Actual-market

Want to write a play? Here's how! Popular playwright Frank Priore gives you a guide to writing, publishing, and selling plays to schools. His new book, Getting Your Acts together, tells you everything you need to know to write a play of your own. Priore wrote, directed, produced, and acted in plays for more than thirty years. His plays are popular in schools across america. He lives in College Point, New York, and his "idea of heaven is sitting at the picnic table in his backyard and tapping out the dialog of a new play on the keys of his laptop computer while puffing on an eight inch, 54-ring, handrolled, imported cigar." He enjoys his work, and fifty of his plays have been published for audiences who appreciate his talent. "The goal of this book is to help you to create the kind of bright, witty, easy-to-produce plays that will startt those royalty checks parading to your mail drop," Priore writes. Indeed, when you read his directions, you understand how easy it can be. "Act One: Get your hero up a tree," he tells us. You want your audience to wonder how your hero got up in the tree and how he will get down. You want to captivate your audience in the first act. Once you captivated your audience in Act One, you continue to captivate in Act Two and Act three. You develop your characters and plot in subsequent scenes. "Picture the characters on your set, drop the problem in their laps, and see what develops," the author advises. Beg, borrow, or buy a copy of Frank Priore's book if you want to write a play. he succeeds in telling you everything you need toknow about writing, directing, and producing plays that will be popular and profitable. ###

This book is a must read for attorneys and non-attorneys alike. It is a terrifying glimpse at the criminal justice system. However, it is not without hope. The authors have several suggestions about improving the sad state of affairs, and if the book is read by enough people involved in the criminal justice system, it may work!

Is there anything more frightening then the conviction of an innocent person? It can happen to anyone and this book shows the ineptitude of our legal system and the frequency with which false convictions occur.

This book, comprised of a myriad of criminal cases, is one of the most compelling and fast-paced books you will ever read. If it you don't find yourself with a renewed sense of conviction regarding justice and truth in the legal system, then you might consider checking for a pulse.

Given the recent advances in pathology, forensics and DNA, "Actual Innocence" should be required reading. Clear and concise, this book will appeal to everyone from housewife to lawyer alike. Truly one of the most important works written in recent years.

As a reader of at least ten books on wrongful conviction and an advocate for the wrongfully convicted, this book is definitely the best mass-produced resource on wrongful convictions.

This book is the most comprehensive look at the causes of wrongful convictions and the benefits of DNA testing. It is also a compelling book that uses real stories and makes you question whatever you think you knew about the criminal justice system and its "infallibility."

Other reviews on Amazon.com for this book say that it is boring and slow moving. I really don't think these reviewers read the same book that I did. I guess maybe these readers were expecting an intiguing story with a cliffhanger at the end. I think that the book does provide that and more, it just happens that real life is scarier than fiction.

This was beyond all doubt, the most disappointing book I have read in years. In fact, I must admit I did not finish "Actual Innocence". I gave up and gave it to Goodwill! Was this reallly the same author who produced "Death in White Bear Lake"? Oh well.....

This being the second book of Barry Siegel that I have read in my time as a reader I had an idea of what to expect. Even thought The Perfect Witness was not my favorite book of all-time I figured what the heck, I'll give 'ol Mr. Siegel another shot to win over my high credential likings. Siegel did a decent job with Actual Innocence but did not top the charts with this one in my eyes.
As in The Perfect Witness, author Barry Siegel uses a lawyer as a main character. Once again this main character is Greg Monarch. Monarch plays a top notch lawyer in la Graciosa, California. After being named the county's top lawyer Monarch is asked to take a case which seems to already have a verdict, guilty. The case is for murder, the alleged murderer that Monarch is to defend is Sarah Trant. Prior to finding out who he would be defending, Monarch refused to take the case. The reason being that Trant had previously been found guilty five times. Eventually Monarch decides to meet and defend. He travels to the El Nido Valley, where Trant is being held, on his journey there he is involved in wreck and ends up at Diana Sanborn's residents. While spending time at the Sanborn residents he learns that there has been some key evidence left out of the trials. After the District Attorney and Trant's former attorney do not help Monarch goes on his own. He found that Brewster Tomaz, who was the man Trant was believed to have killed, was slashed from one side of his throat to the other and would not have been able to speak. Trant and Tomaz did not get along due to Tomaz's brainstorm of putting a health spa in El Nido However, a witness claims that Tomaz's last words were "Sarah Trant did this." Monarch pushes on to find the "real" truth as the El Nido locals work to cover themselves. As Monarch gets to the bottom of the case Siegel shows the scandals of a murder framing in a small community. But will the jury see this or will they help to cover the El Nido community, buy and read to find out if Monarch did enough digging to get to the bottom of what Trant says is the truth in order to prove her "Actual Innocence."
Lawyers Wanted! If you're a lawyer then this book definitely could be for you. If you're not a lawyer then you had better like murder trials. My experience was that of a Figure-Skating judge trying to determine a score for a contestant who pulled off many tough stunts at times but put you to sleep throughout the rest of the routine, it had its ups and its downs. The character development I thought was a definite plus, I felt that Greg Monarch especially was well-developed throughout the story. After finding out that he was La Graciosa's top lawyer Siegel then showed why as Monarch searched and searched until he found answers. Diana Sanborn's character also developed as she began as a real nice lady trying to help Monarch out and turned out much different. Another positive of this book was the believability. This was probably the thing that kept me most interested being that these things more than likely go on in today's world. As for the negatives, I would say the biggest downer for me was how the middle of the book drug on. Even though it was a key point in the book to explain Monarch searching for answers, I often caught myself dazing off wishing I was Brewster Tomaz so I would not have to sit through these core chapters.
As I stated above if you are a lawyer then this could be your book. If you like crime or even maybe mystery or suspense books you may also be in for a possible treat. If not then read at your own risk! If you do not qualify in the traits above and perhaps are just looking for a book to read on a rainy afternoon I would recommend spending a few more dollars and getting a book of better choice, but hey that's just my opinion. I just hope that no one is caught in "actual innocence" of reading a bad book.

This book was quite ordinary. The audio done by Ed Asner was awful. His voice is so hoarse sounding that he is often barely understandable. His female voices were OK except for one or two that were too low in volume. Several of the male voices were so loud that I was constantly adjusting the volume.

I might possibly read another Siegal book, but I will never buy another audiobook with Asner as the narrator.