I said in a comment the other day (quite seriously) that I feel like I take from this site so much more than I give to it.  In the last week or so, promotions for my book have sapped almost all my time away from doing constructive things here.  Still, you guys have become like an on-line family to me.  The outpourings at our collective losses.  The shared joy of our individual triumph.  The stories.  The gossip.  One big pond.  And thinking about that made me certain that I ought to share this.

I got the second review of my book yesterday, from the Lansing State Journal (a fairly large daily in Michigan).

The reviewer is a professional.  I respect his opinion very much (though I don’t know him personally — having only met him by chance while doing book marketing).  I have always known his columns to tell it like it is.  I think he must read five to ten books a week.  And he usually reviews them three at a time (a blurb for each).  Which makes his treatment of my novel all the more special.  Here is what he had to say:

E.L. lawyer scores with thrilling novel
Review

By Ray Walsh | For the Lansing State Journal

“Direct Actions” by East Lansing attorney Terry Olson is a thought-provoking legal thriller that could be ripped from tomorrow’s newspaper headlines.

The well-designed, self-published debut novel deals with civil rights, eco-terrorism and controversial Homeland Security measures.

Jeremy Jefferson is serving as a public defender in the fictitious town of Milton, Mich., after having grown tired of working for an expensive Detroit law firm.

He’s handed a legal hot potato when he’s assigned to defend Zeb Radamacher, a teenager who was caught at the scene of a vandalized and firebombed super-store development site.

While he acknowledges his part in the vandalism, Radamacher claims he’s innocent of the firebombing; soon others are implicated and unexpected violence erupts.

Jefferson runs into a variety of problems defending the teen, especially when tough terrorist charges are added that increase the crime’s penalties significantly.

New facts come to light, Jefferson himself is arrested and challenging courtroom efforts ensue. Further complications develop when Jefferson becomes emotionally involved with Allison Demming, a pretty newspaper reporter.

Sleazy and oddball characters abound, including an ineffective attorney, a radical preacher, judges with agendas and sneaky politicians with ulterior motives.

Olson skillfully covers considerable territory, although occasionally the reader may learn more than he needs to know about courtroom proceedings, a public defender’s daily workload and assorted behind-the-scenes dealings.

Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing’s Curious Book Shop, has reviewed crime novels and noir thrillers regularly since 1987.

Someone read it yesterday and e-mailed me an attachment they had scanned (it is hard to find stuff on the LSJ site, though I’ve got the link now).  It was hard for me to get past the headline (since I’m familiar with the reviewers work — and respect it as true).  I had goosebumps for thirty minutes.  No lie.

Good reviews probably don’t translate to good sales for a book like mine.  But they can’t hurt.  And this has been a pretty breathless week for me.  Thanks for letting me share it with you.  And thanks for all the help along the way.