Book Reviews

Book Reviews: Wounded Crows don't Fly 

Reviewer: Eric Hackbarth

Edward Motketsan weaves together a riveting story that truly takes you back to an earlier, simpler time. As with his last novel, Logo, I read Wounded Crows in one afternoon. The story grabs your attention and doesn't let go until the final page. The author intricately weaves together the story of two brothers whose lives have taken different paths yet they share a common bond that cannot be broken. This book is a true classic.

Book Reviews: Wounded Crows don't Fly

Reviewer: Thomas, Amazon

Every once in awhile, a book comes along that takes you to a place you can easily call home. The characters were my mother and father, my brother and sister, and my friends. The novel sets a well written and soul searching story against the backdrop of the orange glow of the Nebraska sunrise. The fields of life are farmed with the tools of two brothers who have grown to realize their dreams and passions while maintaining their heritage and loyalty to each other and their family's farm. If you're searching for something meaningful if you're searching for something that captures the spirit of life or if you're just searching, then this book will send you on a journey that will take you further to where you want to be ... home.

Book Reviews: Wounded Crows don't Fly

Reviewer: J. Collins

I received your book. When I started reading it, I found it hard to put down. Read most of it in the first night. It is an awesome book. I can't wait to read your other books.

Book Reviews: Logo

Reviewer: Leslie M. of Lake Geneva, WI

E. Motketsan has done it again:  written a fine book that examines such things as love, loyalty, and personal integrity.  Not only that, it's a rip-roaring, rattling-good story of intrigue, technology, and suspense. I loved it!  As with "While In Pursuit of the Perfect Ballad," the ending is a shocking surprise. Can't wait to see what this guy decides to write next. Keep 'em coming E!

Book Reviews: Logo

Reviewer: Eric H. of Richmond, IL

I just finished the book last night. I thought it was great. Once I had a little dedicated time to read I couldn’t put it down.  Some great twists and turns at the end. I also appreciate how the importance of family comes out in your writing. I don’t want to say “Family Values” because it tends to be an overused phrase, but the old fashioned family sensibility comes across very clearly in your writing.  It is very refreshing.

My favorite line: “I’m from Chicago , you asshole!  If you can drive in the Loop , you can drive anywhere!”

Can’t wait for your next novel.

Book Reviews: Logo

Reviewer: D. Howard of St. Louis, MO

I read Logo several weeks ago and found it very entertaining.  The novel provides a real-world background and environment to normal everyday engineers just working their best to get their job done and balance that with family.  It also provides suspense that is realistic such that the reader can relate to the situations and problems and the solutions suggested.  I look forward to reading your next novel.

Book Reviews: While In Pursuit of the Perfect Ballad . . .

Reviewer: Lin A. Ryan-Thompson

E. Motketsan’s funny-sad-intriguing story about the ins and outs of the music industry is actually about the intricate connections between dreams, values, and unexpected challenges. While central character Chase Harris searches for what we are all searching for—love, meaning, and success—he gets under your skin and into your heart as a man who walks like he talks in an industry that can wring a person dry and toss them on a heap without a blink. However, underscored is the concept that something greater than ourselves is always quietly and mysteriously weaving threads of experience into the beautiful, intricately patterned fabric of life. Although this pattern includes disappointment and pain, hope and surprise are always closely paired with them. In the end, the lives Chase Harris touches are the truest measure of his success.

When we meet Chase Harris and find out what an extraordinary person he is, we also discover that, at the heart of things, his life is not much different from ours. What makes him both fascinating and memorable is the way in which he responds to loneliness, struggle, temptation, loss, and, finally, success. Believing in his dreams, holding to his values, and doing what needs to be done leads him to the best and worst moments of his life. Excellent dialogue, realistic characters, a captivating story, and a double-barrel surprise ending make While In Pursuit of the Perfect Ballad a refreshing and uplifting read. You can’t help but take something of Chase Harris with you when the story ends. And you can’t help but wonder if it really ever ends.

Book Reviews: While In Pursuit of the Perfect Ballad ...

Reviewer: W. A. Rieser

ISBN 1-59286-946-7 via Publish America - 184 pages $19.95

There are very few short stories that get to me emotionally, much less any contemporary novels, but this one, written by Edward Motketsan touched a lingering, responsive cord. The premise is an artistic one, the seeking of perfection and the motivations for doing so. Other themes, such as the oft stated preference for older values and times when people took more pride in their accomplishments or the simpler pleasures of enjoying what life has to offer in a world sprawling toward urban insanity and decay, also reach out to my own vision of common sense. Better yet, having been a composer and performer, I can easily identify with the characters in this absorbing tale because it reads like pages from my own personal drama. Whether you are a musician, trying to edge your way through or into the system, another type of artist, struggling to make a breakthrough or simply a connoisseur of the arts with personal tastes, this novel and its drama will grip you like  few others in recent memory. There are tantalizingly familiar scenes, descriptions of places you'll wish to visit and poignant dialogues showing the environments of New York and Chicago in a multitude of ways that ring true to those who have lived there like I have. The pains, challenges and triumphs of achieving a great musical work are carefully, studiously laid out and described with a passion I fondly recall. 

It matters little if you are not a musician to appreciate what the author has done here. The creative process is illustrated within the framework of an exterior romance. The pursuit of excellence, on this occasion one of perfection, is held up so loftily that when the clever denouement hits us with its vibrant twist, we understand it completely. I won't give it away, naturally, for it is enough to say that the price is necessarily an expensive one, yet not too high for the future.

Those of you who seek knowledge of today's music industry will not be disappointed. And should you wish to explore the thoughts of a creative individual in a typical and likely scenario, it is all spelled out ... to perfection. I highly recommend this book to everyone no matter your genre preferences.

While In Pursuit Of The Perfect Ballad by E. Motketsan

Reviewed by: Melissa Alvarez

PROS: If you're interested in the music industry it's informative CONS: Not a typical romance.

Chase Harris is a songwriter who is trying to write the perfect song. But he refuses to bow to the wishes of the music industry to do it. Chase's eccentric neighbor, Stu, is both a help and a hindrance to Chase in his endeavors. While Stu had good ideas, he never uses the front door but always enters Chase's apartment via climbing from one balcony to the other.

Dona Mayerre is an aging pop star trying to make a comeback. She's never really been lucky in love. She meets Chase at a party they both attend in New York, and they share a cigarette on the balcony. They decide to leave together but only if Chase agrees that he will not say he's leaving with her. She's afraid it will ruin her comeback. He agrees, and they start seeing each other more often.

Chase is finally able to write the perfect ballad because Dona is his inspiration. But just as they get closer, tragedy strikes. Will they be able to overcome it?

While In Pursuit Of The Perfect Ballad, left me as a reader, somewhat disappointed. The book in itself was confusing in the way it jumped from one scene to another, from one character's point of view to another, and then it also kept jumping back to the character who was writing the story. I found myself turning pages back quite often to read passages again. In the end, it all ties together but this reader felt cheated. Even with all the head hopping going on, I'd come to care about the characters.

 ~ Melissa Alvarez

Reviewer: Barbara Lois Fullard

The novel, While In Pursuit of the Perfect Ballad, is a more than just prose put on a page. It is a melodic transcript of two vintage musical minds infused in the characters of Chase and Dona. The journey begins with a verse in which the principals go about their daily routines in two different locales, and find that fate pulls them together to inevitably pursue this perfect ballad. While reading this, one could almost hear the chorus playing in the background when they finally meet. Corny. No. It's filled with honest emotion.

There is also homage paid to the art and music of the past. The author weaves the tapestry dialogue and events that dares the reader to put the book down. The surprise comes when the story within a story is discovered, and truth and fiction become intertwined. The reader is encouraged to become an active participant in that pursuit of the perfect ballad.

Contemporary. Fresh. Poignant. This was a lovely novel that reveals a plethora of emotions in the reader. I commend the author on a beautiful work.

Interview: While in Pursuit of the Perfect Ballad ...

Hosts: Jack Elliott and Ron Williams

Say hello to OKC's top radio hosts! Tell 'em Eddy sent ya!

On Wednesday September 17, 2003, Oklahoma's Jack and Ron from KYIS FM 98.9 radio interviewed Edward Motketsan on their popular "Best Damn" morning show!