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| Vivian Gilbert Zabel aka V. Gilbert Zabel, Granny Zabel |
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About the Author:
Vivian Zabel, born on Randolph Air
Force Base when still Randolph Field,
Texas, followed her military father from
Texas to Guam, from Oklahoma to
Morocco, and finally graduated from
Limestone High School, Maine.
For as long as she can remember, she
told stories to friends and siblings. She
doesn't know when she started writing
them, but the first sample of her poetry
shows it was written when she was in the
third grade.
By the time she attended junior high,
Vivian knew she wanted to write novels.
Classmates may have laughed at the time,
but they now believe she may have known
her future. No one realized, though, it
would be so far in her future.
Her life experiences, including her
marriage to Robert for over 45 years,
provide the foundation for many of her
stories, novels, and poems. Glimpses of
children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren can be found in her
works, as well as the joys, the sorrows,
and trials of life.
After teaching English, composition,
creative writing, yearbook, newspaper,
and literary magazine, she decided to use
the skills she honed as she taught others
to write full-time. She retired in 2001, but
finds she still misses working with
students, especially the speech/debate
teams.
Often her body moans with the aches and
pains from living a full life, but at heart,
Vivian remains young. She draws on
reserves of emotion to bring her writing to
life.
Vivian Zabel, born on Randolph Air
Force Base when still Randolph Field,
Texas, followed her military father from
Texas to Guam, from Oklahoma to
Morocco, and finally graduated from
Limestone High School, Maine.
For as long as she can remember, she
told stories to friends and siblings. She
doesn't know when she started writing
them, but the first sample of her poetry
shows it was written when she was in the
third grade.
By the time she attended junior high,
Vivian knew she wanted to write novels.
Classmates may have laughed at the time,
but they now believe she may have known
her future. No one realized, though, it
would be so far in her future.
Her life experiences, including her
marriage to Robert for over 45 years,
provide the foundation for many of her
stories, novels, and poems. Glimpses of
children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren can be found in her
works, as well as the joys, the sorrows,
and trials of life.
After teaching English, composition,
creative writing, yearbook, newspaper,
and literary magazine, she decided to use
the skills she honed as she taught others
to write full-time. She retired in 2001, but
finds she still misses working with
students, especially the speech/debate
teams.
Often her body moans with the aches and
pains from living a full life, but at heart,
Vivian remains young. She draws on
reserves of emotion to bring her writing to
life.
| Published Works: Various poems, short stories, and articles in different publications from 1968 - 1975 Potpourri magazine 1975 - 1977: Poetry, short stories, essays, and articles Teachers Write Summer, 1997: Poetry, short stories, essays Reflected Images poetry 1998, now out of print Writing Poetry unit of lessons for writing poetry 2000, now out of print Standard January 26, 2003, poem "Heaven Waits" Hidden Lies and Other Stories 2004 with Holly Jahangiri Walking the Earth: Life's Perspectives in Poetry 2004 with 7 other poets Senior Editor and contributor The Base Stealers Club 2006 Young Adult/juvenile novel Case of the Missing Coach 2007 Sequel to The Base Stealers Club |
| In the Works Prairie Dog Cowboy young adult with pen and ink illustrations by Jordan M. Vinyard Louie the Duck's Adventure children's book illustrated by Zog Zabel Stolen mainstream with traces of suspense and romance Unanswered Prayers Christian romance |
Copyright 4RV Publishing LLC. All rights reserved
Review for Case of the Missing Coach
Author: V. Gilbert Zabel
Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC
Copyright: September 2007
ISBN: Paperback 978-0-9797513-1-8
Rating: 6
Review:
I'm a soccer mom right now, though I will eventually become a baseball mom. Now that I've read this book, I know a
bit more of the sports world my son will soon inhabit.
We're introduced to the Base Stealers Club in the prequel of the same name. Ryan, Chevis, Dillion, Colby, and Shane,
members of the Jonesville Chargers baseball team, band together to solve problems and mysteries surrounding their
team. They formed the club when they solved the mystery of who was stealing money from their lockers during the
regular season in The Base Stealers Club. The Case of the Missing Coach picks up the story as they get ready for the
National Regional playoffs on their way to playing in the National Championship.
Case of the Missing Coach starts with the destruction of the team's equipment between the time they won the State
Championship and their first practice for the National Regional. The Base Stealers Club works to raise funds to take
their team to the playoffs, and while at the National Regional, they start receiving threatening notes and mysterious
events start happening. Obviously, in the Case of the Missing Coach, a coach goes missing, but I can't tell you much
more than that without giving away too many details.
This is a juvenile/young adult sports mystery geared towards age fourteen and under readers. Adults may find the level
of detail in some of the scenes a bit much, but will still enjoy the story.
The kids learn inner strength as they face the doubts and challenges of playing in the playoffs itself, as well as handling
the fears and uncertainties that the harassment creates. We see them continuing to do their best in the face of
adversity. We see positive role models in the coaches and other grownups in the story, teaching and mentoring the
team to help them process their fears and feelings. We even see some negative role models and how the kids respond
to them.
The grownups in this story do a great job of guiding their charges through valuable life lessons-facing adversity,
showing compassion, doing the best they can even under less than ideal situations, critical thinking, and most
importantly, having fun.
Kids will like the story-baseball, playoffs, and adventure. Parents will appreciate the way V. Gilbert Zabel has presented
some of the challenges of growing up and showing how to react with integrity, compassion, and perseverance. I can only
hope that my son will have coaches and fellow players such as those found in the Case of the Missing Coach.
Reviewed by Susan Thompson, Novelspot.com
© September 2007
Author: V. Gilbert Zabel
Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC
Copyright: September 2007
ISBN: Paperback 978-0-9797513-1-8
Rating: 6
Review:
I'm a soccer mom right now, though I will eventually become a baseball mom. Now that I've read this book, I know a
bit more of the sports world my son will soon inhabit.
We're introduced to the Base Stealers Club in the prequel of the same name. Ryan, Chevis, Dillion, Colby, and Shane,
members of the Jonesville Chargers baseball team, band together to solve problems and mysteries surrounding their
team. They formed the club when they solved the mystery of who was stealing money from their lockers during the
regular season in The Base Stealers Club. The Case of the Missing Coach picks up the story as they get ready for the
National Regional playoffs on their way to playing in the National Championship.
Case of the Missing Coach starts with the destruction of the team's equipment between the time they won the State
Championship and their first practice for the National Regional. The Base Stealers Club works to raise funds to take
their team to the playoffs, and while at the National Regional, they start receiving threatening notes and mysterious
events start happening. Obviously, in the Case of the Missing Coach, a coach goes missing, but I can't tell you much
more than that without giving away too many details.
This is a juvenile/young adult sports mystery geared towards age fourteen and under readers. Adults may find the level
of detail in some of the scenes a bit much, but will still enjoy the story.
The kids learn inner strength as they face the doubts and challenges of playing in the playoffs itself, as well as handling
the fears and uncertainties that the harassment creates. We see them continuing to do their best in the face of
adversity. We see positive role models in the coaches and other grownups in the story, teaching and mentoring the
team to help them process their fears and feelings. We even see some negative role models and how the kids respond
to them.
The grownups in this story do a great job of guiding their charges through valuable life lessons-facing adversity,
showing compassion, doing the best they can even under less than ideal situations, critical thinking, and most
importantly, having fun.
Kids will like the story-baseball, playoffs, and adventure. Parents will appreciate the way V. Gilbert Zabel has presented
some of the challenges of growing up and showing how to react with integrity, compassion, and perseverance. I can only
hope that my son will have coaches and fellow players such as those found in the Case of the Missing Coach.
Reviewed by Susan Thompson, Novelspot.com
© September 2007
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Copyright 4RV Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.
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A Review: Midnight Hours by Vivian Zabel.
by Brian L Porter
Police detective Martin Rogers is recovering from a shooting, working hard to regain the use of his legs. To fill in
the long hours of inactivity, Rogers spends time in an Internet chat room, playing cards with a regular group of
surfers. That is until the witching hour, when he and the mysterious woman known only as Midnight connect via
cyberspace and disappear into their own virtual world. Martin finds himself becoming more and more intrigued and
enamoured by the elusive woman, who seems to find him strangely attractive despite his disability. When Midnight
refuses to reveal any personal details about herself, despite Martin being openly honest with her, he begins to suspect
that the woman he is falling for may not be all that she seems.
Martin confides his concerns to two of his fellow detectives, and soon he and his colleagues are joined by Assistant
District Attorney Lisa Harris as a web of previous suspicious deaths of disabled victims emerges, all of whom appear
to have been in contact with the mysterious Midnight.
A task force is set up to investigate the murders, and soon Martin, Lisa, and the team are involved in a case so
complex, and so baffling, that they begin to feel as though they are chasing a shadow, a clever and resourceful
criminal who they describe as being “like fog that disappears in bright light.”
When police dispatcher Denise Woods is attacked and almost killed by the murderer, the police finally believe
they are on the trail of Midnight, only to find yet more clouds of mystery as they attempt to penetrate the veil of the
elusive killer.
What links Midnight with the name Norma Fields, and is Norma connected to the oddly named Norm Able? What
connection does the reportedly dead sailor J.R Olson have with the case?
Vivian Zabel has crafted a beautifully and hauntingly compelling crime drama that leads the reader down one
blind alleyway after another as Martin Rogers attempts to unravel the mystery. The tension is wonderfully wracked
up as the storyline builds towards its shattering conclusion. Without doubt, this is one for the crime fiction
aficionados, a book that cries out to be read, and one which I found very hard to put down once I’d begun. The
characters are believable, the underlying romance that builds between Martin and the beautiful Lisa is tenderly and
realistically handled, and the fear that things could go disastrously wrong for the heroes of this tale, right up to the
end, is so palpable one can almost reach out and touch it.
A great read, tension personified, wonderfully written!
© May 2009
Brian L Porter
(Author of A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper, Avenue of the Dead, Purple Death, and the award-winning
The Nemesis Cell.)
by Brian L Porter
Police detective Martin Rogers is recovering from a shooting, working hard to regain the use of his legs. To fill in
the long hours of inactivity, Rogers spends time in an Internet chat room, playing cards with a regular group of
surfers. That is until the witching hour, when he and the mysterious woman known only as Midnight connect via
cyberspace and disappear into their own virtual world. Martin finds himself becoming more and more intrigued and
enamoured by the elusive woman, who seems to find him strangely attractive despite his disability. When Midnight
refuses to reveal any personal details about herself, despite Martin being openly honest with her, he begins to suspect
that the woman he is falling for may not be all that she seems.
Martin confides his concerns to two of his fellow detectives, and soon he and his colleagues are joined by Assistant
District Attorney Lisa Harris as a web of previous suspicious deaths of disabled victims emerges, all of whom appear
to have been in contact with the mysterious Midnight.
A task force is set up to investigate the murders, and soon Martin, Lisa, and the team are involved in a case so
complex, and so baffling, that they begin to feel as though they are chasing a shadow, a clever and resourceful
criminal who they describe as being “like fog that disappears in bright light.”
When police dispatcher Denise Woods is attacked and almost killed by the murderer, the police finally believe
they are on the trail of Midnight, only to find yet more clouds of mystery as they attempt to penetrate the veil of the
elusive killer.
What links Midnight with the name Norma Fields, and is Norma connected to the oddly named Norm Able? What
connection does the reportedly dead sailor J.R Olson have with the case?
Vivian Zabel has crafted a beautifully and hauntingly compelling crime drama that leads the reader down one
blind alleyway after another as Martin Rogers attempts to unravel the mystery. The tension is wonderfully wracked
up as the storyline builds towards its shattering conclusion. Without doubt, this is one for the crime fiction
aficionados, a book that cries out to be read, and one which I found very hard to put down once I’d begun. The
characters are believable, the underlying romance that builds between Martin and the beautiful Lisa is tenderly and
realistically handled, and the fear that things could go disastrously wrong for the heroes of this tale, right up to the
end, is so palpable one can almost reach out and touch it.
A great read, tension personified, wonderfully written!
© May 2009
Brian L Porter
(Author of A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper, Avenue of the Dead, Purple Death, and the award-winning
The Nemesis Cell.)