*Write at least 1000 words a day. Yes
*Revise Catching Love, through the revision course with Lori Wilde. Finished the course last week and using feedback to work on novel.
*Finish writing Saving Christmas I’m working on this for NaNO and have worked on 5 chapters so far.
*Win at NaNoWriMo – NaNoWriMo has started and have written over 8000 words so far.

Blogging
*Blog at least 3x a week. YES – counting my 3 blogs
*Write and publish 4 reviews for WOW. Second to be published today – Free Will Odyssey.
*Participate in Yoga Challenge at Prevention for next 3 months. YES
*Walk 10,000 steps a day. I’ve achieved this only once this past week. But at least did 7000 each day.

Personal

*Read daily. Yes, yes, YES!
*Create art daily, taking part in several challenges. No – but have created some ATCs
*Continue to declutter. Got rid of lots of magazines and papers and 2 bags of garbage this week.

I will keep writing and working on these goals in the week ahead.