Book Blast! The Timber Stone by Dave Abare

 

We are pleased to be hosting Dave Abare's THE TIMBER STONE Book Blast today!

About the Book:

Title: The Timber Stone
Author: Dave Abare
Publisher: Hear Our Voice LLC
Pages: 306
Genre: Romantic “Dramedy”

Joshua Traxon, a former L.A.-based rock star, and B-list reality show fixture left L.A. for small-town Vermont hoping to write his memoir. Escaping a past filled with lies, reckless drunken behavior, salacious backstage tales, and death will push him to his limits, especially as he recounts it on paper for the world to read.

Josh and his frenetic pug Pickle have a routine: Josh drinks away his pain while struggling to write, and Pickle reminds him that he's still alive, with his infectious personality and boundless love. When Josh meets Laurel, his new neighbor, along with her precocious young boy, he'll struggle with that routine as he falls in love, attempting to evolve and reconcile with his boorish former persona. A tragic death that's haunted him for years will fight to pull him back to the edge of despair, but not before Laurel's own life-changing secret knocks Josh off his feet-and deeper into a bottle. Only a journey home, where he'll unearth a forgotten childhood relic, may save him from himself. If it's not too late.

Book Information

Release Date: October 26, 2022

Publisher: Hear Our Voice LLC

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1957913179; 306 pages; $16.99; eBook $.99; FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Efzf3R

Here's an excerpt you can enjoy...

When I lived out west, one of the roadies and guitar techs for my band, Jeremiah Stoven—what a name on that guy—showed up at my place with this nine-week-old puppy. It was wiggling and whining to get out of his arms, dead staring me, so he let it go and the dog was about to stroke out trying to climb up my leg. I sat down on the floor, and his wrinkled, smushed-in face released this maniacal tongue that wiped across every inch of my cheeks and chin as Jeremiah told me their dog had four puppies and this was the last one. He knew I was a dog nut and said he wanted me to have it. Ballsy move, just showing up with it, aware that I'd always been enamored with the critters. I hadn't had a dog in ages, so Jeremiah said, “It's time, dude,” and just left the two-pound hairball with me, almost four years ago now. Have to say, it was a near genius move on Jeremiah's part, arriving pup in hand, never letting me get a word in, and then vanishing as the canine was pissing on my Fender jazz bass. The little bugger had some accidents early on, but he was a quick study to housebreaking.

Pickle had decided, for reasons that only his tiny, deranged mind could know, that when he peed in the front yard of his new place, it would only happen on this one, now brownish spot of turf. He’d storm out of the house, perform his ritualistic dance of what I'd always called “devil circles,” where he’d speed in figure eights confined to a small stretch of earth, then explode into random darts and weaves with his tongue dangling and flopping like an uncooked slice of bacon out of the side of his mouth. Then, without warning, he’d make a beeline to ‘the spot’ and take a leak. I guess this lunatic expulsion of energy was formally called “the zoomies,” according to whatever experts study dogs going batshit nuts, and it was completely normal, but a sight to behold. He'd always done the frantic running, zoomy whatever it is, but the peeing on that specific patch was new behavior. Of course, I had just taken a small animal that had known the same home for his entire life across the country and plopped him in a place that looked entirely different than anything he'd experienced. There was one dainty tree in our backyard in L.A. that wasn't any taller than the fence that bordered our property, and now he's surrounded by hundreds that dwarf most of the houses we had on our old block.

Go ahead and take a leak wherever you want, buddy.

 

Let's Meet the Author!

Dave Abare was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and has spent most of his life in and around the Connecticut area. He became enamored with writing at a very young age, writing his first book, “Troll Island” at eleven years old. This work was never published, thankfully, but it was the beginning of a passion that has only intensified over his adult years.

His love of music led him to begin a part-time gig as a music writer, interviewing bands for his own “Fanzine” in the mid-eighties, including such Metal icons as Slayer, Metallica, and Anthrax, as well as bands such as Van Halen, Blues Traveler, Motorhead and Big Head Todd and the Monsters for other publications. In the last several years, Dave has spent his time working on short stories, poems, and his debut novel, “The Swing Over the Ocean,” which was, in his words, “a bit of a mess” in terms of editing, etc., but an invaluable self-publishing learning experience. Most recently, he’s completed work on his second novel, “The Timber Stone,” which is available for pre-order now.

In addition to writing and music, Dave enjoys reading, travel, cars, and Pugs (and all critters), as well as frequenting local New England wineries and breweries, with Tree House Brewing Co in Charlton, MA being his favorite. You can follow him @AbareDavey on Twitter or look for his Facebook Author Page.

For More Information

• Visit Dave Abare's website.
• Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter.
• Follow him on Instagram.

 

In the Spotlight: To Catch the Setting Sun by Richard I. Levine

 

 

There’s a killer loose on the island of Oahu…

By Richard I. Levine

Book Blurb

There’s a killer loose on the island of Oahu. His targets? Young, native-Hawaiian women. But it also appears that he’s targeting and taunting Honolulu police detective Henry Benjamin who knew each victim and whose wife, Maya, had been the first name on that list. In addition to battling his personal demons, this New York transplant’s aggressive style didn’t sit well with his laid-back colleagues who viewed Henry’s uncharacteristic lack of progress in the investigation as evidence that fueled ongoing rumors that he could be the killer. Was he, or could it have been someone within the municipal hierarchy with a vendetta? As it was, after thirteen years on the job Henry had been disillusioned with paradise. His career choice long killed any fantasy of living in a grass hut on a wind-swept beach, being serenaded by the lazy sounds of the ocean and a slack key guitar. Instead, it had opened his eyes to a Hawaii that tourists will never see.

Book Information

Release Date: August 22, 2022

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Soft Cover: ISBN:‎ 978-1509243297; 320 pages; $17.99; eBook $5.99

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Rl42Aw 

Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/3BRB0mv

Apple iBooks: https://apple.co/3dVBaBj

 

 

Book Excerpt

 

The reflection from scattered tiki torches competed with the moonlight flickering across the black velvet lagoon. Gentle trade winds, carrying the sweet peach-like scent of plumeria, tickled the flames and the palm fronds. Clearly a welcomed reprieve from five straight days of stifling temperatures. A catamaran and a couple small outrigger canoes, their artfully painted fiberglass hulls made to look like the wood of ancient Koa trees, were pulled up along the sandy shoreline. The heavy beat of drums reverberated off the tall palms and set the rhythm for a half-dozen pair of grass-skirted hips dancing on the main stage while vacationers laughed, ogled, and stuffed their faces with shredded pork, scoops of macaroni salad, steaming flavored rice wrapped in Ti leaves, thick slices of pineapple, papaya, mango, and freshly roasted macadamia nuts that were all artfully displayed on wide banana leaf covered center pieces. They sat cross-legged in the sand, sipping Mai Tais from plastic cups made to look like hollowed out coconut shells, lost in a tropical fantasy that came complete with a souvenir snap shot taken with an authentic hula girl—the perfect paradise as portrayed on the website. The noise from the music, chanting, and laughter, drowned out the frantic noise of the nearby kitchen, and it drowned out the desperate pleas and painful cries of Makani Palahia from the far side of the beach at Auntie Lily’s Luau Cove and Hawaiian Barbecue.

 

More...

 

 

 

 

About the Author

Richard I Levine is a native New Yorker raised in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. After dabbling in several occupations and a one-year coast to coast wanderlust trip, this one-time volunteer fireman, bartender, and store manager returned to school to become a chiropractor. A twenty-three-year cancer survivor, he’s a strong advocate for the natural healing arts. Levine has four Indy-published novels and his fifth work, To Catch The Setting Sun, is published by The Wild Rose Press and was released in August 2022. In 2006 he wrote, produced and was on-air personality of the Dr. Rich Levine show on Seattle’s KKNW 1150AM and after a twenty-five year practice in Bellevue, Washington, he closed up shop in 2017 and moved to Oahu to pursue a dream of acting and being on Hawaii 5-O. While briefly working as a ghostwriter/community liaison for a local Honolulu City Councilmember, he appeared as a background actor in over twenty-five 5-Os and Magnum P.Is. Richard can be seen in his first co-star role in the Magnum P.I. third season episode “Easy Money”. He presently resides in Hawaii.

Visit Richard’s Amazon Page or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Goodreads.

Sponsored By:

📖Authors To Watch: Thomas White Author of THE SIREN'S SCREAM #authorstowatch #interview

 

Thomas White began his career as an actor. Several years later he found himself as an Artistic Director for a theatre in Southern California and the winner of several Drama-Logue and Critics awards for directing. As Tom’s career grew, he directed and co-produced the world tour of “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out Of Their Shells”. The show toured for over two years, was translated into seven different languages and seen by over a million children. Tom served as President and Creative Director for Maiden Lane Entertainment for 24 years and worked on many large-scale corporate event productions that included Harley Davidson, Microsoft, Medtronic Diabetes, and dozens of others. The Siren’s Scream is Tom’s second novel that follows up Justice Rules which was nominated as a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2010 Literary contest.

Tom’s latest book is the mystery/horror, The Siren’s Scream.

Visit his website at www.thomas-white-author.com or connect with him at Facebook.

We welcome you to My Bookish Pleasures! Can you tell us how you got started writing fiction?

   My background is all in the theatre. I have been a theatrical director for many years. Telling stories is really the crux of directing and the transition to telling stories on paper seemed rather natural. The techniques are drastically different but the end result is the same. Your job is to emotionally stimulate and enthrall an audience member or a reader. Keeping their attention and creating an intriguing story is the true challenge for both.

Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?

   Being aware of the world around you is the most important element of storytelling. People read and enjoy what they can relate to. My process seems to start with a visual image or stimulation. My first novel, Justice Rules, came from the image of a father at a podium addressing the fact that the man who killed his son was just acquitted. The pain on his face hit a nerve and I began to wonder how he could possibly reconcile his grief and still believe in justice. From there, it's the seat of my pants, one action leads to a reaction that leads to a result. I had the beginning of the story in my head from the start and I knew, I thought, where I wanted to take it but events transpired during the process that took the book in a totally different direction. There is an element of improv when I write and just because the story doesn't go the direction I thought it would doesn't mean it's wrong. Being able to accept changes and exploit the most interesting elements of that change is what I find most exciting about writing. 

Can you tell us about your most recent release?

   My new novel is called 'The Siren's Scream'. It is set in a mansion on a cliff overlooking the town of Santa Cruz, CA. In local lore, the mansion has been responsible for many deaths over the course of the last 120 years and is considered haunted. In the backyard there is a giant tidepool, a man-made tide pool that holds some very strange inhabitants.

How did you get the idea for the book?

  This story came from the simplest of images. I was sitting on a dock and there was a school of fish swimming below. A slight altercation caused one of them to turn over and scoot away. As the fish rolled, the shimmering belly caught the sun and the colors reflected through the water. It was a beautiful sight that I am sure everyone has seen. The flash of color took me down the path of the mermaid and siren but I was resistant to the idea because it has been so exploited over the centuries. I attempted to write the book several times with no success. I didn't want the 'Siren sings a sailor to his death' story', I wanted a different take. One day, at a family dinner, we were having trouble with a particularly difficult sister, and I wondered about the origins of the mermaid. Do they have a past, family, heritage? This sparked my imagination and in my next attempt to write the story it began to take shape. 

Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why?

   I have a soft spot for the lead character, Darcy Wainwright. I really like the way she develops as the story moves along and how she grows from her experiences. She is the unwitting target of the rage of this vixen and responds in a brave and courageous manner. 

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?

   Lol! The answer is simple, writing it! Writing a novel is the most challenging thing I have ever done and the fact I have now done it twice astonishes me. The mechanics of writing is something that can be learned and thanks to Jessica Barksdale Inclan at UCLA, I learned those skills. However, writing is not just a skill. I learned how to write but knowing the techniques of writing doesn't give you the ability to describe the sunset. Stephan King says in his nonfiction book, "On Writing" "If you ever see a sentence such as, 'The sunset was indescribable.' fire that writer because his job is to describe the sunset." Other than the writer's cardinal rule, 'Show, don't tell.' I revert to that quote time and time again. I try to draw a picture in the reader's mind so that they can see, feel and hear the same things that the characters are experiencing. At the end of the day however, it's all about story and creating and moving the story forward. In my genre whenever I am stuck storywise the answer is simple, someone has to die. 

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring fiction authors?

   Keep writing. Write everyday. Doesn't matter if it's good or bad. Doesn't matter if it's 100 words or 1,000, keep writing. The Siren's Song was actually my first novel. I called it my practice novel and it was really bad. It sat in my file folder for years. When I eventually pulled it out again I realized that the story held together but it was just written so poorly. I took another swing at it, pretty much from scratch and before I knew it I had something of value. Had I just stopped all those years ago, I would have never completed it. I always tell people who wish to write, "Write! You can change something, you can't change nothing." I'm not a great writer but I feel that I am a terrific re-writer. You don't have to show your work to anyone until you feel ready to do so, consequently, you have nothing to lose by being bad. In the previous question I used the phrase, 'Show, don't tell.' Here is a simple example of how that works. 

   "Linda leaned against the side of the pool with a pink drink in her hand. Her husband, Paul, was across the pool flirting with a pretty blonde in a skimpy suit. Her blood boiled as she watched this woman touch his shoulder and she wanted to scream." 

   That is telling. I am telling you how she feels. This is showing:

   "Linda saw the perky blonde in the skimpy suit rub her husband's shoulder. Tossing her drink on the bar, she waded over, pushed Paul out of the way, and grabbed the woman by her perfect hair. In one strong motion she dunked her under the water. Pulling her up she said, "Stay away from my husband."

   Hopefully you can see the difference in how it reads. Always show us how your character feels, never tell us. It is significantly more effective. 

 

 

Title: The Siren’s Scream
Author: Thomas White
Publisher: Savvy Books
Pages: 492
Genre: Mystery/Horror

Blurb:

An old mansion sits atop of a cliff, overlooking the ocean, in Santa Cruz, CA. A young realtor, Darcy Wainwright, manages to sell the dilapidated old house to Henry Childs, an obese nebbish who is obsessed with the property. In the backyard is a pool. Not an ordinary pool but a giant tide pool. In the tide pool is a siren with an evil agenda for revenge.

The Thornton Mansion was a talisman for the death and mystery that surrounded it. Unoccupied for years until Henry Childs was summoned by the house. As directed, he reached out to unsuspecting, novice realtor Darcy Wainwright. Darcy finds herself intricately involved with the house, its history and the haunting tide pool that filled the backyard. It was the pool that beckoned her, and it was the pool that would decide if she lives or dies. The Siren’s Scream. Available on Amazon.

Book Information

Release Date: October 5, 2022

Publisher: Savvy Books

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1088067819; 480 pages; $21.14

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TEz7kx

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sirens-scream-thomas-white/1142494493?ean=9781088067819

Purchase your copy at the author’s website: https://thomas-white-author.com/

 

Happy Book Birthday to Operation DFC & Win A Free Copy!

 

We're thrilled to announce the release of Ashley Fontainne & Janelle Taylor's Operation DFC today! To help celebrate, we are asking our readers if you can please pretty please pick up a copy at Amazon and come back and tell us how you liked it or leave a review at Amazon? And don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of this page. Good luck! 

Congratulations, Ashley & Janelle, on your espionage military thriller new release, Operation DFC!

Arriving in Thailand for my first black-op, Operation DFC, as part of an elite team ready to act on recent intel that over a thousand men and/or their remains are still behind enemy lines, Bangkok is our last stopping point before slipping into Vietnam and extracting as many American prisoners as possible.

For me, this is personal. From 1971 to 1973, I was a POW; and now, ten years later, I work for the CIA under the fake identity of John Sims, Field Expert for Crop World, an international firm run by the agency.

While in my hotel room, the unthinkable happens. Bangkok may end up being my greatest challenge as my courage, patriotism, and honor are on the line, and I find myself in the toughest physical and mental battle of my life, wondering if Operation DFC will be my first, and last, covert mission.

Release Date: December 10, 2022

Publisher: Georgia Girl Press

Paperback: ‎ 979-8366909396; 360 pages; $15.99; Kindle $5.99

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3BKSodF 

You can also purchase at these retailers: https://books2read.com/u/mg1pBq

 

Book Excerpt:

Rescuing American soldiers out of grimy pits in Vietnam is my life’s mission, yet I’m fully aware it is also a sensitive issue for both governments. Bartering for their return costs money, and the source of the rescue funds and the intent of the mission are both unknown to the American public. They will remain a secret until someone with a higher paygrade releases the information.

No one wants to endanger this crucial operation with loose talk or create an uprising against the VC that could lead to another invasion. If anyone outside the circle of trusted players learns what we are attempting, it will create a stink bigger than Watergate or the Pentagon Papers. Worse, leaked knowledge of our covert op could blast the whole deal to smithereens, and those brave, broken men might never taste freedom again. They would vanish permanently, just as I could have a decade ago if someone hadn’t risked his life to liberate me.

I will not let that happen.

The soldiers, and their loved ones, deserve better.

Pulling out the next piece of paper, irritation rushes over me as I read the typewritten words:

When WM meets with RL and supplies the code, RL will then give LAT/LONG coordinates to the exchange location near Paracel Islands to WM, who will return to BK and page team leader, RD, at 202-555-1717, and send LAT/LONG intel. Ocean transport of the rescued cargo will begin the journey, and the cargo ship, Triumph, which contains the physical funds, will head to location. Exchange of cargo and funds will take place on board.

“What the hell? Now we’re giving these monsters cash? Why did they tattoo the banking code on me? Why did the plan suddenly change this late in the game? I’m bypassing Carter and giving info straight to RedDog? I don’t like this. Not at all.”

On instinct, I re-read it twice, imprinting RedDog’s pager number before flicking the lighter. The ashes flutter to the floor. Rubbing the remains out with my foot, irritation morphs into anger at this last-minute shift of important details.

Reaching inside the bag again, my fingers touch a familiar object—the grip of a pistol. Before I can make sense of why a firearm was provided and how I can sneak it on the plane without getting arrested, burning pain shoots up from my palm and straight to my brain. Dropping the gun, I look at my hand, noticing several tiny needle pricks in the palm milliseconds before my vision blurs.

The room spins as my throat locks up.

Collapsing to my knees, I gasp for air, wondering what kind of poison courses through my veins as a vortex of dizziness overtakes my mind, followed by ebony darkness.

About the Authors

Award-winning and International bestselling author, Ashley Fontainne, has written over 25 books, including the short thriller, Number Seventy-Five, which took home the BRONZE medal in fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. The paranormal thriller entitled The Lie won the GOLD medal in the 2013 Illumination Book Awards for fiction/suspense. An indie film based on this book, entitled Foreseen, is currently available on video-on-demand. Ruined Wings is about a young woman’s descent into drug addiction and is currently a short film. The movie is free to watch and share with others in hopes of starting a positive dialogue regarding addiction. https://ruinedwings.com/

Fatal Agreements won the 2019 Independent Audio Awards for best female narrator, Andrea Emmes.

Connect with Ashley to learn more about all her works:

Website: https://ashleyfontainne.net 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashley.fontainne/

 

Janelle Taylor has 9 NY Times Bestsellers and many awards along with over 65 million copies in print worldwide, plus ebooks. She is known as one of the “pioneers of the romance industry,” and one of the “legends of romance.” She is also listed on the Top 100 most famous Georgians. She has won many awards for her books.

Follow Janelle on Twitter @TaylorJanelle6 and Facebook.

Check her out on Amazon Author Pages: https://www.amazon.com/author/janelletaylor

Make sure to visit her official website https://www.janelletaylor.com/ to learn more about all her amazing titles!

 

 

 

Ashley Fontainne and Janelle Taylor are giving away two Kindle copies of Operation DFC!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• Two winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one copy of Operation DFC.
• This giveaway ends midnight December 15.
• Winner will be contacted via email on December 16.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

📖Authors To Watch: Sally Stevens Author of I SANG THAT #authorstowatch #interview

 

Sally Stevens is a singer/lyricist/choral director who has worked in film, television, concert, commercials and sound recording in Hollywood since 1960. She sings the main titles for The Simpsons and Family Guy and her voice can be heard on hundreds of film and television scores.  She has put together choirs for John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, and many others for film scores, and was choral director for The Oscars for 22 years. In the earlier years she toured with Ray Conniff, Nat King Cole and Burt Bachrach, and she has also written lyrics for Burt Bacharach, Don Ellis, Dominic Frontiere, Dave Grusin, and others.

Her short fiction, poetry and essays have been included in Mockingheart Review, The OffBeat, Raven’s Perch, Hermeneutic Chaos Literary Journal, Los Angeles Press, The Voices Project, and Between the Lines Anthology: Fairy Tales & Folklore Re-imagined.

Along with singing and writing, her other passion is photography, and her black & white photographs of film composers have been included in exhibitions at the Association of Motion Picture & Television Producers headquarters in Los Angeles, and at Cite de la Musique in Paris, France.

Website:  https://www.sallystevenswriter.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sallytwitshere

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sally.stevens.14

Welcome to My Bookish Pleasures. We would love to get to know you and your book. Can you tell us about I Sang That? What inspired you to write it?

I had been pursuing my passion for writing by running off to Iowa every summer - this would have been the 22nd summer were it not for the pandemic lockdowns. I took workshops in every genre - fiction, poetry, memoir, novel, playwriting - and as you sit with a group of twelve colleagues you find out what everyone does in their everyday life. Learning that I had worked in music for so many decades in Hollywood, people kept saying “Oh, you have to write a book!” When the pandemic was at its peak and I was pretty much a front-porch sitter, it was a perfect time to get chapters organized, edited and in order that I’d dabble with over the years. And I had ideas for new chapters, current emotions that had begun to surface etc. It was the perfect time to get the chapters together and ready to send out into the world!

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?

Keeping the subject matter in order, which I somewhat failed at, in terms of writing about some project or event in one chapter, and then referencing it again in another chapter. But it’s very hard to keep track of all those years! AND of course, trying not to say anything that would seem hurtful to the people who might read it. To be honest, to express my feelings, but at the same time be protective of the dignity of others.

Can you tell us a little about your background in music?

I always loved singing, and grew up in a family of musicians. I began to do solo work in high school, began to work a bit professionally in college, also had been writing songs all through high school. I majored in music, but knew my goal was not to work at a profession that would have required a degree. I wanted to perform, to work on music for TV, Film, Sound Recordings. When I was at UCLA, Herb Alpert and Lou Adler (partners at the time, before they each had accomplished such immense successes independently) produced a single record of me as an artist, singing two songs I wrote. Shortly after that I had a chance to audition for the first concert tour that Ray Conniff was to do as an artist. I got hired, and did that tour plus a 47-nighter bus concert tour in the fall of that same year. I learned so much about the business, and made so many connections to other singers in the business, that I never finished my senior year at UCLA. I just had a chance to start doing the work I longed to do, and continued to pursue it. I did several booking in Las Vegas in the years when there was a 15-minute production number preceding whoever was the headliner artist. I toured with Nat King Cole and then began to get more connected with the music community and the jobs began to come in steadily, for Variety TV, for film scores, for sound recordings, and back in the seventies for commercials quite often.

Of everyone in the music industry that you have met, who do you admire the most and why is that?

Of course, in the early days, it was heart-pounding to be in the studio with Frank Sinatra. He’s still my favorite singer, alongside of James Taylor.

But I have such admiration for John Williams, who I’ve sung for and assembled choirs for. He is of course so brilliantly talented, but also is one of the most gracious and kind, humble people in the business. I also greatly admire Seth McFarlane, creator of Family Guy and American Dad, and his live-action series The Orville. He is a wonderful singer himself – very much Sinatra style – and such a respecter of music, of “live” musicians. He scores all his shows with live orchestras, unlike what has happened with so many projects now scored with synths and sound effects. Seth McFarlane is one of the most delightful, sweet people in our business - and so extraordinarily creative and funny.

You've also done vocals for The Simpsons and others. How did you get into that aspect of show business?

I had worked on several of Danny Elfman’s early film scores, and when he was asked to write a main title for a new animated show in the works at Fox, he hired me to also sing on it. Little did any of us know how successful that show would become, and that our main title would still be airing thirty-three years later! Along the way I got acquainted with the music team at Fox TV, and was referred to work on other projects. Alf Clausen was the primary composer for The Simpsons for 28 years. We did so many fun vocal source cues - the village folks singing some silly song, and often I got to do a “sound alike” excerpt from some currently popular song, for the end title credits. TV, Film, Sound Recordings - they are all kind of cross-over areas of work, and draw from the broader community of session singers like me. I’ve just been so very lucky over the years, to have established relationships along the way, and to be relied on to assist with union information, rates, etc. AND to assemble groups of singers who I knew so well and worked with - whose voice works well with whose, etc. The term Vocal Contractor became part of our SAG union contracts, though I did not do any contracting until after I’d just worked as a solo and ensemble singer for about 20 or so years. It was a wonderful extension of my work activities, and I think also extended my working years by quite a bit.

Do you still sing?

Indeed I do! I am working on a Family Guy vocal session next week, and did a couple of film calls last month. It’s slowed down, as one might expect; the other young singers deserve their time! But I'm so grateful to still have activity going on. So far the voice still seems to work! I’m an incessant hummer, which drives some folks (like my daughter) crazy! It’s unconscious - I don’t even know I’m doing it. But I’m told that the humming has really helped to keep the vocal cords in shape.

What projects are you currently working on now that your book is published?

I have a novella length fiction that is sort of “magical realism” that I’ve worked on for years. I would love to get that out into the world. Each chapter has sort of its own adventure within, but the main characters are Mrs. Naomi Billingsley, a mid-west woman at empty-nest age of her life, and her psychiatrist, who is nuttier than a fruit cake. She lives in her mind much of the time, and he accepts those adventures as real, and tries to deal with them, so their sessions are quite interesting. At least they were fun for me - I hope they’ll be fun and interesting to others!

 

Title: I Sang That: From The Sound of Music to The Simpsons to South Park and Beyond
Author: Sally Stevens
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Pages: 390
Genre: Memoir

This book is a personal journey behind the scenes into the world of music-makers who created the film scores, television music, sound recordings, commercials and concert evenings over the last sixty years.

 It’s about a long singing career that began in 1960 with concert tours – Ray Conniff, Nat King Cole, and later, solo work in concert with Burt Bacharach – to thirty years of vocals and main titles for The Simpsons, vocals for Family Guy…vocals on hundreds of film & television scores & sound recordings, plus twenty-two years as Choral Director for the Oscars. It’s also the personal story of growing up in a “his, hers and theirs” family in the forties and fifties, and how a shy little girl became a second-generation singer in the ever-evolving music business of Hollywood.

Release Date: October 25, 2022

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

Soft Cover: 978-1639885510; 390 pages

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GmcBJD

Book Blast! Sapphires in Snow by Amy Schisler

 

Cindy never had a real home or a real Christmas, and Jackson plans to leave home as soon as Christmas is over; they never planned on meeting each other, but now secrets from Cindy’s past threaten both of their futures…

By Amy Schisler

Book Blurb

The little white house on Main Street in Buffalo Springs, Arkansas, is the only home Jackson Nelson has ever known. With college behind him and both his sisters back in town to look after their aging parents, Jackson knows now is the time to make his big move. All he’s ever wanted is to move to New York and lead the high-stakes life of a real estate investor. He’s determined to leave town right after Christmas and never look back.

Cindy Kline has never had a real home or a real Christmas. Abandoned by her father and raised by an unfit mother, Cindy thought she had finally found the family she always wanted when the man of her dreams asked her to marry him; but when his Navy SEAL helicopter went down in a fiery crash before their wedding, Cindy had nothing left to keep her in sunny California. Packing her meager belongings into her old, beat-up car, Cindy drives straight to Buffalo Springs and to the only real friend she’s ever had – Andi Nelson. With Christmas around the corner, Andi, Jackson, and the whole Nelson family convince Cindy to stay through the holidays even finding her a job that may turn out to be a real career.

Just when Cindy is beginning to get into the Christmas spirit, her life is once again up-ended – this time by a series of break-ins and the news that her dangerous father may be lurking nearby. Cindy has no idea that her father’s mysterious past will put her life in jeopardy, and Jackson has no idea that the bright lights of New York are but a flickering flame when it comes to the sparks of the heart.

Release Date: November 11, 2022

Publisher: Chesapeake Sunrise Publishing

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VsSVst 

Target: https://bit.ly/3uEJVop 

Walmart: https://bit.ly/3UuxwOe 

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3B5L8IX 

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/mZEXgR

Book Excerpt  

And unto you a child is born!” The child actor belted out the play’s most robust line with all the enthusiasm he could muster. 

It was all Cindy could do not to jump to her feet and applaud. She laughed and clapped along with the rest of the audience. When the play was over, she went with the Nelson family to the town drug store that boasted an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and soda fountain in the back of the store. The proprietor had kept the doors open late to welcome the theatergoers.

“What would you like?” Jackson asked as Cindy eyed the many choices written on the blackboard.

“There are too many to choose just one.”

Jackson laughed. “Andi is partial to anything with peanut butter, and Helena always goes for something super sweet and fruity like cherry or raspberry. Mama likes plain old chocolate.”

She looked at Jackson. “And what do you like, Jackson?”

She saw his expression falter for just a moment, and a curtain of pink danced across his features, reminiscent of the curtains that closed at the end of the show. He blinked and just as quickly as the odd look appeared, it disappeared, and he broke into a wide grin. 

“I always go for a good, old-fashioned root beer float with vanilla ice cream.”

“Would you believe, I’ve never had a root beer float?”

The look he gave her was one of exaggerated shock. “What? That might be the most un-American thing I’ve ever heard.” He clutched at his chest. “A shot to the heart.”

Cindy laughed, and Andi inserted herself between them to grab some extra napkins from the top of the ice cream display case. 

“Is this guy bothering you?” she asked with a mock scowl.

Cindy shook her head. “Not at all. This has been one of the best nights of my life, and I’m going to top it off with my very first root beer float.”

Andi smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”

On their turn, Jackson ordered for them both then reached for his wallet to pay, but Cindy put her hand on his arm.

“Jackson, no, I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can pay for my own ice cream. You all have been so generous already.”

“Sorry, Cindy, but my daddy would skin me alive if he heard that I allowed a female to pay for her own ice cream.”

She frowned and said in a firm voice, “Jackson, this isn’t a date. I can pay for my own ice cream.”

Again, she saw his face redden. “I never said it was a date, and you should accept an act of kindness when presented with one.”

The cashier cleared her throat, and Cindy realized they were holding up the line. Embarrassed for drawing attention, she said, “You’re right. Go ahead and pay, but I owe you.”

“That’s fair. On the next family outing, you can buy me ice cream.”

Cindy accepted her root beer float from the young girl behind the counter and took a sip. She didn’t know how to respond to Jackson. She wasn’t part of the ‘family’ and didn’t know if she’d be there for the next outing. Rather than agree, she concentrated on her float and sat quietly while listening to the rest of them banter about Christmas and New Year’s and the June wedding. She couldn’t help but wonder what she would be doing by then and where she would be.

As she ate, Cindy felt a peculiar tingling on the back of her neck. She looked around, peering up and down the streets. Other families hovered nearby, eating ice cream, and several couples walked along the sidewalk. It looked like everyone in town had come out to see the play. None of the other theater goers paid any attention to Cindy or the Nelsons, and Cindy had no reason to be paranoid, but she could not shake the eerie feeling that she was being watched. 

More...

 

About the Author

Amy Schisler is a novelist, poet, children’s book author, spiritual writer, blogger, reader, and avid traveler with years of professional experience in all manner of writing-related endeavors. Whether she’s writing novels filled with faith and inspiration, books that children will love, or her weekly blog devoted to family life and faith, she loves connecting and resonating with her readers. Amy’s first novel, A Place to Call Home, a romantic suspense, debuted in 2014, and her much-loved Chincoteague Island Trilogy has won numerous literary awards.

Amy lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her husband, Ken, their daughters, Katie and Morgan (and sometimes their daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca and Anthony), and their dogs, Rosie and Luna. When she’s not writing, Amy can usually be found on a boat in the Chesapeake Bay or hiking in the Rocky Mountains, most often with a good book in her hand.

Website: http://amyschislerauthor.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amyschislerauth

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/amyschislerauthor 

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/amyschislerauthor

Sponsored By: