Thursday, June 30, 2016

Book Feature: What Am I Waiting For? by Terry Hite



 

Inside the Book:


Title: What Am I Waiting For 
Author: Terry Hite 
Publisher: iUniverse 
Genre: Self-Help 
Format: Ebook

You’ve probably sought out advice from someone to help you solve a problem, achieve a goal or just to help you get moti vated on a certain project. Or perhaps you’ve found yourself giving out lots of advice—and wondering if you were telling others the right things. There is nothing worse than sending someone you care about in the wrong direction. In this guidebook to getti ng what you want and helping others do the same, life coach Terry Hite explains the benefits of having a life coach.

You can learn how to
 • appreciate the benefits that a life coach provides;
• ask questions that can help you find the right coach;
• develop the confidence you need to pursue your goals; and
• improve your relationships with others.

Hite also shares ways to avoid five common practices that stifle the growth of the human spirit.

Often, we engage in these practices without realizing how detrimental they are, unaware that they’ve been instilled in us gradually over a long period of time. Take steps to find the right life coach, define your objectives, and start achieving results. What are you waiting for? Get a life coach now, and change your life!

Meet the Author:

Terry Hite grew up in the suburbs of New York City. He is a life coach and speaker living in the Queen City—otherwise known as Charlotte, North Carolina.

Giveaway

Terry is giving away a $25 Gift Card!

 
Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
  • This giveaway begins June 27 and ends on July 8.
  • Winners will be contacted via email on July 9.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

Book Feature: Minutes of Love in the Hours of Life by Oscar R. Rocha



 

Inside the Book:


Title: Minutes of Love in the Hours of Life 
Author: Oscar R. Rocha 
Publisher: iUniverse 
Genre: Poetry 
Format: Ebook

Minutes of Love in the Hours of Life speaks from the heart about love and life, the joy of life seen from different cornres of the world. A love that inspires and takes you to a parallel place through time and space, I call it the stand-still phase, where positive emotions and feelings flow freely within and into those you love. "...the warmness of your essence, fluxing in a radiant rythm, ...your angelical gaze, which sings of that sweet fire within you..."

Meet the Author:
Born and raised in Peru. By 13 years of age have traveled througout South America and started to write. In 1991 moved to Virginia, USA. By 20 years of age traveled throughout Western Europe and focused my writings to essays about human values and poetry about love and life. In 2001 joined the US ARMY, served with the 82nd Airborne Division in active combat. Currently living in Northern Virginia, recently received a B.S. in Biology, interested in public health, the human spirit, acts of random kindness, global cultural diversity and realities.

Giveaway

Oscar is giving away a $25 Gift Card!

 
Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
  • This giveaway begins June 27 and ends on July 8.
  • Winners will be contacted via email on July 9.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!


Book Feature: Visions in the Dark by Iain Morrison



 

Inside the Book:


Title: Visions in the Dark 
Author: Iain Morrison 
Publisher: AuthorHouse 
Genre: Thriller 
Format: Ebook

When all sorts of accusations, denials, revelations, disclosures, and leaks are swarming and spilling around the security agencies of the United Kingdom and the USA, it is worse when the Snowden effect erupts. A bruised and slightly disillusioned Commander Elaine Black, training officer and senior security advisor at GCHQ Bude Listening Facility, is plunged into a bewildering and dangerous battle to make sense of and counter a desperate threat to British Security. Headless bodies, fire bombings, threats of chemical warfare unloosed on a small West Country town, apparently straightforward murders and the killing of a policeman make Elaine Black thankful for the involvement of a pair of incorruptible and driven police detectives and the experience and expertise that they bring to the party. However, as the stakes get higher and higher, Elaine is further gratified to have two old fighting companions on side. The question is, can the team confound the multinational conspiracy that stretches to the highest echelons of British and American financial and political establishments?

Meet the Author:

Iain’s first novel, “Like an Ocean Shelf,” which was published in 2012, was set in the Scottish Highlands of his birth and upbringing. After moving to Devon to escape the rain and midges, Iain has written another thriller, this time set in beautiful North Devon but involving some familiar characters. Iain has also recently had a volume of two children’s novels published. Corrie’s Timeless Travels and Travails. There are two fantasy/time travelling stories loosely set in the Highlands of Scotland and suitable for juvenile-plus age groups. 

Giveaway

Iain is giving away a $25 Gift Card!

 
Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
  • This giveaway begins June 27 and ends on July 8.
  • Winners will be contacted via email on July 9.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!


Book Review: Tours and Cures of a Lightsoldier by Alexander King

Title: Tours and Cures of a Lightsoldier
Author: Alexander King
Publisher: O Books
Pages: 370
Genre:  Self-Help/Self-Discovery/Spirituality

Tours and Cures of a Lightsoldier is a revolution in the Self-help book world. It shakes up the status-quo, by questioning and uncovering the illogical, cold-hearted or incomplete in spiritual teachings. But Alexander King then attempts to find understandings which allow for the Divine and the basis of Life to be truly loving and intelligent again. Perhaps to keep ascending on the spiritual path one has to keep evolving ones self-help literature as well? Tours and Cures of a Lightsoldier does not just stand still, and repackages existing esoteric teachings – it is moves forward with brutal honesty, but thorough positivity!

Tours and Cures of a Lightsoldier tells the true story of one person’s incredible quest for self-discovery, and the answers to why we are here and what exactly we should be doing with our lives. From an inquisitive childhood, full of promise and expectation, we follow Alexander down a much murkier path to the all consuming world of a modern day cult. And then a battle for identity ensues…

Initially Alexander King, studying for a medical degree at the time, did just want to learn about Spiritual Healing, but the Teacher/Guru he found turned out to be the manipulative and sociopathic kind. A great battle for survival, to de-mask the Guru, and ultimately to de-program himself again ensued.

From this baptism with fire a stronger, more grounded Alexander emerged. All was not all well yet though, as after the cult, a few years of Chronic Fatigue followed. They gave Alexander the chance though to really test all sorts of spiritual tools and teachings on himself, to see which could actually stand up to the often so high flying promises they come with. In recent years Alexander King has worked as a full time masseur and healer and, through his dealings with many different clients, has learned even more about energies, and how they appear to work on this planet. In his practice Alexander King endeavours to help his clients to better health, healing and ‘enlightenment’ in a realistic manner.

Tours and Cures of a Lightsoldier starts as a personals story but finishes as a most unique and encompassing encyclopaedia of esoteric practices and teachings.

My Review:

When I found out this book was available for review, I knew I just had to read it.  Before I go into my review, let me tell you a little about my background.  I am so into finding spiritual enlightenment.  I visit A.R.E. in Virginia Beach regularly.  Walking the labyrinth is a ritual I don't take lightly.  Every time I come away feeling spiritually refreshed.  So when I agreed to review Alexander King's Tours and Cures of a Lightsoldier: Surviving the Path to Enlightenment, I knew I was in for a spiritual treat.

I loved it when he said, "Any part of our life is just ‘a part’ of the whole experience. If a part is testing, it is best to learn potential lessons, forgive and move on." Omg, this is so much the same beliefs I have.  I believe life to be a journey on a path towards Higher Self.  Some people make it; some do not, but it's what King said in that paragraph - it's all part of the whole experience and lessons learned. If we go through life not learning any lessons, then our stay on Earth has not been fully attained.  It's those experiences that mold us into who we are meant to be and the best we can be.

We follow the author in his quest to learn more about life and - more importantly to himself - learn about spiritual healing.  He found it fascinating but wanted to find out fact from fiction before he felt comfortable enough.  This book is a spiritual road trip that is not only fascinating to read but helps the ordinary layman learn things they might not have knows. I learned quite a bit myself and came away with a better understanding of what it is to be a lightsoldier.

I give this book 5 book trees.

Book Feature: The Junior Officer Bunkroom by J.J. Zerr

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Inside the Book:

The Junior Officer Bunkroom
Title: The Junior Officer Bunkroom 
Author: J.J. Zerr 
Publisher: iUniverse 
Pages: 282 
Genre: Military 
Format: Ebook

It is 1970, and Jon Zachery is a young United States Navy pilot who wants nothing more than to gain combat experience during the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, his patriotic sacrifice is of no value to the navy or the nation. His squadron has been slated to decommission with most of its pilots destined for dead-end jobs. As the pro-war lieutenant awaits his orders and drowns his sorrows in whiskey, his wife, Teresa, prays and hopes for a better tomorrow. Navy Lieutenant Amos Kane is a natural stick-and-throttle jockey who is known as Cool Hand Duke in the air and a prankster on the ground. As his dreams of being an attack pilot in ’Nam are taken away, he begins dating Charlotte Wilkins, who convinces him to adopt an antiwar philosophy. When orders cause Zachery and Kane’s paths to converge in a bunkroom aboard an aircraft carrier in the Tonkin Gulf, it quickly becomes evident that the two lieutenants have vastly different viewpoints. As tragedy strikes and antagonism escalates, everyone discovers just how quickly life can change. In this military thriller, the paths of two navy pilots come together in a JO bunkroom during the Vietnam War where their perspectives clash, instigating life-changing consequences.

ORDER INFORMATION
The Junior Officer Bunkroom is available for order at
amazon

Meet the Author:

J. J. Zerr is a United States Navy and Vietnam veteran who holds bachelor and master’s degrees in engineering. He has published poetry, short stories, and other novels. J. J. and his wife reside in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. Visit the author’s website at www.authorjjzerr.com.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Book Feature: Exploding the Big Bang Theory by Joseph Donnelly

Exploding the Big Bang Theory

 

Inside the Book:

Exploding the Big Bang Theory

Title: Exploding the Big Bang Theory 
Author: Joseph Donnelly 
Publisher: AuthorHouse 
Genre: Religion 
Format: Ebook

The essence of this my third effort at publication now stands to be the true basis of our human species new working philosophy. My main interest is of our relationship with God on all fronts. Simple when realised we under the split headings of humanity in tribe, clan, national or of different skin colour configurations, have amassed over 10.000 religious philosophies to meet our personal needs. Of which none seem to work for all over the limit of tribe, clan national or colour configuration?! Because of the very modern sophisticated trend of rejecting God, generally understood to have been the creator; and in using the guessed at elements of how science really works or had been given credit for how it must work. Many in that field of study have felt qualified enough to snub those 10,000 religions by stating there never is or was God in any case? My personal stand and standards revolve around humanity in us, getting the understanding of God right in the first place, but slightly askew in the opinion we were expressly chosen by God to promote enlightenment upon the universe! Yes we got it right, there is God, and no arguments can be valid against this acceptance. To endorse that statement I have been able and commit my to be our understanding of how and why God set the clock of creation from the beginning of all time, now scientifically proved by us, through the open discovery of the God particle, much more than a scientific phenomena? . Part of my style and method stands to the terms of all religions in best choice to be monotheistic by character. This fits with the full progress of all histories naturally connecting with the future of self. Self to be the individuals we each are, but hailed to be of species over tribe, clan, colour or national. Our monotheistic relationship stands also to self, in that however we are in style by colour or creed. We will meet to be the same image of God as seen in self, but only able to manage that wonderful spectacle on Gods terms from our solid belief in God, reality, and our future! See what you think, when from now you can also evaluate the latest of sciences exposé’s over and above some of the scientific ranting of how any form of intelligent life began, but more importantly, why, remembering we are here on Gods terms not ours!

Giveaway

Joseph is giving away a $25 Gift Card!

 
Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
  • This giveaway begins June 27 and ends on July 8.
  • Winners will be contacted via email on July 9.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Book Feature: A World Between by Robert M. Herzog

Inside the Book:

Title: A World Between
Author: Robert Herzog
Publisher: Story Plant
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Ecopy/Paperback

Parts of the world have disappeared. For a while, nobody notices. Or cares. But as an increasing number of voids disrupt the fabric of reality, threatening the foundation of our world, they propel some of the greatest minds on the planet to determine what force, godlike or human, is behind the change. Now they must race to stop a dread emptiness before it leads to global oblivion. A breathtaking novel that thrills on both an epic and human scale, A WORLD BETWEEN is an adventure at the frontiers of consciousness, where fractal geometry, quantum physics, and politics collide to create a story unlike any you’ve ever read.
 photo addtogoodreadssmall_zpsa2a6cf28.png photo B6096376-6C81-4465-8935-CE890C777EB9-1855-000001A1E900B890_zps5affbed6.jpgB&N

Meet the Author

 
Robert M. Herzog has had his stories and poems published in Solstice Literary Magazine, Toasted Cheese, Downstate Story Magazine, Straylight Literary Arts Magazine, and South Jersey Underground. He was a physics major until he read Nietzsche, a political philosopher turned entrepreneur dealing with the major issues of our time, from energy and environment to technology and health care, a Brooklyn boy who’s climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and remembers the taste of the first (and subsequent) great wine he drank.
 

Cover Reveal: Dirty Deeds by AJ Nuest


 

Inside the Book:



Title: Dirty Deeds 
Author: AJ Nuest 
Release Date: January 31, 2017 
Publisher: Lyrical Press 
Genre: Romantic Suspense 
Format: Ebook

An Eye for an Eye

As owner of Dirty Deeds, a tech-savvy company specializing in the age-old art of revenge, Eden Smith knows first-hand that secrecy is critical. But when a dead body washes up on the shores of Lake Michigan clutching her business card, Eden’s well-constructed world begins to fall apart. Apparently, she’s not the only one with a passion for payback, and staying alive to outsmart a killer has become her most important job of all.

A Game for a Game

Hardened homicide detective Kelly Riordan is convinced Eden Smith is hiding more than she’s willing to admit. Years on the force have taught him that nothing is what it seems, and that couldn’t be truer than when it comes to investigating the alluring owner of a revenge-for-hire business. But revealing her past could put everything Eden has worked for in jeopardy. And trusting a man like Riordan goes against the very instincts that have kept her alive this long.

  amazon goodreads

Meet the Author:

Multi-published award-winning author and editor, AJ Nuest, resides in Northwest Indiana with her loving husband, two beautiful children and a bevy of spoiled pets. Her four-part serial fantasy romance, The Golden Key Chronicles, was recently named the RONE Time Travel Romance of 2015 by Ind’Tale Magazine, and her contemporary romantic comedy, She’s Got Dibs won First Place in the Heartland Romance Author’s Show Me the Spark! Contest, 2013. She and the cat are currently vying for dictatorship. The cat is winning.

You can visit her website at http://ajnuest.com
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Monday, June 27, 2016

Interview with Thorn Osgood, author of 'The Reclamation'



Thorn Osgood was born in Thomasville, Georgia, and grew up in South Florida. During her grade school years, her father read her stories that fed her imagination. Through the years, she has traveled many times to that special place in her mind to imagine fantastic yarns and what ifs and she has finally started to write them down. This is her debut work. Thorn currently lives in Crawford County, Georgia with her Mittelschnauzer, Raskoph, and his stray cats, Grayball and Tweeky.

His latest book is the scifi fantasy, The Reclamation.

For More Information
About the Book:

Title: THE RECLAMATION
Author: Thorn Gould
Publisher: Mind Wings Audio
Pages: 595
Genre: Scifi/Fantasy

Corilan, 25, is an IT project manager by day, and spends her free time involved in ecological organizations endeavors. When her long-absent negligent father, Nolan, wants to see her she’s annoyed. Finally, she decides to see him and despite the friction over his absence, from that meeting her life evolves. Nolan tells her of his birthright, an environmental organization, the School of Ancestral Guidance (SAG) and its members having ancestral guides. This clarifies Corilan’s gift, a voice inside, something she has never revealed. Knowledge of SAG feeds her obsession against environmental destruction.

Then an invisible entity, Earthos, manifests itself to her and proposes assistance in uniting people that want earth preservation. Years, she has been seeking a way to unite conservationist factions and still has no solution. Inspired by her inheritance, she accepts Earthos’ proposal and infuses with him. Then, she joins the SAG organization. From her infusion, she soon discovers abilities, among them lightning bolt generation, mind reading and control.

Armed with powerful abilities and her ancestral guide, Corilan must take an unexpected path. Then she discovers who her real enemies are and must find a way to defeat them.

For More Information

  • The Reclamation is available at Amazon.
  • Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
  • The book is also available at Kobo.
  • Read a preview of his book at his website.
  • Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Thanks for this interview, Thorn.  Can we begin by having you tell us about yourself from a writer’s standpoint?

I have been writing for my own pleasure for a decade but have not published any of my works. When an idea came to me that had some fresh aspects, I decided to write with a goal to publish. For me, it was a big step to present my work to the public at large. The Reclamation is my debut story and with great passion I have already begun drafting the third book of the School of Ancestral Guidance Saga.

When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation and/or fun?

For relaxation I like to watch movies, a compelling series on Netflix or play with my dog, Raskoph.

Congratulations on your new book! Can you give us the very first page of your book so that we can get a glimpse inside?
Chapter 1

Corilan closed the back door to her new place and carefully removed her siec, making sure the acidic residue of atmospheric particles did not make contact with anything. After taking off her gloves, she removed her ENAZ mask and placed it on one of the moving crates nearby. She examined her siec; a cloak made of biodegradable mesh that served as a sieve to catch and block atmospheric particles. The particles grew heavier after dark and attached to the fabric, creating large clumps of acidic residue that could easily rub off on her skin or quickly eat through more vulnerable materials. Two more wears, she figured. After she shoved her gloves in one of the siec’s pockets, she hung the cloak on the coatrack by the back door. The visibility lens and nasal filters in the mask could be cleaned later.
For nearly five years, this was the process she had gone through daily to go outside, and she was pissed. Life did not have to be this way—it was a widely known fact that the deterioration of the environment was caused by the actions of humans. Yet industry and national leadership chose to do nothing; nothing that was truly effective. She dreamed of finding a way to resolve the environmental problems, in spite of the indifference of corporate CEOs and government leaders. Her body became rigid, her teeth clenched; her hands tensed and became fists at the thought. Those avaricious, self-serving bastards! To lead opposition against the environmental status quo and reverse the damage, that’s what she wanted.

Would you say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to getting your book written and published or pretty much smooth sailing?  Can you tell us about your journey?

I would have to say, it has definitely been a long journey in getting to the point of publishing. The idea for this book came to me in 2010 and was initially scraps and notes. By 2012 I had begun to compile the bits and pieces and the following year, I began the rewrites. Upon engaging editorial assistance, I completed more rewrites. Then after much contemplation on whether to take the traditional publishing path or the self-publishing path, I decided to self-publish. Once the decision was made, I developed a plan on how to proceed.

If you had to summarize your book in one sentence, what would that be?

Original

What makes your book stand out from the rest?

The storyline delves into Earth's environment as it relates to our current and potential problems and crises revealed through the experiences of Corilan Troxler as she attempts to unite citizens in Earth guardianship. The aspects of the story include: Invisible aliens living among the people of Earth and one that makes a deal with Corilan; an elite organized lineage of people that are committed to Earth conservation but are losing their influence in government; and the industrial corporations of the trades—their rejection of ecology and their reaction to improvements made by others. How these factions come together and the action that is taken for Earth’s evolution is unique and original.

If your book was put in the holiday section of the store, what holiday would that be and why?

Earth Day would be appropriate since its organization’s mission is to build the world’s largest environmental movement.

Would you consider turning your book into a series or has that already been done?

The Reclamation, is book 1 of The School of Ancestral Guidance Saga and will be followed by four more books.

What’s next for you?

I will continue to work on The School of Ancestral Guidance Saga. The second book, Wayning Chance is in the editing process now and I am working on book three.

Interview with Stephen Martino, author of THE HIDDEN REALITY



Stephen Martino is neurologist practicing in New Jersey. Though not separating conjoined twins like Dr. Ben Carson, he is part of an active medical practice and is currently participating in concussion research and inventing new medical products. When he is not working, he can be found with his five children doing homework or cheering them on at a soccer field, basketball court, or dance recital. Martino is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Cub Scout den leader and is an active public speaker, helping to provide stroke education to the local community, EMS squads and healthcare professionals.

His latest book is the science fiction/political thriller, The Hidden Reality.
For More Information
About the Book:

In the year 2084, the brilliant inventor, Alex Pella, finds himself at a precarious crossroad between the pursuit of justice and preservation of his own sanity. While attempting to undermine an international New World Order government created by the financial juggernaut known as The New
Reality, he must also face the hidden truths about his own genetic heritage that are slowly destroying him. After receiving an ambiguous message sent from a former New Reality executive who died 2 years prior, Alex learns that the only possible means to confront this New World Order is to defeat a long-forgotten enemy almost 2500 years old.

THE HIDDEN REALITY is the second stand-alone novel in a trilogy starring Alex Pella, created by New Jersey-based neurologist and entrepreneur Stephen Martino. With his fusion of history, politics, and science fiction, Martino joins such masters of the thriller genre as Dan Brown, James Rollins, and Michael Crichton.

Martino’s villain is a corporation run by a cadre of ruthless international bankers known as The New Reality. Directed by the most corrupt and morally unscrupulous of the bunch, Myra Keres, the company has economically seized control of the world’s governments and the population’s personal freedoms in the process. In order to save humanity from this despot ruler and the unwonted atrocities to which she plans to perpetuate on the world, Alex Pella must infiltrate the company and face an enemy that has unknowingly haunted both him and history for almost 2500 years.

Martino says he wrote THE HIDDEN REALITY more than just to entertain the reader. He wanted to create a modern day Orwellian ANIMAL FARM to allegorically forewarn his readers of a possible dystopia future that awaits all of mankind if humanity continues to proceed down its path of self-destruction.

In THE HIDDEN REALITY, Martino has included such hot-button contemporary topics as genetic cloning, unprecedented economic debt, the rise of big government, and the threat of a New World Order run by the economic elite, while bringing the reader back almost 2500 years into the past when the ancient city state nation known as Greece fought the mighty Persian Empire for world domination.

All of these elements, Martino maintains, separate his book from the pack. He calls THE HIDDEN REALITY “issue-oriented fiction. There are real concerns facing society today that threaten both the sovereignty and prosperity of our future generations. Though fictional, my novel addresses some of these issues and predicts the potential consequences we face as a nation and the world if they are not properly addressed today.”

For More Information


Thanks for this interview, Stephen.  Can we begin by having you tell us about yourself from a writer’s standpoint?

I come from a completely nonliterary background. With a B.S. in Biochemistry and M.D. in medicine, fictional reading was placed on the backburner for years as I poured through scientific and medical books and journals. My love of fiction was again ignited when the Harry Potter series was first published. I would sit with my oldest daughter and read her the books an hour or two each night.

In addition to a scientific and medical background, I also have a great love of history, current affairs, and political theory. Though it may seem like an eclectic mix, keeping abreast of each topic makes me better understand the seemingly endless chaos and turmoil which increasingly plagues the planet. In the end, I attempt to combine all my training and interests together in order to create novels that not only tell a story but also have the reader thinking long after they finish reading it.

When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation and/or fun?

Congratulations on your new book! Can you give us the very first page of your book so that we can get a glimpse inside?

October 11, 1786 Landsbut, Bavaria

THE HYPNOTIC MELODY of the whistling wind and the patter of raindrops hitting the roof ordinarily proved more comforting to Xavier von Zweck than the most angelic lullaby. On this night, the grandfather clock had just chimed 2:00 a.m., and Xavier could barely close his eyes, let alone fall asleep.

Insomnia was no friend of his but had become an accustomed bedtime partner over the past year. Though the night was unusually warm and muggy for a Bavarian October, Xavier pulled another quilted blanket over his body, covering himself as if he were trying to make a cocoon.

“Xavier?” his wife mumbled, half asleep. “You’d rest better with the lamp off.”

“Mind your own business,” he quipped. Not wanting to start another argument, his wife simply turned away and drifted slowly back to sleep as if nothing had occurred. She had become accustomed to her husband’s quick fits of temper and erratic behavior. The man she married in her late teens was certainly not the man she had grown to know over the past year. His gentle, caring demeanor had been transformed into one of paranoia and fear. Though she cared for him dearly, their relationship dwindled as quickly as Xavier’s sanity.

If she only knew, Xavier thought. She would not be sleeping so soundly.

He double-checked his bedside table drawer for the tenth time that night to ensure that his gun was in the proper place. He had loaded the flintlock pistol and stowed it there in case of any emergency. Assured the gun was where he stored it, Xavier rolled on his back and looked blankly up at the ceiling. It was such a noble and just cause, he lamented. The enlightenment we would have brought to Bavaria, if not the world, would have made the Renaissance pale in comparison. Now they hunt us down like a pack of dogs, wanting to rid their country of any contrary thoughts or points of view. The government and church are nothing more than instruments of suppression that hinder man’s true nature to achieve enlightenment and pursue humanitarianism.

Would you say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to getting your book written and published or pretty much smooth sailing?  Can you tell us about your journey?

I never fathomed how many aspiring writers there are on the planet! It seems like everyone these days has an unpublished book or movie manuscript sitting on their desk. The competition to find a publisher and agent was much more of a daunting task than I ever expected. Writing my first novel was retrospectively the easiest task. The real time consuming job proved to be finding a publisher. It’s a task that required immense time and even more humility. On a daily basis, I sent out query letters, mailed sample copies of my novel to publishers, spoke with agents or potential leads, or even at times went to book expos where people in the publishing industry gathered. Eventually, being persistent and at times a nuisance paid off.

If you had to summarize your book in one sentence, what would that be?

Doctor’s Science Fiction/Political Thriller Warns of Dystopian Future.

What makes your book stand out from the rest?

I wrote The Hidden Reality more than just to entertain the reader. I really wanted to create a novel with substance like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code or Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. These books not only tell a fantastic story but they also make the reader think. So what I did in The Hidden Reality was incorporate certain pressing topics that effect our word today such the unprecedented world-wide economic debt, globalism, clash of East and West, and the rise of big government while combining it with some interesting subjects such as Ancient Greek military history, the concept of an Open Society, and futuristic scientific concepts.

In the end, my goal was to turn The Hidden Reality into a modern day allegoric Animal Farm to forewarn my readers of the possible future consequences we may face as a result of our current follies of today. As political tensions rise around the globe, the world plunges into economic debt, Europe delves deeper into chaos, and new scientific and medical achievements astound us by the day, I incorporated these high-concept ideas into The Hidden Reality and attempted to make sense out the pandemonium that surround us on a daily basis.

If your book was put in the holiday section of the store, what holiday would that be and why?

Great question!

I would say that The Hidden Reality would be placed in the Easter section. When you think of Easter, there is an underlying theme of rebirth and resurrection. With modern science and technology, the idea of death has been blurred. There are theories that one’s mind, if not their consciousness, could possibly live on in a computer after the body has died. Also, with cloning, a person theoretically could live on or be reborn years or even millennia after they were originally conceived. Lastly, on a quantum level, time does not exist. What was, is, or will be is currently happening at this moment. Death does not exist in this subatomic world. Though these topics seem awfully deep, I touch on these themes in The Hidden Reality and weave them into a bigger picture that makes the reader consider the ethics behind both future and current scientific achievements.

What’s next for you?

I am currently working on my third and last installment of The New Reality trilogy titled The Final Reality. The Hidden Reality is my second stand-alone novel in the series. The last novel will continue to delve into high-concept ideas and explore a long forgotten world that has been hidden under our eyes for thousands of years.

In addition, I will continue to write medical articles for the local paper and for local hospital publications.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Interview with 'Wild Within' Author Christine Hartmann



Christine Hartmann grew up in Ohio and Delaware and loves traveling to exotic, romantic settings. After a college semester in Kathmandu, her first three “real” jobs were all in northern Japan, where she lived for almost 10 years. She currently splits her career between her daytime occupation (improving the quality of veterans’ nursing home care) and her nights/weekend avocation (writing both fiction and non-fiction books). Her husband Ron Strickland is a well-known long-distance hiker and trail guide writer and the founder of the 1,200-mile Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. Christine loves reading, pilates, bicycling, and snorkeling, and health foods that taste like they’re bad for you. You will often find her at a keyboard, a German shepherd at her side, and Ron whispering sweet edits over her shoulder.

Her latest book is book one of the Wild at Heart series, Wild Within.

For More Information

Thanks for this interview, Christine.  Can we begin by having you tell us about yourself from a writer’s standpoint?

From the standpoint of being an author, I was born in 2008, when I began writing my first book, So Far Away: A Daughter’s Memoir of Life, Loss, and Love. Up to that point, I had been fantasizing about writing a book, but I never felt I had the time to do it. What I finally realized was that the time was never going to fall into my lap. I had to make the time. Since then, I have been making more and more time for writing in my life. It is a big part of what I do in my day job. And now it's how I spend many nights and weekends.

When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation and/or fun?

My husband, Ron, is also a writer. So writing is a hobby that we have in common and enjoy doing together. But when we're both taking a break, we like to do things outside: hiking, bike riding, swimming. When I'm near the ocean I can spend hours snorkeling. We get to spend some months of the year in Hawaii, and the underwater world there is amazing. Book 2 of the Wild at Heart series is actually set in Hawaii because I fell so in love with that state.

Congratulations on your new book! Can you give us the very first page of your book so that we can get a glimpse inside?

CHAPTER 1
Early morning sun scorched the grimy car hood and forced its way through the window to burn Grace’s bare arms. She fidgeted as she watched the arid plane of sagebrush and light brown dust roll past. The landscape differed completely from the grassy hills, eucalyptus trees, and fog around her native San Francisco. Occasional yucca plants shouldered their way between low scraggly bushes with more branches than leaves. Small boulders peppered the area, looking like enormous grey cottage cheese curds among rolling, sere hills.
This countryside puts the wild in wilderness.
The car bounced past dry pastures and scruffy woods.
Maybe I should have spent more time reading those trail guides?
A glimpse of the Mexican border made her sit up straight.
Who cares? I’m here.
Grace bounced in her seat with excitement.
This is it.

Would you say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to getting your book written and published or pretty much smooth sailing?  Can you tell us about your journey?

The journey for this book was smooth but somewhat convoluted. Wild Within started as a thriller and then over the course of working with my amazing agent became a romantic suspense novel. If you ask me, the romance was just dying to come out and take over from the beginning. Limitless Publishing picked up Wild Within as a romantic suspense, and the rest has been a blissful partnership.

If you had to summarize your book in one sentence, what would that be?

As tensions flare and a killer emerges, Grace must battle to survive…and reunite with the man she's sure is her future.

What makes your book stand out from the rest?

People tell me that they like the characters and are surprised how much they even like the villains. That's something I worked hard on. It was important to me that people be able to empathize even with the characters who ended up doing bad things. I believe most people don't set out to do bad things because of some sort of intrinsic character flaw. The combination of circumstances, bad luck, and personal traits push someone in one direction instead of another, so that's how I wrote this.

If your book was put in the holiday section of the store, what holiday would that be and why?

It would definitely be in the Fourth of July section. This book takes place mostly in the summer, outdoors on a hiking trail.

Would you consider turning your book into a series or has that already been done?

Yes, it is already part of a series, the Wild at Heart series. Book 2 will be out this fall.

What’s next for you?

I'm busy working on book 3 of the Wild at Heart series. Book 3 is set in Vegas, and this time things that happen in Vegas will not stay in Vegas!


Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Cover Reveal: First Comes Desire by Tina Donahue


Inside the Book:


Title: First Comes Desire
Author: Tina Donahue
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Romance
Format: Ecopy
 
On a lush, secluded island, one passionate adventure leads to another….

Diana Fletcher means business. The beautiful, innocent, reverend’s daughter has traveled all the way to a tropical island off Madagascar on a mission: To find her brother—and to punish the man who drove him to a life of piracy. But when she comes face to face with the enemy in question, the handsome, powerfully seductive man is not at all what Diana expected…

Tristan Kent never intended to harm Diana’s brother. A man of humble origins, Tristan claims he tried to save him from another ruthless captain. Diana is desperate to believe he is telling the truth…and that the intoxicating desire that escalates between them is true as well. But can she trust him? Or is Tristan’s story—and his heart—nothing more than fool’s gold? Amid the haze of sensual delights and soaring ecstasy Tristan has in store for her, all will be revealed…
 
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Meet the Author:

Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Kensington, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing, Siren Publishing, Booktrope, and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic novels (Adored; Deep, Dark, Delicious; Lush Velvet Nights) were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. Sensual Stranger, her erotic romance, was chosen Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category) at the French review site, Blue Moon reviews. The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for her erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights. Deep, Dark, Delicious (erotic romance) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition. Take Me Away (erotic romance) captured second place in the NEC-RWA contest. And The Yearning (erotic paranormal) was honored with an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition. She’s featured in the 2012 Novel and Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.
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Book Feature: In the Shadow of the Gods by Rachel Dunne



 

Inside the Book:



Title: In the Shadows 
Author: Rachel Dunne 
Release Date: June 21, 2016 
Publisher: Harper Voyager 
Genre: Fantasy/Action Adventure 
Format: Paperback/Ebook

A breathtaking talent makes her debut with this first book in a dark epic fantasy trilogy, in which a mismatched band of mortals led by a violent, secretive man must stand against a pair of resentful gods to save their world.

Eons ago, a pair of gods known as the Twins grew powerful in the world of Fiatera, until the Divine Mother and Almighty Father exiled them, binding them deep in the earth. But the price of keeping the fire lands safe is steep. To prevent these young gods from rising again, all twins in the land must be killed at birth, a safeguard that has worked until now.

Trapped for centuries, the Twins are gathering their latent powers to break free and destroy the Parents for their tyranny—to set off a fight between two generations of gods for control of the world and the mortals who dwell in it.

When the gods make war, only one side can be victorious. Joros, a mysterious and cunning priest, has devised a dangerous plan to win. Over eight years, he gathers a team of disparate fighters—Scal, a lost and damaged swordsman from the North; Vatri, a scarred priestess who claims to see the future in her fires; Anddyr, a drug-addled mage wandering between sanity and madness; and Rora and Aro, a pair of twins who have secretly survived beyond the reach of the law.

These warriors must learn to stand together against the unfathomable power of vengeful gods, to stop them from tearing down the sun . . . and plunging their world into darkness.

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Meet the Author:

Rachel Dunne
Living in the cold reaches of the upper Midwest with her great beast of a dog, Rachel Dunne has developed a great fondness for indoor activities. For as long as snow continues falling in Wisconsin, she promises to stay inside and keep writing. 

Her first novel, In the Shadow of the Gods, was a semi-finalist for the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and will be published by Harper Voyager in June of 2016. Its two sequels will follow.  
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