Location: United States
Member Since: March 05, 2011
3 users have added this author as a favorite.

Jay Squires


Biography

A writer, a salesman, an optimist, a dreamer. May the four always cohabit and produce wondrous progeny. His hope is that his writing, here, exemplifies that for you. He is married and writes out of Bakersfield, California.

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The recipe for the young achiever: When you sit, sit. When you stand, stand... But don't wobble. Meet an inveterate old wobbler. Decry me if you will, but, life can be more interesting among the brambles a little bit off the beaten path.

Where to find Jay Squires online

Website: http://jaysquires.weebly.com/
Twitter: Jay_Squires
Blog: http://rantingandwarbling.blogspot.com/

Books

This member has not published any books.

Jay Squires's favorite authors on Smashwords


Smashwords book reviews by Jay Squires

  • A Remembrance Of Her on March 21, 2011
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    Thoroughly enjoyed "A Remembrance Of Her," particularly enjoying along with the author, I'm sure, the fun he had with words and the luscious descriptions such as the first introduction to Naomi Mitsuoni, and the humorous touch when Stanton and Ng bowed to each other and the psychology read into the depth of each bow. I can even overlook the editing error in the sentence "She response was angry" -- can overlook it, though I'm sure Mr. Walters will be rushing in to correct the story of this one distraction. Jay Squires
  • Two.5 from Eric on March 22, 2011
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    After reading the two short stories and the intro to Eric's novel, I must say I enjoyed more the feeling of relaxed competence in the snippet of the novel. The short stories, in contrast, seemed a bit clipped and less natural. I did admire his restsraint in the first short story having the narrator pick up the revolver and leaving it to the reader's imagination what he might do with it. Both short stories had some typos and grammatical errors that I would prefer to comment on in an email or message board, but could find neither. On the novel you invited constructive criticism, and, while this isn't FanStory, I'd be happy to comply with your invitation: You had a who/whom error in location 401, and I'm hoping it's a typo in location 506 "...how long IS I expected to perform in this capaacity." There's a definite type in location 525, "The Church has is recent years", while in 536 you've a bit of a redundancy in "...the forest here is thick here." All in all though, I enjoyed what I read in the novel and will look forward to its polished publication.
  • The illiterates guide to writing ebooks on March 23, 2011
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    I read with great interest your snazzy little tract on writing, fleshing out and marketing. You did a helluva lot in few words. For that I commend you. It should help a lot of beginning writers to get their feet wet in the self-publishing business. I would like to have seen you take a little more time editing without disrupting the excellent conversationality (phew!) of your tone. Thanks for the advise. Free is nice. Jay
  • Helium3 on March 25, 2011
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    Nick, you are a superb writer with an ease of delivery while keeping the plot taut, the line of complication always ascending to the climax, the characters well-fleshed and fascinating and doing it all in an easy reading style. Congratulations. Jay
  • He stepped from my dreams on March 28, 2011
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    I appreciate what the author is trying to do in this vignette. Only, I think the subject deserves longer treatment. Mark has some quite evocative descriptions on the beach scene, such as the following: “Get of my island,” called the man, pointing at the water’s edge. The man abruptly stopped and towered over the girl. His short shadow plunged her face into shade. Elizabeth sensed his aggression as he hovered over her like a cloud. “Get off my island,” the man hissed for the third time. “You are trespassing on private property.” The problem, in my estimation, of such a short story involving such a lofty subject as LOVE is that there is not enough "story time" or physical space to develop the characters to be realistic personifications. This is a pity because the characters are likeable... only they're not on the stage long enough to be truly memorable.
  • The Princess and The Chauffeur on June 07, 2011
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    Eva is a spoiled, rich little girl in a grown-up body. Adam is a responsible, moral, young hunk of a man, who just happens to be her daddy’s chauffeur. Most any time a romance writer puts the likes of these two together you might expect a rocky romance arising from their social inequality one that falls within the pattern of boy meets girl/boy loses girl/boy gets girl -- that and little more. Well… you can just put those expectations behind you. Given the skill of a writer like Arjuna you have the raw energy of youth, a bit of the spirit of social/parental defiance, an uncompromising attraction all mixed together with scene after scene of titillating physical romance -- okay, say it -- lovemaking. Even given that, I am reluctant to use the word “sex” here because Eva’s soulfulness and Adam’s moral character (and with the author’s foreknowledge and consummate skill in revealing it) elevate what might be otherwise considered a mindless instinctual exercise to a landscape where each exciting interlude is but foreplay leading to the second, and the second to the third (oh, and there are many more than three) until the inevitable crescendo. It is a building of energy and suspense that keeps the reader on the edge of his seat to the last page. Up to now, I have not been much of a romance reader. The Princess and the Chauffeur may be the only one I’ll read this year. On the other hand, this fine example might cause me to reevaluate the genre. One thing is sure though: It has set a high bar!
  • Long Way Down on Nov. 06, 2011
    star star star star star
    "Sam heard something move behind him and turned. The big end of a wooden crutch came around like the blade of a ceiling fan and struck him on the side of the head. J.T. yelled something he didn’t understand, and Prince Alfred growled and leapt in slow motion toward the crutch wielder. Sam’s head buzzed like a hornet’s nest and everything in the hangar turned sideways as he descended to the concrete floor. He saw his reflection in the sheen of Slick’s expensive Italian shoes, and then the buzzing stopped." I've taken the liberty of quoting this paragraph from about midway through Paul Carr's novel, Long Way Down. I did it because anyone who reads it slowly and takes in the richness of the description will surely want to read it in its entirety. I hope everyone has an opportunity to read this fine book. I want Mr. Carr to have the recognition and success that his brand of hard-hitting prose deserves. Rarely does a book come along that packs as satisfying a wallop as his does.
  • Indie Authors Make Better Lovers on April 11, 2012
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    I read, enjoyed and reviewed Vonda Norwood's first novel, "Facebook Breaks Up Marriages, LOL" but, it took reading her second novel, "Indie Authors Make Better Lovers" to confirm what I got a hint of in the first. And, that is that you absolutely cannot remove this writer's persona from her novel. The theme of her first novel was innocence versus infidelity—and, I mean infidelity on multiple levels. I suppose that's the same as saying "Innocence versus its loss"! I shouldn't tell you more than this, because you really need to read it to understand all its ramifications. But, I will lift up just a corner to peek at the most basic level of innocence. The first time I encountered the protagonist responding to a moment of surprise with the outcry, "What the heck!" I smiled, thinking I was dealing with a prude. Her verbal reaction was in stark contrast with the situation which elicited it. And, what was warranted was at least a "hell" ... if not the perhaps overused, and usually-unflinched-at, "F-bomb". But, "What the heck" was what came out of the mouth of—let me say it—the author, Vonda Norwood. That said, few readers will come away from reading "Facebook Breaks Up Marriages, LOL" with anything but the feeling of being thoroughly entertained and, I might even add—titillated! With "Indie Authors Make Better Lovers" Vonda Norwood, the author, ramps up the heat—a lot! Exploring another level of the theme "innocence versus infidelity", the setting is an erotica convention at a mountain resort in Wyoming. Mr. Rascal, a man with whom Vonda, the protagonist, has had a strained writer vs. writer professional relationship over the years, is there as well. Something has to happen! Add to the pot of plot "stew" a sudden, violent storm that drenches Vonda on her way to her cabin (eliciting her exclamation "What the heck!") Inject a serendipitous meeting with Mr. Rascal while Mrs. Rascal is quietly getting hammered in the resort's bar and ... well, I'll leave the rest to Vonda Norwood's (the author's) exemplary imagination. As with Vonda Norwood's first book, I think the reader will come away from the experience of "Indie Authors Make Better Lovers" with a feeling of being entertained, certainly, but also of having shared with the protagonist and author the age-old tension between innocence and its loss.