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Let's get the full disclosure thing out of the way first. This book was a gift to me from James Strauss, but not for the price of a review. James happened to get on a roll one day and was amazed by the price The Boy: The Mastodons-Book 1 goes for on Amazon, so he decided to give away a few signed copies. I was one of the lucky recipients. Now on to the actual review.

Honestly, The Boy: The Mastodons-Book 1 is everything you would expect from James Strauss. I had been interested in reading this book for a while, but the last time I paid over $70 for a book was in college and it was never worth it. I'm too frugal to do it for pleasure.

If you, like I did, wonder if this is going to be a similar read as The Clan of Cave Bear series is, let me clue you in. They are similar in that they are both realistic historical fiction and they both offer a potential glimpse into the life of an individual who dares to step outside the bounds of approved societal behavior for the time the story is set in. However, the similarities end there.

You won't find so much in the way of healing herbs as you will in human behavior and the difference one person straying from the path can make. This book is about the entrapment of how the codes of a society that originally meant to protect a community, can ultimately be the downfall of one.

When loneliness and fear are your only companions, and internal ones at that, you will seek outside solace as The Boy does. Separated from his tribe by disaster, The Boy makes an unusual friend and is soon lost in isolation that leads to discovery. The book delves into the human mind and includes not so pleasant thoughts of the main character, so that you get a glimpse of real human nature, how it can be flawed, and how it can be changed.

While The Boy: The Mastadons-Book 1 is rich in detail and description, it is also the gateway to understanding the destruction of conformity and the assumptions that are made because of it. If you enjoy (pre)historical fiction, you will enjoy this tale for the sake of the tale. If you enjoy reflecting on the fallacies of societal behavior, you are going to wonder why this book is not required reading for any parent, teacher, or leader of any kind.

Since Google announced the release of the new Hummingbird algorithm, writers have been in a panic about what this means for them. It can't be stressed enough that it means the same thing any new algorithm means; create quality content or don't create at all.

With every new algorithm that Google rolls out n an effort to better match search term results with what people are actually looking for, the Internet community goes into a panic, thinking all their hard work is for naught. Unless you are still keyword stuffing and relying completely on meta tags and black hat techniques,you have nothing to worry about. People don't generally search for things using search tools that Internet writers use. Instead, they use conversational terms that they might use with a friend. The aim of the search engines is to interpret these terms to return useful results. So what can you do to make Hummingbird work for you? Use some of the techniques below in your writing.

• Create searchable titles. Generally it is understood that Google looks at the first five words of a title, so you want to be sure to get your search terms in there and make a title that is Internet friendly. For example, "Getting it Together" might be a creative title for a book on dating with a picture of a couple on the front, but in terms of search engines, it doesn't mean anything. Something better suited to an article on getting together with a new romantic partner might be "Find New Love" or "Meet Your Soul Mate".
• SEO is still worthwhile. As long as you are using SEO the right way, it still works. That means you need to use it in limited amounts with related terms.
• Let go of the pronouns. I have said it before and I will say it again; pronouns drag you down. Yes, pronouns can be useful and used sporadically, but if you are writing a parenting blog and you keep referring to your son as "he" or "him" instead of "son", "child", and so forth, you aren't letting the search engines know that you are talking about your child. A good rule of thumb is to write like you are writing to a stranger. When you say "him" to a stranger, they don't know who you are talking about. Instead, use terms that identify him as your son.
• Keep things current. For instance, this blog is not about Panda and it is not about generic things in the writing word. Keep your blog focused and current so that you can rank in current results on an ongoing basis.
• Write about things that people want to read. Whether you are doing copy writing, sharing recipes, or any other number of things, offer people something they actually want to read. It works best if you make it entertaining and informative at the same time.