Secondhand Sight, my second novel as "Rocky" Leonard, has been named one of six finalists in the Fiction/Horror category in the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Awards. This honor would not be possible without the efforts and skill of my editors, proof readers, copy editors, cover designers, and all those who helped me produce these three books that have been deemed worthy of finalist recognition. This year I'm blessed to have three books remaining in competition in three different categories, with Secondhand Sight joining Always a Next One and Counterargument for God! One Readers' Favorite reviewer wrote about this novel: The plot is deceptively simple because it is so ingenious. Dan’s descent into a manic paranoia is skillfully documented, and one feels for him in the mental confusion that accompanies his visions. The author also includes some interesting thoughts on the nature of dreams, hallucinations, psychometry (psychic revelations via touching objects), and the power of the mind. Murder mystery and paranormal fans will love this book. Last year I learned the hard way that a five-star review doesn't guarantee a novel will become a finalist. I know that I'm very fortunate for this opportunity. Coastal Empire never made it this far. … [Read more...]
Counterargument for God: 2013 Readers’ Favorite finalist
Truly, my cup overflows. My book Counterargument for God has been named one of six finalists for in the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Awards contest in the Non Fiction category Religion/Philosophy. One very kind reviewer said: As I review this book, I find myself wanting to quote the author. His presentation is tactful, eloquent and stated in a logical manner. John Leonard has extensively researched the scientific arguments he discusses in this book...The author states his own personal beliefs in a non-threatening logical manner. I find this book well-written and documented. It is very easy to highly recommend this book. On a somewhat related note, Dr. Robert Rose will be interviewing me on Wednesday, July 10th. This will be my third visit to "Rewiring Your Brain." The first two interviews took place earlier this year, on April 5th and then again on April 17th where I offered my "positive" counterargument for God using the best scientific evidence the current experts in their respective fields have given us. I was very pleased when Dr. Rose invited me back for a third hour, this time to discuss how Christianity affected my life. Dr. Rose is one of the most interesting and open-minded atheists I've met on my faith journey. It should be a very interesting conversation. Best of all, I've doubled my odds of earning that trip to Miami! … [Read more...]
Always a Next One: finalist in Reader’s Favorite contest
My book Always a Next One: true stories of dog fostering has been named one of four finalists in the Non Fiction/Animals category for the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Award contest. It's a great honor just to have made it this far. Authors from all over the world enter the contest each year. More books and authors entered this year's contest than ever before. One Readers' Favorite review said the following: "Always a Next One" is a wonderfully written story of a family's involvement with taking in foster animals until their permanent homes are found. Readers who like Herriot's animal stories will be drawn to John Leonard's writings and will want to read more than the sample chapter of dog stories featuring Leonard's beloved Ox at the book's end.The writing in each story is consistent and not maudlin and the animals' characters come through believably. Simone the cat is a cat, not a human in disguise. However, this year's competition is more formidable than ever. The other three finalists also earned five star reviews. Furthermore, the judges may decide none of the finalists merited the gold medal. Just because the medals exist for each category doesn't mean they must be awarded. The winners will be announced September 1st. Finalists are introduced and invited to the stage. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medalists also receive a physical award. The banquet will be held November 23rd in Miami, timed to coincide with the Miami Book Festival International. A visit to Miami in November sounds really nice! … [Read more...]
A review of The Lone Ranger
Full disclosure: I was a huge fan of The Lone Ranger when I was a kid. Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels could do no wrong, in my eyes. Now, fast-forward forty years. As a writer, I know it's strictly forbidden to speak poorly of your critics. But then it occurred to me that these aren't critics of my novels, so I should feel free to speak my mind. So I must ask professional critics who gleefully savaged Disney's The Lone Ranger: did we watch the same movie? The Lone Ranger has been described as a "clunky two hour grind", a "runaway train", an "unholy mess with slapstick antics", something that "not even Johnny Depp can rescue." Only the guy at Forbes got it mostly right: The Lone Ranger is a "fun summer ride." His only mistake was to say Pirates of the Caribbean was a better film. Let's face it: Pirates was a lot of fun but in reality the first movie had no plot. The entire movie was literally based on a two-minute ride in an amusement park. I never bothered watching any of the sequels. Johnny Depp wasn't just the best thing going in that quartet of movies; he was all Pirates had. And yet, that was more than enough to sell tickets. By comparison, The Lone Ranger actually tells a story. No, it wasn't perfect. The scene with the rabbits was bizarre and disturbing, and the little kid dressed as the Lone Ranger could have been edited out with no harm to the main story. No, it was nowhere near as brilliantly conceived as Memento, not flawless executed like LA Confidential, or as quite as funny as The Princess Bride. But it didn't have to be. … [Read more...]
The attempted extortion of Paula Deen
[Originally published at American Thinker 6/30/13 -- article corrected to name Food Network as a sponsor who dropped Ms. Deen as opposed to the Food Channel] The real story behind the Paula Deen scandal can be summed up in a single word: greed. The American judicial system and the media are being used as formidable weapons in a brazen attempt to extort money from Ms. Deen, in my opinion. This isn't a story about racism. It's all about the money. The mainstream media have reported with glee only some of the gory details as Paula Deen's financial empire continue to crumble. The Food Network, Wal-Mart, Target, and the publisher of her bestselling cookbook all have abruptly terminated their relationship with Ms. Deen. The firestorm erupted after it was widely reported that Ms. Deen gave a deposition in a civil lawsuit in which she admitted using the N-word. Rarely if ever mentioned by the national press is the context in which the word was used, or the reason the deposition became public knowledge. No one is interested in defending the use of that particular word, including this writer. But for the record, the specific instance in which Ms. Deen admitted to using that specific word was in the privacy of her own home, used to describe a robber who had pointed a gun at her head. The mainstream media also doesn't seem to care that Ms. Deen could easily have lied about that specific incident, yet chose to tell the truth under oath. Apparently there's a zero tolerance policy when certain people use the forbidden N-word. Never mind that the epithet was uttered … [Read more...]
