This is a really great book for anyone with an interest in cars from the 50's to the 70's. The descriptions of the automobile wrecks are both informative and interesting, and the collection of pictures is truley amazing. The book is sectioned into groups of pictures with captions that describe the sceen and the automobile, making for a really great bathroom reader as you can work through just a few pages at a time. But if you enjoy the book as much as I have you'll probably have trouble putting it down.

The book won the National Federation of State Poetry Society Stevens Poetry Competition and I can see why! Some are like little stores but with striking imagery that makes the whole book a visual and poetic feast! Lines like "The fold in his felt hat was as pure as a taco's" shows his Texas roots. One of my favorite poems was "Warning! Do Not Let Your Non-Poet Friends Read Your Poetry!" I love it for the verse, "But sometimes I want my poetry to be a bad dog that will not sit or stay, that has not lost its bark, a cur, uneven and ragged." The poems aren't all alike, each one different with this poet's unique voice. I've read it through and now I just paperclipped my favorites to refer to. If you like good free verse, share this book with me.

In a most beautiful, warm, poetic style, Rusty Berkus encourages her reader to allow himself to be the best that he can be. She not only gives her permission, she so effectively inspires him to achieve that. This is a necessary reading for anyone with an ounce of spirituality!

I found this book (VELVET SKY by Rusty Van Reeves) by accident while searching Amazon and I'm glad I stumbled upon it. This novel is all about secrets, love, and suspense. The story centers around four young kids growing up in a little Mississippi town in the 60s and 70s. It is FULL of surprises and I love the way the writer (Reeves) flips from one character to the next building suspense.

There will be one out of the four characters you will be able to relate to. I'm not sure if that was calculated or just luck but it widens the appeal and the audience. As I said, the style is unique and the way Mr. Reeves describes the places and sets up the story is so real. I loved it, from start to finish! Very nice read indeed!

More than a literary, coming of age story, Velvet Sky is a fast-paced novel that contains a splash of ... everything. Rusty Van Reeves writes with heartfelt prose, short scenes, crisp dialogue and manages to tell an amazing story about love, friendship and unspeakable evils.

Reeves focuses in on four teenagers growing up in the 1970's in a small town in Mississippi. These characters are night and day to one another. Patrick, the star athlete, has the world before him for the taking. Kelly, the prettiest girl in school, is compassionate and down to earth. Chase, from a broken home, is a confused young man struggling with his sexuality. Chelsea, who has been sexually abused by her father since she was little, was abandoned by her mother and younger brother. Fear forced Chelsea to keep quiet the dark secrets that have essentially caused her to withdrawal and into utter isolation, ostracizing herself from the rest of the world.

The book explodes as everything once seemingly quiet and normal is spun into a tornado of events leading to multiple climaxes. Kelly's ex-boyfriend is crazy. He can not handle the fact that Kelly and Patrick are now a couple. Chase explores his gayness only to have his homophobic father realize the truth. For Chelsea, even darker secrets about her past, about her father, are unearthed. The truth puts her life in jeopardy.

Engaging and engrossing. Velvet Sky is the type of novel that may cross genres. It reads like literary work equivalent to Faulkner. The pacing makes it like a suspense novel comparable to some of today's best sellers. An energetic ride from beginning to end. It was a shame to come to the last page. I look forward to more works by this gifted writer.

Reviewed for [URL]
Reviewed May 2002 by,
--Phillip Tomasso III, author of Johnny Blade, Third Ring & Tenth House

Rusty Van Reeves is a storyteller with a true gift for sustaining suspense. His novel "Velvet Sky" benefits from this skill plus
a reliable sense of pacing. The story builds almost perfectly, balancing a leisurely beginning with well-paced final chapters;
the outcome is always in doubt as the story races toward its conclusion. "Velvet Sky," in fact, reads so much like a movie
scenario that it's easy to imagine it adapted to the screen.

The book centers on the story of four young people growing up in rural Mississippi in the 1970s. Strong family bonds are
counterpoised to the brutal schemes of dangerous and malevolent human predators with the potential to bring ruin to all
the young folk's dreams.

The main narrative tells the story of a young woman named Chelsea, her eventual escape from an abusive father, and her
struggle to build a normal life. She's an engaging character that the reader can't help rooting for. Some of the other characters
are equally well-drawn.

While it teeters on the edge of sentimentality, "Velvet Sky" avoids crossing the boundary. In any event the novel is redeemed
by the author's careful plotting and deft use of suspense. "Velvet Sky" is a book that is well worth reading.

Review of Velvet Sky / Reviewed for Gotta Write Network (GWN)
Reviewed September 2002 by,
--Bill Stephens, Online Reviewer / Canada

Fun stories and helpful tips make this a great paperback to toss into your gym bag, whether you actually work out or not. Just sit in the sauna and read away. One part fun and another part fact makes this a winning combination for fitness buffs and couch potatoes alike. Give it to someone you love today...

What a well written tongue-in-cheek look at fitness and exercise in the modern day. You can just tell that the authors are well versed on the subject and have tons of experience. I found the section on gym attire to be the most entertaining. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

This book takes a lighthearted view of exercise and fitnes, while still providing useful information about how to exercise. Subjects range from weight training and cardio to gym fashion do's and don'ts. An entertaining guide to fitting exercise into a busy life!

It may not come with a list of single's phone numbers, but this book is as close as you can get to a really good date, without actually going on one. Great tips, funny stories, funky lists, and more are sure to keep you laughing while you wait for that phone to ring...and ring...and ring!

I loved this book full of friendly advice and frisky fiction. There are personal anecdotes, lists, newsy items, and lots of stories to keep you chuckling while you learn the "ins and outs" of dating in today's modern society. Great fun, you'll like it too!

If you're tired of stodgy self-help books that sound more like they were written by your parents, this is the book for you...or me...or your friends...or your sister. You'll get more twitters than tips, but how much are you really gonna learn about dating from a book anyway? A book you can pick up and enjoy on any page, it's perfect casual reading for your next plane trip or rainy weekend!

If you're getting married, this is the book for you. Both my future wife and I agreed to only buy ONE book before the wedding -- the rest went for her dress! -- and this was my pick. Made the right choice, it was short, fun, and easy and, like a multiple choice test, you only have to pick the ones that are "right"...for you!

The title of this great book offers 101 tips for being the most romantic groom ever, but after reading them all you'll really get into the spirit of things and find yourself wanting more. At least I did. This is the kind of book you'll be passing on to brothers, friends, old college buddies, coworkers, etc., as soon as they get engaged. It can take the whole time, from engagement to after the honeymoon, to use all the ideas inside but, even then, I could have used 101 more!

...great tips, much fun, a grateful bride! What more can you ask for in a wedding book?!?

Forget the animated series. It's heart is in the right place.

But this came before the series; it's the real deal.

An applecheeked, Bob's Big Boy-lookin' android teams up with a gigantic, old-school meca-robot to fight evil and save the world.

MEANWHILE: the dry, tongue-in-cheek humor and ultra-violence of Frank Miller teams up with the painstaking, intricate artwork of Geof Darrow to create a buddy comedy of epic proportions.

What's it like?

It's a little like if "Tintin" author/artist Herge read a bunch of old Marvel comics and decided to do a "Godzilla" story.

It's a little like Mutt and Jeff if they were nuclear powered crimefighters up against a bad guy from an anime adventure.

But mostly it's like covering your old model airplanes with rubber cement and torching it good. Then doing the same thing to your H.O. scale train set and your Tyco racetrack. (which nobody should ever do -- read the book, it's better and safer)

The first thing you'll notice is Geoff Darrow's knotty tight sublime hyper-etched artwork, lines running like veins into the architecture and broken glass that is Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot. This is not the Miller of Sin City or DK Returns et cetera,,,,watch him rip away the Chandler influence and dive into Japanese toy culture via Godzilla gggrraaaaaauu. This won't give you a typical Milleresque vision, whatever that means, but it's a cool trip through a world owned by toys and monsters. Great book for kids. Bedtime story and such.

I saw the cartoon version of this on the telly the other day, and it dawned on me that I have the originals in my basement. I though I was going to strike it rich for sure, by selling them on Ebay, but no dice. There was another guy selling them, and it looked like he was only going to get about five bucks for them. This made me real sad for the other guy, so I bid a million dollars. I hoped this would make the market catch fire, like my aunts house did when I tried to fix her toaster. Someone told me later that you should always unplug a toaster when you try to fix it with a butter knife. They also told me that the toast is supposed to come out only a little, and not shoot across the room like in the cartoons where one guy shoots toast at another guy like it was a cannon or something.

Okokok, so I found this comic book in my basement, but I don't think anyone would want it anyway, because my basement is really smelly and stuff, and nobody likes a thing that is really smelly, do they? Maybe a dog would. I don't like dogs much.

Buy my comic book, your dog will love it!

Fast paced and exciting. Good western story and will keep you on the edge of your seat. I could not put it down. THe incidents and the hero are what we would expect from history of the west and from authors like Zane Grey. Rusty' book is a good one and I look forward to the sequel.

The Westerner, a book that I couldn't put down. Rusty has created a novel of rare intensity that resonates far beyond the life of a lonely drifter. It is a love story that tugs at your heart and an adventurous western that keeps you turning page after page. The Westerner would make an exciting movie, and, I can't wait for the sequel.

I usually dont read western books, but I started to read this one, and I simply could not put it down. It could be analyzed yet it was also easy reading. The main character was beautifully described and his adventures almost put you right on his horse. He battles his emotions, he battles the enviroment. But most important he's a cowboy who drinks his whiskey. I highly recomend reading this exhilorating book.

John Rice brings his own experience and personal knowledge of history, religion and the power of confession to life in this spell binding story of a young man possessed by his past.

Told only as a "preacher" could, this story comes alive with the sounds and smells of early Florida forests, moonshine and tent revivals.

A must for anyone who enjoys a really good story told by an expert.

This story of Ford Carwin's life is funny, sad, entertaining and believable. Mr. Rice's story captured my attention, and I couldn't wait to read the next page and the next. I enjoyed not only the focus of the story on a man's life, but also the history and geography of the times and places this story takes the reader to. I thoroughly enjoyed the story!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is very provacative and I found it fascinating! A must read!