Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Authors To Watch: Jacqui Letran, author of I Would, But My Damn Mind Won't Let Me!




Jacqui Letran is a passionate and energetic leader who is truly gifted at helping teens transform into confident, happy and successful young adults. Jacqui teaches teens that success and happiness are possible, regardless of their current struggles or circumstances.

Jacqui is an International Best Selling Author, National Speaker, and Founder of Teen Confidence Academy. She has 17 years of experience in Adolescent Health as a Nurse Practitioner, Success Coach and Teen Confidence Expert. Jacqui is passionate and committed to guiding teens to achieve remarkable success in their academic and personal lives.

She is also the winner of the:
2016 Literary Classics Lumen Award and Gold Medal for Youth Non-Fiction
2016 Readers' Favorite Gold Medal Award for Young Adult Non-Fiction

When not working with teens or writing, you can find her traveling in her RV, hiking with her dog or spoiling her three cats. She now lives in
Asheville, North Carolina.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK



Title: I WOULD, BUT MY DAMN MIND WON’T LET ME!
Author: Jacqui Letran
Publisher: A Healed Mind
Pages: 158
Genre: Youth/Nonfiction

Literary Classics' 2016 Lumen Award for Best Young-Adult Non-Fiction book of the year, "I would, but my DAMN MIND won't Let Me! is recommended for home, school and public libraries and for use in clinical settings."


Do you believe that life is unfair or that change is impossible? Are you unhappy and frustrated with your life? If you answered yes, you’re not alone! Teen Confidence Expert, Jacqui Letran, is here to show you a quick and easy path to a happier, healthier life. You can learn to create permanent changes for the better!
Your past can cause you to believe that making positive improvements requires a miracle. In Letran’s award-winning book, I would, but my DAMN MIND won’t let me!, you will learn the simple steps to overcome your obstacles and struggles. Once you understand how your mind works, you will have the knowledge and power to take control of your thoughts and feelings. The power to challenge your old negative patterns and create the exact life you want is in your hands.
In this book, you will discover:
·             How to challenge old negative beliefs and create positive new patterns
·             How to stay calm and in control of even the most difficult situations
·             How to keep unhealthy thoughts at bay and replace them with positive ones
·             How to use the power of your mind to create the success you deserve
·             How to create positive life experiences and much, much more!
·              
I would, but my DAMN MIND won’t let me! is a groundbreaking guide to help you take control of your life. If you like real-life advice that works fast and doesn’t talk down to you, then you will love Jacqui Letran’s game-changing book for teens and young adults. This book is recommended for teens, parents of teens, professionals working with teens, and anyone who is interested in learning how to take control of their mind.
Get the award-winning book today to give yourself an unfair advantage in life!

I Would, But My Damn Mind Won’t Let Me!
is available for purchase at


Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Jacqui Letran. I’m an author, speaker, and teen confidence expert.  I have 16 years of experience working with teens in both the medical setting as a Nurse Practitioner and the holistic setting as a Teen Confidence Expert and Success Coach. 
My passion for working with teens started as a result of my own experiences as a teenager.  I struggled so much with trying to find my own identity and my place in the world, and I had moderate anxiety and depression. Along my journey, I discovered something so simple, yet so profound, “change your thoughts, change your life!”  This little nugget of wisdom changed everything for me and my life.  I knew I had to share it with others.
I love being able to connect with my readers and teach them how to take charge of their lives by taking control of their thoughts, feelings, and actions. I feel so fortunate to be able to do what I do and spreading my message world-wide via my books and my online practice, Teen Confidence Academy.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I never really wanted to become an author.  I am more of a practitioner at heart and it was never really an aspiration of mine to become a writer. I am fortunate that my practice has allowed hundreds of clients to realize life-changing breakthroughs, and that work always begins with teaching each new client some powerful information about their mind, and how their mind works.  It’s a lot to absorb, so many clients asked me to send them a written summary as a reminder. After so much client feedback, the obvious next step was to document that information in a book. As the writing began to take shape, I became more excited at the possibility of reaching many more people through a published book.  Because I’m able to share my message and help more people this way, my love for writing and my interest in being an author grew.

Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?
I remember sitting down at my computer to type out my book.  The first several attempts were horrible. I would type, delete, type, delete, type and delete some more.  I had to make every single sentence perfect.  After hours of hard work, I only had a few paragraphs to show for it. 
It was so frustrating.  I knew my topic very well and I can teach it in my sleep, yet, I couldn’t articulate it on paper.  I knew that if I continued this way, it would take years to complete my book, and I did not want to wait that long.  This was when I decided to write everything out by hand.  I would go to my local coffee shop or to the beach and write as if I was teaching a client.  I wrote freely; no re-reading, and no editing.  I spent two to three hours writing each day, and within seven weeks, I competed the first. It took several days for me to type up everything and then the first round of editing started.
Can you tell us about your most recent release?
I just released the second edition of, “I would, but my DAMN MIND won’t let me!” based on feedback I had received.  I’ve added a summary for each chapter to make it easier for readers who prefer to skim, or readers who are interested in a key summary as a reminder.  In addition, I added self-reflection questions to help readers go deeper into the topics.  My readers also connected well with the client examples, so I added two more case study stories to demonstrate the power of the mind.  I love it when I receive emails from readers telling me that because of my book, or the stories within my book, they learned something powerful about themselves that dramatically changed their lives.
What are you most proud of as an author?
My book, “I would, but my DAMN MIND won’t let me!” has won two Gold Medal Awards in the Youth Non-Fiction category from Literary Classics and Readers’ Favorite last year. In addition, my book was also awarded the Lumen Award by Literary Classics for Best Youth Non-Fiction book of the year. I feel so blessed and grateful for all the support and praise I’ve received for my efforts.
  
How did you get the idea for your award-winning title?

The name of the book was given to me by my clients, just as the reason to write the book.  When asked why they did not pursue the things they truly wanted, my clients would often respond with, “I would, but my mind fights me”, or “My mind is too strong and I can’t do what I want!” or simply, “My damn mind won’t let me!” Thus, the current title was born!  

What projects are you currently working on?
I have two books in the works.  One is a second edition of my book, “5 Simple Questions to Reclaim Your Happiness!” I have been getting some awesome feedback and requests so I am working them into this new edition.  Many readers requested more case studies, so I’m adding in several more.  In addition, I’m making part of this edition a workbook so readers can follow along and use the questions and other tools to quickly reclaim their happiness.  
The second book I’m working on is called, “How to Unleash Your Inner Super Powers and Destroy Anxiety and Self-Doubt.”  This is the third book in my Words of Wisdom for Teen Series and the most fun to write so far.  I’m working toward a late August release, just in time to help teens to go back to school with increased confidence, having learned about their own Inner Super Powers.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring authors?
My best advice to aspiring authors is to honor who you are and how you work.  If it works well for you to type or dictate your book, do just that.  Or if you’re like me and find it easier to write by hand and let your ideas flow, then do that.  No guru out there knows exactly what is right for you.  Experiment with different writing styles and routines and find what works best for you and then go with that!  Just write from the heart and keep writing.  

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

BOOK TRAILER REVEAL: Are You There, Krishna? by Rachel Khona


We're happy to host Rachel Khona's ARE YOU THERE, KRISHNA? IT'S ME, RESHMA, OR RACHEL. OR WHATEVER Book Trailer Reveal today! Enjoy the trailer!




About the Book:

Title: ARE YOU THERE KRISHNA? IT'S ME, RESHMA. OR RACHEL. OR WHATEVER.: ESSAYS ON TALKING TO GHOSTS, ACCOSTING CELEBRITIES, GETTING HIGH, SEXISM, RACE AND FIRST-GENERATION WOES
Author: Rachel Khona
Publisher: Thought Catalog
Pages: 257
Genre: Humor/Memoir

Rachel knew even as a young child that she wasn’t like the rest of her Indian family. While her parents were plotting how she could make it into med school with her mediocre grades in chemistry and biology, she had other things on her mind, including such gems as:

• Why can’t she go to the temple on her period?
• Why don’t her Indian cousins like her?
• Why was it OK to be sexualized at a beauty pageant but not for herself?
• How can she straddle two cultures while retaining her sense of self?
• Why are women considered sluts and men considered studs?
• Why do people keep asking her if she was born in
India?
• Should she wax down there?
• Why does she have crazy eyes?

After leaving home, Rachel got high in
Amsterdam, met her pop singer idol in a bathroom, argued with a ghost, and got lost in the Pyrenees. But that didn’t stop her from questioning while men still tell her to smile. 'Are You There Krishna? It’s Me, Reshma. Or Rachel. Or Whatever.' weaves stories of Rachel’s life with observations on race, class, sex, feminism, and culture with humor and candor.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Amazon




About the Author


Once upon a time in an exotic land called New Jersey, Rachel Khona used to dream of one day playing tambourine in an all-girl rock band. That never happened.
Instead she became a writer. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Playboy, Penthouse, Maxim, and Cosmopolitan among others.
When she’s not writing or designing, she is busy drinking wine and singing off key, bike riding, pretending she’s friends with Mindy Kaling and Amy Poehler, eating absurd amounts of cheese, or listening to rock music at an appallingly loud volume. Sometimes all at once.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

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Monday, April 24, 2017

BOOK TRAILER REVEAL: The Sisters: A Mystery of Good and Evil, Horror and Suspense by Don Sloan


About the Book:

Title: THE SISTERS: A MYSTERY OF GOOD AND EVIL, HORROR AND SUSPENSE
Author: Don Sloan
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 239
Genre: Supernatural/Mystery/Horror/Thriller

In this book, written in the style of Stephen King, two young people on vacation in a small New England seacoast town battle unspeakable horror and solve a hundred-year-old mystery. Fourteen Victorian mansions whisper dark secrets among themselves, and a dangerous shadow roams up and down the wide, wintry boulevard in search of new prey.

The Sisters: A Mystery of Good and Evil, Horror and Suspense is available at Amazon


Book Excerpt:

Snow pellets blow white across the boulevard and up onto the wide, night-shadowed porch of the house just in the center of the block. Inside, past leaded glass doors and heavy oak furnishings, something moves.
Up the polished mahogany staircase, and up yet another flight to the third story something moves that has no breath, no warmth, no life.
There is a narrow passageway to the attic, locked behind a heavy door with steel bands. The shadow pauses at the door only long enough to pass cold fingers over the padlock. It falls heavily to the floor and the door opens. The shadow passes through, as quietly as a midnight breeze in an icy cold forest. Here, no light at all warms the creaking steps. It is darker than the inside of death.
In the attic, the bitter, knifing cold whirls and eddies around shapeless mounds of old memorabilia and the shadow moves silently to a dormer window. Cobwebs—spun by industrious spiders long dead—are brushed aside and a single candle is placed on the sill. And in the darkness a flame is struck.
Outside, the wind falls off to nothing, and snow drifts listlessly to the ground. The candle flickers briefly and catches, burning a pinprick hole in the vastness of the night.
Far out to sea, a single cry begins and then falls silent.
And in the dormer window, where the shadow has settled down to wait, the candle flares brightly and then goes out.

About the Author




Don Sloan is a former journalist for a large metropolitan daily newspaper and also an avid book reviewer, with more than 200 reviews posted on Amazon. His goal with the Dark Forces Series is to present readers with a new and exciting horror and suspense thriller experience. He currently lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina with his wife of 39 years, and, when not writing, enjoys a cold glass of Chardonnay in the evenings, sitting on his back deck.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK




Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to a $25 Amazon Gift Card
  • This giveaway ends midnight April 24.
  • Winner will be contacted via email on April 25.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Book Blast! Storm Winds: An Outer Banks Mystery by K.S. David #bookblast @ksdavidromance


We welcome K.S. David and her STORM WINDS Book Blast today! Please leave a comment to let her know you stopped by!


Title: STORM WINDS: AN OUTER BANKS MYSTERY
Author: K.S. David
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 180
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Moving to the North Carolina Outer Banks was a chance for Leah Kymes to put her life back together, after her marriage went sour. But peace and quiet evade her, when her father is discovered murdered in his fish and tackle shop. Not willing to wait for authorities to solve the crime, she begins to delve into recent events involving her Dad. What she uncovers shatters her understanding of the man she thought she knew so well. 

At Leah's side is her old flame, Officer Aden Parker, who runs interference between Leah and the salty detective who sees her as a hindrance. Ignoring Aden's warnings, she deepens her probe, but soon draws the attention of a handsome stranger. Is this new man just competing for her affection - or a vicious killer intent on making Leah his next victim? 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Amazon


Book Excerpt:


Perched on top of a sand dune, Leah looked across the ocean as waves curled and crashed against the shore. Behind her, stalled traffic lined North Carolina's Highway 12, six miles deep. Residents of the Outer Banks fled their homes days earlier as the dark clouds of a Category 3 hurricane raced toward them. Now they were headed back to whatever the storm had left behind.
Leah's father, Rex, had ignored the warnings. "I ain't scared of no damned storm," he'd said. "It's the price we pay for living in paradise, honey."
Rex had been born and bred on the North Carolina coast. He was sun-tough, with seawater for blood. An average-sized man with a shock of white hair, a face lined by hard living, and eyes as blue and alert as a clear summer sky, he feared no man, and believed destiny was his to write. She believed that he was invincible when she was a child. She knew better now. After a week without a word from him, Leah's frustration was speeding toward fear.
She dug her toes beneath the warm sand, ran her hands through her thick auburn hair, and twisted it into a bun. She'd spent nearly four days huddled in a hotel room, watching hours of new reports as the storm tracked toward the Outer Banks. Afterward, she searched photos of the destruction, straining to see if the home she shared with Rex and their businesses had been spared.
Leah picked up her cell phone and tapped the photo of her father. Since the storm hit, communication had been spotty to the Outer Banks. Like all the times before, her call went straight to Rex's voice mail. Instead of leaving another agitated message, she ended the call, picked up a stick, and jammed it into the sand.
She was irritated. If she knew him well, and she did, her father hadn't thought once about the worry he caused. The old cuss was probably fine, but it was strange that he hadn't called to check on her, not even once. When her mind pondered over that loose detail, she pushed it to the furthest spot in her brain.
The blare of horns signaled that it was time to move. She skidded down the dune that hugged the road. Course granules of sand shifted underfoot as she descended. Heat pressed against her bare feet as she fished her keys out of the pocket of her cutoff shorts. Gaps in the line had been created by drivers who'd already moved forward and the woman parked behind Leah laid on her horn and growled, "We're trying to get home today, please!"
Leah sighed, grit her teeth, and gave a quick wave. "Sorry." Beneath her breath, she mumbled, "Go to hell." They were all in the same predicament and moving a few feet forward wasn't going to get either of them on the ferry any faster. She'd been in line for nearly two hours on the southern tip of Ocracoke Island. It would take another hour before she reached the pier for a forty-minute boat ride before landing on Hatteras Island, then another fifteen before she got to her father's house in the town of Frisco.
A hand tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am. Are you Ms. Leah Kymes?"
A Hyde County police officer stared down at her. Sometimes, cops issued tickets to drivers who walked away from their cars when they were in the line for the ferry, especially at times like this. A ticket was the last thing she needed.
"I'm getting ready to pull up. We've been sitting here--"
The cop threw a hand up to stop her. "It's okay." He stepped closer and asked again, "Are you Leah Kymes?"
She frowned and looked down the line of cars. Eying him, she answered, "Yeah, I'm Leah Kymes."
"I'm Officer Alfred Hawkins. The Dare County Police Department requested that we locate and help you back over to Hatteras."
She stepped back. "Why?"
He shrugged, "Don't know. I was just told to find you."
"Is this about my father?" Her stomach turned at the thought that something bad had happened.
Hawkins held up a hand, "Ma'am, I don't know." He was a tall man, with smooth dark brown skin and an open face. "I was asked to get you back over to the island."
She looked at the backed-up traffic. There were still six miles to go before getting to the landing.
As if reading her mind, Officer Hawkins added, "I can take you back on one of the guard boats. Your car won't fit but another officer will get it on the next ferry."
At first, only a few drivers showed any interest when Hawkins first appeared beside Leah, but radios quieted and chatter ebbed when a second cruiser pulled alongside them and deposited another cop. Hawkins called over his shoulder to a female officer, "Direct the rest of the cars around us."
This officer was young. She'd chopped her brown hair into a pageboy and appeared to be losing the battle against acne. Giving Leah a quick, dismissive glance, she turned and waved the other cars along.
The woman who'd shouted at Leah earlier eased by slowly, but kept her curious gaze locked on the action.
"You sure you don't know anything?" Leah asked, searching Hawken's face.
"No," he said. Dark shades covered his eyes. Leah couldn't read his face but there was something in the brevity of his reply that worried her. Before she could question him any further, he said, "That's Officer Maynard." He pointed to the woman directing traffic. "She'll drive your car to the ferry. Someone on the other side will make sure it gets to Hatteras."
Maynard didn't look old enough to drive, and Leah didn't like the idea of leaving her car in someone else's hands, but what choice did she have. The line wasn't getting any shorter and she needed answers. Eyeing Hawkins again, she worried that he was being evasive. Cops never tell the whole story until they're ready. She opened the car door, pulled out her shoes and handbag, and tossed her keys on the seat. "Okay, I'm ready," she said to Hawkins.
He raced them along the shoulder of the highway, past the line of cars waiting for the next ferry. He parked against the edge of a sand dune and then escorted Leah to a small, white police boat. "We'll ride over together," he said.
He separated from her as soon as they hit the boat's deck and nudged himself into a corner with four other cops. Leah sat alone on a small portside bench and watched them watching her. They kept their voices low and, every so often, shot skimming glances in her direction. Hawkins had been sent to find her--to look specifically for Leah Kymes. There were thousands of people trying to get back on the island and every resource was tied up in the restoration effort, yet some official had seen fit to use Hawkins and a police boat to fetch her. Why?
After a moment, she stood and turned away from the cops. Leaning against the rails, she closed her eyes, pushed her face into the wind, and tried to concentrate on the roar of the boat's engine, the swish of the wake created as they cut through the waves, the call of the seagulls sailing overhead, anything but the sound of doubt coming from deep inside her own chest.
She had tried not to get anxious over the twenty-four-hour media coverage. She left the hotel room as often as she could, sped through several novels, caught up on emails, and even allowed herself the luxury of uninhibited sleep. None of it managed to shake loose a growing sense of foreboding. Something bad must have happened to Rex, a thought that drove her to file a missing person's report. Her father would be furious with her for doubting him. There was, of course, another issue. Rex loathed the police, a fact that made Leah pause each time she started dialing the emergency hotline. There were some cops he'd warmed to over the years but, as far as he was concerned, most could pucker up and kiss his crotchety old ass.
On Hatteras Island, Officer Hawkins walked her to a squat, yellow building known as the Inlet. Hugging the tip of the pier, the Inlet served as a visitor's center. A balmy wind pushed three blue signs that advertised snacks, restrooms, and ferryboat information. Across the lot was Hatteras Landing, where a collection of tourist shops and eateries were housed in a blistering white stucco building. It was usually overrun with tourists this time of year but stood empty because of the storm.
Rex had to be okay, she thought. Then, like an erratic wind, her mind shifted, and the voice in her head would shout, they don't send police escorts for a simple missing person's report, or do they? Maybe it was because Rex was elderly and kind of like a town fixture. If he were the only citizen unaccounted for, the officials wouldn't hesitate to put more effort into finding him.
Perhaps they had located Rex, but he'd been injured. The storm had been a whopper. It had raged against the coast for nearly eight hours. News reports showed cars and debris thrown all over the place, and homes and buildings had been torn apart like toys. A crack had appeared in Highway 12, severing lower Hatteras from the northern shores.
Immersed in her thoughts, she almost plowed into a man standing at the top of the ramp. She started her apology without even bothering to look up then began to move around the figure when a hand closed around the top of her arm.
"Lee?"
She raised her eyes to study the face of the man that had used her name. He was a head taller with soft brown eyes and tanned skin. A faint scar zigzagged from his bottom lip and disappeared beneath his chin. She'd given him that scar, slamming her Hello Kitty lunch box into his face after he'd popped the head off her Cabbage Patch doll.
"Aiden?" she replied. Then, more confident, she gushed, "Aiden Parker!"
She hadn't seen him since she was eighteen. A thousand questions popped into her head, as she considered his ruggedly handsome face. Was he married? Was he back in the Outer Banks? How was his family? Did he have kids?
Her mouth had started to quiver out the first question when Officer Hawkins moved past her, and like a pendulum swinging, her thoughts immediately shifted back to Rex. "I know this sounds rude, but I'll have to catch up with you later. I have an emergency right now. Maybe we can exchange information or something," she mumbled, already heading away.
"I know," he said, taking the crook of her arm again, to stop her.
She cocked her head. "You know what?"
"I'm a cop with the Dare County Police Department, and I know you made a call about Rex."
She narrowed her eyes and stared into his face for a moment. Like Hawkins, his expression was flat. "Where is he?"
"Come inside so we can talk," he said.
"Where's my father?" she insisted, determined not to move from that spot until she got an answer.
"Come on," Aiden said. He placed his hand on her shoulder and urged her up the last few feet of the ramp. They crossed the store and walked down the hallway past a set of restrooms. He opened a thick door with a sign, AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. The building also housed offices for the Park Service and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which operated the ferry service. Three uniformed officers chatted beside a bank of windows. Their conversation halted then picked up again in hushed tones.
Aiden pointed her to a conference room. "We can talk in here."
A large man with flaccid jowls and a rumpled brown suit stood at a window overlooking the sound.
"This is Detective Eric Lawson," Aiden said.
"Where's my dad?" Leah asked. This time, she didn't try to hide her irritation. Fear crawled up her spine, and she bound her prickly arms around her belly, as the big man turned to greet her.
Lawson pointed Leah to a seat at the table. "Let's talk for a moment."
She pulled back one of the chairs, barely noticing when the leg scraped against her foot. Lawson lowered his considerable frame into a seat opposite her, while Aiden replaced him at the window. Her leg shook and the sound of her flip-flops slapping against the sole of her foot broke the uneasy quiet in the room. Lawson leaned in and smiled but, despite the wide, toothy grin, Leah felt no warmth coming from the man. She recoiled, slight uncomfortable under the unyielding glare of his cold, gray eyes.
"I have a few questions," he said, "if you don't mind." He didn't wait for her to agree. "When was the last time you saw your father?"
She rubbed her hands together. "Um, the day before the storm. Why?"
He scribbled her response on a short, wire-rimmed notepad. "Home, or at his store?"
"At the house. He refused to leave, but wanted me to go."
"Was he planning to ride out the storm at the house?"
"I don't mean to be rude, but you gotta give me something." She tugged her hair out of the bun, twisted it tighter, and reset the scrunchie. "Is my father still missing?" Her head was spinning and all the horrid images of what that could mean rushed through her brain. She pressed the back of her hand to her upper lip, blotting away a light sheen of sweat. Despite the hum of the air conditioner and the bank of windows that stretched the entire length of the room, the space felt small and stifling. She asked again, "Is he still missing?"
Lawson pursed his lips. "No. He's not missing."
She let her head fall back and whispered a quiet prayer. "Thank, God." But her elation turned midstride as another wave of terror struck. "Is he okay?"
Rex wasn't a young man. That had been the point of their argument. Riding out a murderous storm was dangerous, but for a sixty-nine-year-old man, it was akin to lunacy.
Aiden turned from the window and slipped into the chair beside her. He grabbed the seat's edge and scooted closer. His face was hard and serious, but softened when he took her hands. "Leah, there's no easy way to say this." He stopped to swallow, the sound loud enough for her to hear. "Your father is dead."
She tilted her head and stared at him in disbelief. Her mind a blur, Leah struggled to process what he said. The air grew thinner, and she snatched her hands away from Aiden, held them in mid-air, then turned her gaze to Lawson, as if seeking confirmation.
He nodded. "He's dead, Ms. Kymes."
A long, sorrowful moan lifted from her chest, and Leah leaned forward, pressing hands to her eyes, as if trying to hold back the flood of tears. She turned suddenly to Aiden. "How?" she asked. "How?"
He inched closer, his knees pressing into hers. "Lee," which was the name he'd given her when they were children, "I need you to listen to me." The next words sliced into her like a knife. "Lee, your dad was murdered. Somebody shot him."




About the Author

K. S. David lives in the Mid-Atlantic with her husband, their three children and a spoiled sheepadoodle. She’s addicted to true life mysteries and crime shows, both of which marry well with a great romance. Some of her favorite things are long walks, reading in bed, baking and, of course, writing her next novel.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

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Brought to you by the fine folks at

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com

 

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Book Review: The Bomb That Never Was by J.R. Shaw

419382_Blog Tour_L2

 

Inside the Book:

The Bomb That Never Was
Title: The Bomb That Never Was
Author: J.R. Shaw
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Alternative History
Format: Ebook/Paperback

Praise for The Bomb That Never Was

 “Hitler has the bomb, and it's headed for the USA. This meticulously researched historical novel will have you asking, ‘What if?' This is an intelligent, fast-paced page-turner that will make you forget that you already know how it all turns out. Provocative, informative, and entertaining—I couldn't put it down.” —Joseph P. DeSario, author of Limbo and Sanctuary and coauthor of Crusade: Undercover Against the Mafia & KGB

“Authoritative and credible in its attention to detail, The Bomb That Never Was captures the spirit and temper of the WWII years and raises some deep philosophical questions about loyalty, treason, and commitment to country. A page-turner … tough to put down … a story well told.” —Robert L. Aaron, journalist and public relations executive

The Review:

History can be a tough subject to write about, but to take on historical fiction, that is a whole other beast to deal with. And, when you try and tackle the Nazis and WWII, I imagine it can seem like a daunting task to make sure you capture some of the true historic feel in your story. And that is exactly what J.R. Shaw was able to do.

While reading The Bomb That Never Was you immerse yourself into a different war, one where Hitler has the bomb and the US is his target. A fast paced novel that will grip you from the first page, I applaud the authors ability to keep you questioning how it will turn out.

Historians and readers alike will love a book that has you ask what if?

Meet the Author:
J. R. Shaw is a pseudonym for a person who likes privacy, preferring to remain in the shadows. If you're interested in reading the next book, please turn to the back of this book and enjoy reading an excerpt from The Pieces. The Pieces will be out in 2016.

Book Blast: Mystery at Manatee Key by Nancy Stewart


We welcome Nancy Stewart's MYSTERY AT MANATEE KEY Book Blast today!




Title: MYSTERY AT MANATEE KEY
Author: Nancy Stewart
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing
Pages: 36
Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Bella and Britt love to explore along the beach and at more remote places like Manatee Key as well.  It is there that they discover a manatee smuggling ring. 

The manatees have already been netted, so the girls must act fast!  But a kidnapper snatches Bella, hustling her into their hideout.  When Britt sneaks a look in the window, she discovers that the ranger is being held, too.  Now it’s up to Britt.  But what can a single girl do?

Mystery at Manatee Key is available at Amazon

 


Book Excerpt:
 
A dark animal circled slowly in the shallow water of Manatee Key. Walking closer, Bella whispered. “A baby manatee. And it has a patch of white near its snout.” Britt frowned. “But where’s the mother? It must be hungry. We should tell the ranger.”
“Yeah,” Bella said. “This one’s too young to be without her mom. Let’s go.”
The friends worked their way through the jungle-like brush back to their bicycles. Britt took the lead. “It’s really hot, but we gotta make time.” 
After a twenty minute ride down dusty paths leading to the main road in their coastal town, they reached the ranger station. “It’s quiet in here today,” Bella said.
 The ranger’s assistant glanced up from his reading. “Hi, girls. Can I help you?”
“We need to see the ranger and report an orphaned manatee,” Bella said.
He frowned. “She hasn’t come in today, and that’s not like her. I’ve called her phones. Nobody answered. And no one’s seen her. Have you by any chance?”
“No,” they answered at the same time.
 “Well, it’s a mystery,” he said. “I won’t call the police yet. But I’m getting worried. Now, about that manatee. Can you take me to it?”
 “Sure,” Britt said. “If you can bring us back to town. We rode our bikes here.” He nodded. “Of course.”


Nancy Stewart has been an elementary school teacher and a professor of education.  Having lived in London for ten years, she was a consultant to the University of Cambridge. She is the author of the Bella and Britt series picture books and the authorized biography of Katrina Simpkins, a young girl whose life was forever changed by Winter, the dolphin (Guardian Angel Publishing.)  Her writing of One Pelican at a Time was featured on the PBS special, GulfWatch in 2011.  Nancy’s YA-LGBT novel will be published by Interlude Press autumn of 2017.  She is a member of the Rate Your Story organization as a critique judge.

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About the Author


Nancy Stewart has been an elementary school teacher and a professor of education.  Having lived in London for ten years, she was a consultant to the University of Cambridge. She is the author of the Bella and Britt series picture books and the authorized biography of Katrina Simpkins, a young girl whose life was forever changed by Winter, the dolphin (Guardian Angel Publishing.)  Her writing of One Pelican at a Time was featured on the PBS special, GulfWatch in 2011.  Nancy’s YA-LGBT novel will be published by Interlude Press autumn of 2017.  She is a member of the Rate Your Story organization as a critique judge.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

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http://www.pumpupyourbook.com

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Cover Reveal: Chemistry of Magic by Patricia Rose


Inside the Book:





Title: Chemistry of Magic
Author: Patricia Rice
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Genre: Historical Romance
Format: Ecopy 


A dying viscount, a bookish botanist, and a marriage of convenience that becomes. . . inconvenient. . .

Diagnosed with consumption, Viscount "Devil" Dare knows his days are numbered. With his greedy cousin scheming to throw Dare’s mother and sisters out of their home after his death, he can hardly refuse a mysterious lady’s solution—wedding vows. Her lands would ensure his industrial success—and secure the future for those he loves. 

Bookish botanist Emilia McDowell desperately needs the land she will inherit once she marries. Her gift for the healing arts requires growing and experimenting with herbs if she’s to save lives. When she learns that her funds would benefit handsome Lord Dare, who is said to be dying, she offers a marriage of convenience. 

But if Emilia touches Dare, her dangerous healing gift could kill her. As they learn to love under trying circumstances, Emilia longs to find the courage to be a true wife—until she discovers Dare's plans for her inheritance. Can love and marriage surmount death and betrayal?


PRE-ORDER HERE: AMAZON|GOOGLE PLAY|KOBO|B&N

MEET THE AUTHOR

With several million books in print and New York Times and USA Today's bestseller lists under her belt, former CPA Patricia Rice writes emotionally-charged contemporary and historical romances which have won numerous awards, including the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice and Career Achievement Awards.  

Her books have also been honored as Romance Writers of America RITA® finalists in the historical, regency and contemporary categories.

A firm believer in happily-ever-after for good reason, Patricia Rice is married to her high school sweetheart and has two children. A native of Kentucky and New York, a past resident of North Carolina and St. Louis, Missouri, she currently resides in Southern California, and now does accounting only for herself. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and Novelists, Inc.

CONNECT WITH PATRICIA: WEBSITE|TWITTER|FACEBOOK

Authors To Watch: William Leibowitz, author of Miracle Man & Win Free Book!



William Leibowitz has been practicing entertainment/media law in New York City for a number of years.  He has represented numerous renowned creative people and many leading intellectual property companies.  William has a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and a law degree from Columbia University.  He lives in the village of Quogue, New York with his wife, Alexandria, and dog, George.

William wrote Miracle Man because of its humanistic and spiritual messages and because he feels that in our current times--when meritless celebrity has eclipsed accomplishment and the only heroes are those based on comic books, the world needs a real hero--and that, of course, is Robert James Austin, the protagonist in Miracle Man.

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Title: MIRACLE MAN
Author: William Leibowitz
Publisher: Manifesto Media Group
Pages: 385
Genre: Thriller
                       REVERED     REVILED      REMARKABLE

The victim of an unspeakable crime, an infant rises to become a new type of superhero.  Unlike any that have come before him, he is not a fanciful creation of animators, he is real. 

So begins the saga of Robert James Austin, the greatest genius in human history.  But where did his extraordinary intelligence come from?

As agents of corporate greed vie with rabid anti-Western radicals to destroy him, an obsessive government leader launches a bizarre covert mission to exploit his intellect.  Yet Austin’s greatest fear is not of this world.

Aided by two exceptional women, one of whom will become his unlikely lover, Austin struggles against abandonment and betrayal.  But the forces that oppose him are more powerful than even he can understand.

Miracle Man was named by Amazon as one of the Top 100 Novels of 2015, an Amazon Top 10 thriller, an Amazon bestseller and an Amazon NY Times bestseller.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble


Tell us a little about yourself.
My full-time gig is being a lawyer in the entertainment/media industry.  I’ve always loved the written word and had a sensitivity to language, but in law – it’s non-fiction, of course.  As a writer, I’m interested in fiction.
When did you begin writing?
Miracle Man is my first book.  I’m pleased to say that it’s getting a terrific response from readers.
Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?
I plot with a detailed outline but the outline is often in flux and is modified.  I find that once I get deep into the writing, ideas come to me that often take me in directions that I did not necessarily anticipate when I did my outline.
Can you tell us about your most recent release?
Miracle Man tells the story of Robert James Austin, the greatest genius in human history (we’re talking 10X Einstein’s brain power), from the time of his birth and tragic childhood through his extraordinary accomplishments in curing diseases.  The book is a psychological/medical thriller with a fast paced twisting plot as Austin battles powerful forces, external and internal, that seek to destroy him. 
How did you get the idea for the book?
I wanted to create a believable modern day ‘super hero’ who is an ‘anti-celebrity’.  I thought that such a person could be inspirational when contrasted with the meritless celebrities that dominate media today (e.g., the reality TV stars who are famous for being famous, but have no real talent).   I also wanted Miracle Man to be the vehicle within which I could convey, in an entertainment context, certain spiritual and humanistic messages that are important to me.  One of the underlying themes in Miracle Man is the sanctity of each and every human life.  As the story of the protagonist unfolds, I think the reader will come to appreciate that one can never predict the ramifications of one person’s death.  Robert James Austin should have died as a new born, but he was saved in the most unlikely of manners; he then went on to change the world in extraordinary ways.  His life was not expendable.  We all are bombarded every day by statistics of death –how many people died in the latest war, or from famine, or epidemic or other manmade or natural cataclysm.  People’s lives are jumbled together by the media as meaningless numbers.  But what I want the reader of Miracle Man to think about ---is the individual.  That’s why Miracle Man begins with the quotation from Scriptures – “To destroy one life is to destroy an entire world, and to save one life is to save an entire world.”
In writing Miracle Man, I also wanted to get readers thinking about a real-life problem that affects us all. One of the powerful forces fighting Bobby Austin is “Big Pharma” which views him as their enemy since he cures diseases and thereby makes many of their “cash-cow” drugs obsolete.  In short, Austin is bad for their business.  Like Austin, I find it incomprehensible that virtually no major disease has been cured in over 50 years.  How can that be the case when so much money has been spent over the decades on research?  Simply put, there’s a lot more money in treating symptoms than there is in curing diseases.  Austin realized that Big Pharma has no interest in curing diseases.  It just wants to keep on selling expensive symptom treatments –and as we know, many people are on expensive ‘medication maintenance programs’ for years, sometimes for life.  Austin wanted to change that.  I think people need to start questioning Big Pharma on many fronts –from the price of drugs -- to why there aren’t more cures.

Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why?
My favorite is the protagonist, Robert James Austin.  Unlike him, I’m no genius—but in developing the peculiarities of his character (he’s a complex individual), I was able to imbue him with certain aspects of my personality that work well to make him believable as a flawed individual.  So, despite the disparity between his intelligence and mine, we share certain behavioral traits.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?
 I needed to do extensive research because of the nature of the plot in Miracle Man.  I researched two areas: (1) the nature of human intelligence (particularly genius), and (2) diseases, treatments, attempted cures—and the medical/scientific methodology relevant to formulating cures. Regarding #1 – I researched the lives of actual geniuses so that I could understand how genius manifests itself at various ages –and the behaviors often attendant to genius.  Because Robert James Austin has an intelligence that is unique in human history, I extrapolated from my research and “pumped up” various things about Austin so as to reflect his extraordinary abilities.  So while I highly magnified elements of Austin’s behavior and thought processes –they are grounded in documented realities.  Regarding the medical/scientific aspects of the book, I didn’t want to ask the reader to take giant leaps of faith when reading Miracle Man, so I knew that in order for the story to be credible, it had to have a plausible scientific foundation for the ways in which Austin invented cures and the way that the cures worked.  At the same time, however, I was mindful that I had to minimize the science so that it didn’t bore the reader.
Which authors have inspired your writing?
Michael Cricton, Ken Follet and Daniel Silva.
What projects are you currently working on?
Miracle Man is the first book in a trilogy.  I’m currently writing the second book.
What advice would you offer to new or aspiring authors?
Be your own toughest critic.  Set your standards high and don’t think you’re done until you know that you’ve done the absolute best that you can.

William R. Leibowitz is giving away one autographed copy of MIRACLE MAN, 5 e-copies and 4 pens!

Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • Ten winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive prizes.
  • This giveaway ends midnight May 31.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!







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