Screenwriter and Novelist Marguerite Ashton Receives Rave Reviews for Mafia Novel

When asked what gave her the idea for the story, she replied, "I am a big movie fanatic of all genres, but if you were to ask my favorites, it would be mafia and horror. With Taylini, I decided to add a twist that is not included in your usual "mafia stories."

See below for a brief synopsis and a sampling of reviews of Ms. Ashton's book:

Nora Taylini struggles to keep her family together, while her husband fights with his rival Dons. Knowing that he was once best friends with Don Meroni and Don Lamano, Nora feels pressured to maintain her dignity and not exact revenge in the "Old Mafia Fashion." By focusing her attention on their children and stratesizing ways to keep the Taylini dynasty alive, she throws the family into a tail spin.

Nora and Santino stand by one another as they fight to defend their family's good name. A family who once was defined endures emotional and physical pain as they accept the ups and downs that come along with the mafia life they have chosen.

Here is a sampling of the reviews:

Nora and Santino Taylini live in Palermo with their five children. Their lives are complicated by their "mafia" upbringing and their sense of commitment, not only to their biological family, but to their "mafia family."

Typical overbearing parents, they struggle to control the destiny of their children. Sonny and Bobby are determined to choose their own wives, while Rebecca and Bella allow Nora to pick their lifelong mates. Spatterings of "mafia" life including the Dons, the bodyguards and the irate "mafia" wives add color to the story.

Shirley Roe, Allbooks Review

Taylini: A Family Saga is a fast paced drama that takes you right into a mafia family. In this well written story, the reader is taken into, not only the strong family ties, but also the struggles the family must endure.

Sherry Moore, Shadows of the Past.

Writing fiction is one of Marguerite's favorite things to do, along with acting. Last year, she signed with Big Fish Talent located in Colorado. When she is not writing or acting, Ms. Ashton dives into her favorite interests including, yoga, weights, volleyball and ballet. During her down time she loves to watch a good NASCAR, baseball or football game. "Listening to classical or jazz music, brings me to a new level. It opens up my mind."

For updated reviews and current information on her screenwriting, feel free to visit her website at

In The News:


Columbus Dispatch

Book Review | Father's Day: Author's insecurities extend to special son
Columbus Dispatch
His journalistic insecurity is so great, even after the success of Friday Night Lights, that he writes: “I had pathetically stopped reading The New York Times Book Review five years earlier because of my raging jealousy of other writers getting rave ...

and more »

Book Review: Beating The Business Cycle
Seeking Alpha
The firm has a rich history of accurately predicting recessions and recoveries and I have enjoyed reading Achuthan's views on the current state of the economy, so I was excited to learn that this book existed, even if it is a bit out of date (published ...


Review: “Batman Incorporated” Returns To DC's “New 52” Universe In Excellent ...
Complex.com
Few books can match the raw creativity and energy in this book, and this issue further proves that Chew should be one every comic book fan's radar. What it's about: When the book debuted in 1992, Youngblood was one of the first titles to come out at ...

and more »

Sydney Morning Herald

'Fifty Shades' gives readers something to talk about
STLtoday.com (blog)
FILE- This file combo made of book cover images provided by Vintage Books shows the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy by best-selling author EL James. You can't always tell how explicit a book is by its cover. RT Book Reviews also uses a sensuality rating ...
'Fifty Shades of Grey' Staying On SF ShelvesKELOLAND TV
Berkley Touting Its Own 'Fifty Shades' ImitatorPublishers Weekly
Raunchy read flies off the bookshelvesThe Daily Post

all 325 news articles »

The Book Nook: 'Sparky and Me' by Ron Kaplan and 'A Wedding in Haiti' by Julia ...
Advocate Weekly
Or felt annoyed that you bought a book that was merely so-so? Or closed a book and JUST wanted to talk about it? Or wished you had a place to discover new books? The Book Report Network aims to solve these reader dilemmas, with thoughtful book reviews, ...


HitFix (blog)

Kristen Stewart's 'On The Road': Cannes Reviews Are In!
MTV.com
While they say the movie remains faithful to the book, they feel the film version lacks the spark Kerouac carried throughout the novel. "You can't help but wish that Salles and screenwriter Jose Rivera had focused less on the stories in the book and ...
Cannes Review: 'On The Road' Is A Failed Attempt to Adapt the UnadaptableFilm School Rejects
Review: 'On The Road' makes great use of Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, and ...HitFix (blog)
Kerouac's "On the Road" hits screen in Cannes debutReuters
New York Times -Contactmusic.com
all 218 news articles »

PR Web

Movie Review: Watching "Bully" Is Not Enough To Make A Difference Says ...
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Irene van der Zande, child safety and bullying prevention expert, reviews the movie "Bully," offering advice and caution to adults about letting kids watch the movie and five practical, upbeat actions adults can take right away to help stop bullying ...
Safe and SoundGood Times

all 4 news articles »

Book Review: Successful Partnering
Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
The new chapters added to this treatise in 2012 were discussed in book reviews in our April 2012 and May 2012 issues of The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. In addition to the new chapters, existing chapters are revised and replaced each year when there ...


Book review: The Watch
MSN India
His earlier book, The Storyteller of Marrakesh, received glowing reviews and established him as a literary heavyweight. The Watch, published by Random House, follows a desperate night-long battle; a group of beleaguered soldiers in an isolated base in ...


The Guardian (blog)

The battle of book reviews
DAWN.com
IS the professional book reviewer an anachronism? In a recent Harvard Business School study of nonfiction reviews, assessments in mainstream media outlets and amateur ratings on Amazon largely converged. Surely we could chuck the review section and ...
Amazon v newspaper: which is the more valuable review?The Guardian (blog)

all 2 news articles »
Google News

How to Survive Sudden Leadership Challenges - Covey Has Some Clues

I have decided to start with this text as simply... Read More

Amapola - Book Review

Alan Heywood writes a stimulating, though sometimes improbable, adventure novel... Read More

Sportcraft Treadmills

Sportcraft Treadmills - Lowww EndSportcraft treadmills are late entries from... Read More

For Fans of Seinfeld-like Coincidences

Isn't That Bigamy (c) 2005, ISBN 1411634241, Mike Vogel, Lulu... Read More

Empowering Teenagers - A Few Clues About Teens And A New Book

EMPOWERING TEENAGERSFrom a new book: "Adolescence is a difficult period,... Read More

Mathew and the Highland Rescue - Book Review

"A stimulating adventure! Sabine Muir has written a wonderful children's... Read More

The Rich Jerk Review: New Agressive and Effective Internet Marketing Methods for All

The Rich Jerk "Making Money on the internet is Easy"... Read More

The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators, by Gordon Grice

The black widow spider is notorious for eating her mate... Read More

What is the Emperor Wearing - A Book Summary

What is the Emperor Wearing?Once upon a time, an emperor... Read More

Bob the Dragon Slayer - Book Review

This very fun, exciting, fast-paced, warm novella - Bob the... Read More

Fading Towards Enlightenment - Book Review

Fading Toward Enlightenment by Wayne Wirs is definitely a well... Read More

Until Youve Walked the Path!

From the depths of despair to the heights of hope.... Read More

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life - AchieveMax Top Ten Book Review

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life is another book focusing... Read More

Thinking for a Change - AchieveMax Top Ten Book Review

John C. Maxwell is back again in Thinking for a... Read More

Magic Tricks - Book Reviews

Since the 1950's, Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo has been... Read More

Who Moved My Cheese? For Teens - AchieveMax Top Ten Book Review

Who Moved My Cheese? For Teens by: Spencer Johnson, M.D.Spencer... Read More

How Would You Move Mount Fuji? - AchieveMax Top Ten Book Review

For a number of reasons, today's hiring managers from Wall... Read More

Health Is Internal Beauty

Excerpted from the book "Your Right to Be Beautiful: How... Read More

The World is Flat - This Book by Thomas L Friedman has Taken the Online Entrepreneurs by Storm

The New York Times' columnist visits India often. I read... Read More

Ferns Dragon - Book Review

"Fern's Dragon is a wonderfully fun read that stimulates the... Read More

Call Me Mommy - Book Review

Retired police captain, Marshall Frank, has written another excellent read... Read More

Moon Child - Review

Moon Child by Simone Maroney is a larger sized adventure,... Read More

What $ells on EBay For What - Book Review

You look at the salesletter and the price tag ($8.95... Read More

The Inspired Heart: A Book Review

Spiritual food for the soul: Allow Jerry to take you... Read More

Living in Darkness - Book Review

Award winning author John Roynesdal, is a retired English teacher... Read More