Back at the turn of the century I had some eBooks on various online websites that are no longer available. The Los Angeles Public Library has two of them, I believe. My skating book was reviewed in the Beverly Hills Courier but I can't locate the review. But I do extend a thanks to Connie Martinson for taking the time to read and review it. NORTH OF SUNSET, my novel, was printed by PublishAmerica but the rights have been returned to me. Another book goes by that name now and it's written by another author and is being well received. But it's a different type of story.

Back in 2004 I sent a copy of my book to fantasy author Piers Anthony. He wrote: "North of Sunset by Lisa Maliga. She's the one listed in my Survey as I'm a Published Novelist Ha Ha! Ha!, a pertinent warning for starry-eyed aspiring writers. Her web site www.lisamaliga.com is worth checking similarly; she tells it as it is. If you took a few decades off my age and changed my gender, the result might resemble Lisa. North of Sunset is fun, about a Hollywood producer and his temporary secretary, showing a good deal of what I presume is reality. It is written with the omniscient viewpoint, which I dislike, but it held my interest regardless. "
From the Piers Anthony site, June 2004 Newsletter.

Here's a copy of my first review which appeared in 2001 at the Book Review Cafe when NORTH OF SUNSET went by another title. The manager of The Book Review Cafe, who also shares my first name, enthusiastically reviewed this book in eBook format and later changed the information on her site when I told her the book was with a different publisher.  

"What an excellent story! Lisa Maliga really knows how to write a story!

Emily Karelin works for a Temp Agency. She's had various jobs working as a secretary.

Sherman Lee, Hollywood Producer, is looking for an assistant. The Temp Agency sent Emily to him. The arrangement worked out great, she actually stayed working with him longer than his other assistants. They all left him after a day or two.
Emily had her small office right in his home, so she got to see his daily activities for the very short time she worked there. She noticed he took a lot of pills everyday and he had a short temper. But Sherman liked her, which was a plus.

Emily was beginning to fall in love with Sherman and vice versa. They never got to confess to the other how they felt though. Someone or something always interrupted. Will they get their chance?

From beginning to end, you'll want to learn more about Sherman Lee, the producer, and his life of partying, drinking, doing drugs and having various women.

Then there is Emily Karelin. A straight laced woman who didn't know anything about Hollywood life as an agent, actress or producer. When their lives entwine, they will see how it tests their friendship."

Someone by the name of Book Guy got a copy of my book and reviewed it on Amazon: " Found this novel to be an enjoyable, quick read. A fascinating peek into the Hollywood system. Lisa Maliga is an excellent writer who deserves to be taken seriously. I look forward to reading other titles by her. June 2005."

8/09 UPDATE: North of Sunset is being looked at by a legitimate publishing company located East of the Mississippi River but NOT in the state of Maryland!

This is an article I wrote a while ago about how to review movies.

BOOKS & MOVIES I'VE REVIEWED

HOTEL RWANDA Starring Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix and Nick Nolte © 2004

At the beginning of this film, we can see that hotelier Paul Rusesabagina has a respectable career, a loving family, and is not in any danger of being misclassified and persecuted as being the wrong race, i.e. a lighter skinned Tutsi.

But as the hatred increases and the Hutu majority takes over after the president has been assassinated, anyone harboring a Tutsi is ripe for extermination. The Hutu radio announcer even refers to the Tutsis as "cockroaches" which psychologically makes it easier to kill them. In fact, radios were the only form of mass communication and the Hutu majority gave people them in order to keep up with the latest news.

While Hotel Rwanda reveals the events of the genocide that occurred in the spring of 1994, it's really a moving testament to the compassion of one person, Mr. Rusesabagina. Just after he's ousted from his home along with his family and a few neighbors, he is given the opportunity to make good with the Hutu killers and free himself but have his loved ones shot. He then becomes consumed by good as he opts to buy their way to freedom, thanks to the money from the hotel safe, and also encourage those with money/jewelry to participate in freeing themselves from impending death. The intelligence, courage, and most of all, compassion that he exhibits only increases as his country and, unfortunately, many of his countrymen, disintegrate into violence around him.

Mr. Rusesabagina saves still more lives when refugees and orphans are allowed to remain in the Hotel Mille Collines during the days and nights of terror that erupted that April. Through persistence his carefully cultivated connections do come through for him and he ends up saving 1200+ lives as the U.N. drives them through the front line to the refugee camp.

This film is made even more meaningful by the fact that Don Cheadle, the accomplished actor who portrayed the spiritually evolved hotelier, personally delivered the DVD to me as part of Amazon's 10th Anniversary Special Delivery program.

THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL CARDS
by Chris Stufflestreet, © 2003

Learn about the history of baseball cards from the time they were first issued in 1886. From 1909-1912, the American Tobacco Company was responsible for developing baseball cards, particularly those featuring ads for many different cigarette brands. As boys were showing such an interest in collecting cards, the candy industry got wind of this and in 1914 Cracker Jack issued sets "from the short lived 'third-league,' the Federal league." Later it's revealed that the American Caramel Company got into the act of producing baseball cards, followed in the 30's by gum companies. 

The history of the hobby is enthusiastically discussed by the author, a baseball card collector since 1978. Several color pictures of actual baseball cards, including two from the 1890's, are nicely reproduced in this invaluable book that will please baseball card collectors world wide.

Whether you're a beginner or an expert soapcrafter, 300 HANDCRAFTED SOAPS by Marie Browning is definitely a must-have for your library. If you craft melt & pour and are low on ideas, you'll be inspired after just the quickest look through this book. The photographs are stunning, and I'm sure this will be mentioned in all reviews. Almost all of the 300 recipes have accompanying pictures and this is necessary for such an eye-catching craft. Ironically, the one photo that could have been improved is the cover shot---the background is a bit too dark to effectively highlight the soaps.

This book is up-to-date as the author mentions more than her standard coconut oil, clear or opaque glycerin melt & pour bases. Olive oil, avocado and cucumber, goat's milk, colored, and the newer frosting bases are described and pictured. Marie Browning offers helpful suggestions for selecting QUALITY soap bases and her advice is very important for those beginners who tend to buy whatever's on sale or available. Without a decent soapbase you might as well just go on using commercial soap found in your local grocery or drug store, which is notorious for being loaded with synthetic ingredients. As the author of a book about melt & pour soap [which is out of print but is being rewritten] and a soapcrafter for several years, I've learned that you must read the ingredients. If doing business with an Internet based soap supplier, ask for the soap base ingredients if not already listed on the site. If the supplier refuses this request, don't do business with them as they probably have a low-grade soap base.

Ms. Browning has sections on aromatherapy, fragrances, and what makes safe additives such as herbs, spices and oils, along with a few cautions. She can be ultra conservative in her warnings: "Avoid all essential oils, natural herbal products, and salt baths during pregnancy." But she's also straightforward about using alcohol to spray on soap to avoid bubbles and adhere layers preferring to "wait until a skin forms; I then carefully remove the skin with a knife." This is the most effective method I've learned over the years.

For those looking to explore the boundaries of hand-milled [sometimes called rebatch] soapcrafting, you'll be advised to purchase a copy of her earlier book, BEAUTIFUL HANDMADE SOAPS. Ms. Browning's latest offering is for melt & pour soapcrafters only! Her recipes can be adapted to hand-milled soap however. She has a handy chart comparing hand-milled and melt & pour [also known as M&P]. I laughed when I read of her advice to use M&P soap within three months as it loses its fragrance and "colorants migrate." I think her usage of fragrances, her method is to measure by drops and she doesn't indicate whether it's a fragrance oil or essential oil as she believes it's the soapcrafter's decision, is minuscule. Admittedly, some colors can be problematic, fading or bleeding in the soap and making a mess. In moderately or uncolored soaps I've personally made, there have been some bars last for over 1 year and still smell as fragrant as they were when removed from the molds. Not mentioned in this book is the fact that even M&P should cure [harden] for a few days rather than be used instantly.

It's refreshing to see the evolution of her soaps as her 1998 recipes for soap pebbles have evolved into truly spectacular and authentic looking gems. The lemon, lime, and orange slices are also better looking than what was shown in her earliest soapcrafting book.

Marie Browning has concocted so many new recipes that I'd recommend a person look at the photographs first, then go back and match the photo numbers with the recipes. A few new categories include: bagged soaps, fizzy soaps, carved soaps, dip-dot painted soaps, shampoo and scrub bars, and soap sweets-well, the author's imagination is all-encompassing. When she cautions you to label your soap, please take her advice. Some of the pictures look like they belong in a dessert cookbook!

With the holiday season fast approaching, you'd better hurry up and order this book so you have time to make some of these wonderful recipes to give as gifts. But the best part about soapcrafting is that it's an inexpensive hobby that can be done year-round because there's always a forthcoming holiday, and people always use soap!

© 2001-2009 by Lisa Maliga