Thursday, February 28, 2019

Book Feature: Fuji, Sinai, Olympos by Michael Hoffman


Inside the Book:



Title: Fuji, Sinai, Olympos
Author: Michael Hoffman
Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com
Genre: Essays
Format: Ecopy /Paperback

Travel companions on my journeys are four in number: Odysseus, Don Quixote, Huckleberry Finn and Basho.” (Travel) “He walked in priestly garb. Arriving towards evening at a town or village, he’d chant sutras until passersby gave him, or flung him, enough money for a flophouse bed, a little food, a bath and enough saké  to induce a measure of forgetfulness. ‘A beggar,’ he admonished himself, ‘has to learn to be an all-out beggar. Unless he can be that, he will never taste the happiness of being a beggar.’” (Walking) ‘“The pleasantest of all diversions,’ said the fourteenth-century Japanese priest Kenko,“ is to sit alone under the lamp, a book spread before you, and to make friends with people of a distant past you have never known.’ Reading is inseparable from reverie. ‘Sitting alone under the lamp,’ I was soon not alone at all, but hosting, I venture to say, as vivid and varied a company as ever gathered under one roof. (Genji, Myshkin and Jones) “Everest is nothing, mere seismology.” (Fuji, Sinai, Olympos) 

  PURCHASE HERE

MEET THE AUTHOR

Michael Hoffman has lived in Japan since 1982. His columns appear regularly in the Japan Times, irregularly elsewhere. His previous books include "In the Land of the Kami: A Journey into the Hearts of Japan;" "Other Worlds; Little Pieces: This Side of Japan;" and "The Coat that Covers Him and Other Stories."

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

BOOK FEATURE: ACTION/ADVENTURE/MYSTERY/WOMEN'S FICTION MOSES & MAC BY FRANCA PELACCIA


MOSES & MAC by Franca Pelaccia, Action/Adventure/Mystery/Women's Fiction, 303 pp., $14.99 (paperback) $3.99 (Kindle)

Title: MOSES & MAC
Author: Franca Pelaccia
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Pages: 303
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Adventure/Mystery

On her dismal 30th birthday, unassuming Victorian scholar Mackenzie Braden receives a mysterious package from her Aunt Sara, urging her to locate Moses’ rod. The most powerful weapon in history will start global chaos if it lands in the wrong hands. Sara was an agent for the top-secret Vatican Archaeological Service. She has also been dead for 30 years and the agency dormant for just as long. Mackenzie’s only clue is a souvenir figurine of Moses, and except for hunky ex-military pilot Eoin Reilly, her allies are as inept as she is.

But nothing is going to stop Mackenzie from recharging her lacklustre life, fulfilling her mission, finding answers about her aunt, and making Eoin her birthday present. Armed with the figurine, Mackenzie sets off with Eoin for the Middle East. There she has to fend off a Ph.D. candidate turned terrorist, a dysfunctional family of treasure hunters, a fake Mossad operative, a manic former VAS agent, the underground tunnels of the Gaza Strip, and a whole lot of rocket launchers. But this is training for the ultimate confrontation with her aunt’s and now her greatest foe, a charming deposed Saudi prince with world domination on his mind.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Link to book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1625268602  (Print)




A birthday no one remembered was outright unforgivable. A birthday that would change all those to follow was downright insane.

It was a changing of the guard birthday. The one when everything went thicker—face moisturizers, waistlines and mindsets, and the absence of a credible man in my life was tossed around me, over me, behind me, and in front of me by all my loved ones. But, instead of a “Happy Birthday, Mackenzie” call from a mother who was never supposed to forget. Or a “You thought your old man forgot, didn’t you, Mackie?” from a father who pretended to forget. Or some form of birthday sympathy from any of my three older sisters, I got a call from ancient Father Somerville.

Father Somerville saw through my god-forsaken soul, or made me believe it, even now in my supposedly all-powerful thirtieth year of life. In his sixty-year-old seasoned pulpit voice, he declared I had received a package from my Aunt Sara. A package from her would have been great on a birthday no one remembered, if Aunt Sara hadn’t vacated her office and neglected her duties as lecturer of biblical archaeology over thirty years before and been declared dead twenty years ago.

Aunt Sara was my father’s youngest sister. She was also my godmother. Along with my Uncle Tony, she had held my tiny head over the baptismal font thirty years before. She had posed for pictures with every relative on the Irish side of the family and wisely followed that up with everyone on the Italian side. She enjoyed the seven-course meal at my Uncle Gianni’s restaurant, left to catch a plane to Cairo and was never heard from again. Unless there was delivery from heaven or as both rosary-touting grandmothers would say, from that other place that can’t be named, the package had to be a joke from one nasty person.

But, heck, it was my big 3-0 birthday. Maybe this was some ploy, although on the dark side, to get me to a big birthday bash.




Franca Pelaccia is the author of Moses & Mac, a fast-paced and lively action/adventure/mystery and the first book of the Vatican Archaeological Service series published by Solstice Publishing. The second book is tentatively entitled Mac & the Crusaders. Under the pseudonym of Kirsten Paul, Franca is the author of two romantic comedies for the Calendar Men of King Court series. The first book, The Hockey Player & the Angel will soon be published by the Wild Rose Press. The second book, The Detective & the Burglar is in progress. Writing as Francesca Pelaccia, Franca self-published The Witch’s Salvation, a historical paranormal novel, which won the Beck Valley Reviewers’ Choice Award for 2013. An avid reader, Franca reviews novels for the Historical Novels Society.

Website Address: https://francapelaccia.com/
Blog Address: https://francapelaccia.com/blog/
Twitter Address: https://twitter.com/FrancaPelaccia
Facebook Address: https://www.facebook.com/pg/FrancaPelacciaAuthor/posts/?ref=page_internal


http://www.pumpupyourbook.com


Franca Pelaccia is the author of Moses & Mac, a fast-paced and lively action/adventure/mystery and the first book of the Vatican Archaeological Service series published by Solstice Publishing. The second book is tentatively entitled Mac & the Crusaders. Under the pseudonym of Kirsten Paul, Franca is the author of two romantic comedies for the Calendar Men of King Court series. The first book, The Hockey Player & the Angel will soon be published by the Wild Rose Press. The second book, The Detective & the Burglar is in progress. Writing as Francesca Pelaccia, Franca self-published The Witch’s Salvation, a historical paranormal novel, which won the Beck Valley Reviewers’ Choice Award for 2013. An avid reader, Franca reviews novels for the Historical Novels Society.

Website Address: https://francapelaccia.com/







http://www.pumpupyourbook.com

Friday, February 15, 2019

Book Feature: The Holy Spirit Will Deliver You by Patricia L. Loranger



 

Inside the Book:


Title: The Holy Spirit Will Deliver You
Author: Patricia L. Loranger
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Religious
Format: Ebook

Does it seem you just cannot win the battle over the devil? Are you battling the temptation to sin or hiding secret sins from your church and family? Do you find it difficult to participate in church groups or struggle to pray and read the Bible?
When we think of deliverance, we think of salvation, but this is only the first step. Deliverance is receiving freedom, and many Christians need freedom from their loaded baggage of sin. We say the sinner’s prayer and we think that’s it—we’ve got our deliverance. But this is just the beginning. Some Christians struggle their whole lives with temptation; they need deliverance, and there are so few deliverance ministries out there. The Holy Spirit Will Deliver You offers hope and guidance toward relief and redemption. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, author Patricia L. Loranger undertook two lengthily spiritual deliverances, in which she cast a large number of evil spirits out of herself. She knows that through the aid of God’s Spirit that dwells within, all believers can set themselves free from the chains that bind them.
Based on one woman’s personal experiences and grounded in scripture, this guide provides Christians seeking deliverance with answers and steps to take toward their ultimate freedom.

Purchase Here

Meet the Author:
Patricia L. Loranger is also the author of Child of Woe, Child of Sorrow. She currently lives in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada.


Thursday, February 7, 2019

10 Things You Didn't Know About Douglas Baign, author of From Straight-laced to Cross-dressed


Inside the Book:

 
Title: From Straight-laced to Cross-dressed
Author: Douglas Baign
Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com
Genre: Biographies/Memoirs
Format: Ecopy /Paperback

From Straight-laced to Cross-dressed tells the story of a disturbed adult in therapy seeking to understand and prevent his desire to commit suicide. Douglas starts by knowing that it has something to do with sex but soon discovers that he can't talk about his sexuality without first discussing his religious beliefs and drift away from strict Christian Fundamentalism.The overlapping issues dredge up a confused morass of anger and love, abuse and sex.

  PURCHASE HERE

10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Author Or The Book.

Writing this book was definitely a form of therapy. I was going through normal talk therapy while writing it anyway, but there were several times when I had to lay aside the book while I worked through issues. Once done, I incorporated them into the book. The entire process was emotionally grueling. I wept several times while keyboarding and talking or writing about it now still brings an ache to my heart. The abuse and self-abuse the book describes was actually much worse in reality. In fact, my editor refused to work with the original manuscript because she thought the material was too sensationalist. I had to censor it quite a bit before editing even began than we toned it down further at least twice more before the final draft. The 1975-80 dates are real, as are the love letters and I still have the pen-and-paper originals. Yup. I really did cart all this stuff around every time I moved (lots) for 30 years under the theory that I'd need it someday to write a book. I did and I did. I keyboarded everything from 1975-80 into the computer to use as reference material. This ran into a hundred pages or so, which means I was very selective about what actually got included. That material still exists, so I suppose I could use it somewhere else. But it’s doubtful I tampered with most dates written after 2000. I wrote this material piece-meal, one entry at a a time in no particular sequence then shuffled the pieces into different pictures as I drafted. I tried tracking this but gave up, and simply re-dated everything once I completed a draft. The only person in my family who knows I've written this book is my wife. She commented that she was glad she didn't play a large part in the book and that I respected her privacy when she comes on stage. The book contains several 'easter eggs' - hidden puns or references. Sorry! I won't tell you what they are. My test readers caught most of them but there's at least one they didn't catch and it may well stay hidden for a looong time. I prefer to stay anonymous for two reasons. The most important is that the book is deeply personal and discusses my mental illness. I don't want to be pointed at or singled out as crazy. I have enough problems dealing with crowds as it is now. Secondly, these are real people in the book. There's no reason to violate their privacy. I avoid participating in writing groups partly because I'm crowd adverse and partly because I don't feel like my viewpoint is close enough to share. BTW, the success of the writing classes I took as an undergrad depended more on the teacher and on my fellow students than on the subject studied (poetry, short story...).


MEET THE AUTHOR
Coming from a long line of teachers, Douglas Baign has a Masters degree in Education but spent his career testing and documenting low-level software. He likes looking at anything basic then challenging assumptions. Doug also has a BS in Cognitive Psychology and a deep and abiding interest in History and Physics.

Douglas' super-power is breaking things, especially computer code, but he prefers to create books, poetry and music. He also enjoys travel and photography.

Tour Schedule

Monday, February 4
Guest blogging at Confessions of an Eccentric Bookaholic

Tuesday, February 5
Book featured at Lover of Literature

Wednesday, February 6
Interviewed at As the Page Turns

Thursday, February 7
Guest blogging at The Literary Nook

Friday, February 8
Guest blogging at The Dark Phantom

Monday, February 11
Book reviewed at A Title Wave

Tuesday, February 12
Guest blogging at Bent Over Bookwords

Wednesday, February 13
Interviewed at Review From Here

Thursday, February 14
Book featured at The Zen Reader

Friday, February 15
Guest blogging at Harmonious Publicity
Book reviewed at C'est La T

Monday, February 18
Guest blogging at She Writes

Tuesday, February 19
Guest blogging at Write and Take Flight

Wednesday, February 20
Book reviewed at Voodoo Princess

Thursday, February 21
Interviewed at Literal Exposure

Friday, February 22
Guest blogging at The Revolving Bookshelf

Monday, February 25
Interviewed at Straight From the Author's Mouth

Tuesday, February 26
Guest blogging at Inkslinger's Opus

Wednesday, February 27
Interviewed at The Writer's Life

Thursday, February 28
Book reviewed at I'm Shelf-ish

Monday, February 4, 2019

{Author Interview} Rosalind Abel, Author of Lavender Shores Series


Rosalind Abel grew up tending chickens alongside her sweet and faithful Chow, Lord Elgin. While her fantasy of writing novels was born during her teen years, she never would have dreamed she’d one day publish steamy romances about gorgeous men. However, sometimes life turns out better than planned.

In between crafting scorching sex scenes and helping her men find their soul mates, Rosalind enjoys cooking, collecting toys, and making the best damn scrapbooks in the world (this claim hasn’t been proven, but she’s willing to put good money on it).

She adores MM Romance, the power it has to sweep the reader away into worlds filled with passion, steam, and love. Rosalind also enjoys her collection of plot bunnies and welcomes new fuzzy ones into her home all the time, so feel free to send any adorable ones her way.

Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/2qoiuLC
BookBub Page: http://bit.ly/2E5fgUe
(Read by Kirt Graves)
Facebook Author page: http://bit.ly/2rH8C4o
Rosalind Abel Website:  http://www.rosalindabel.com
Rosalind Abel Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2v6iuXI
Lavender Shores Website:  http://www.lavendershores.com
Twitter: @rosalind_abel


Congratulations on your new book! 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?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m thrilled to be here!

As far as a rocky road to this particular book… Let me back up, so that I can say yes to that question, LOL!  I’ve written forty books under three different names, so by this point, getting a book published isn’t a rocky road anymore. But I’ve been writing for twenty-five years, and the first decade was nothing but constant searches for publishers, agents, and rejection letters. That was back in the day of printing off a manuscript in sending it off through the mail, times have definitely changed. I’m very grateful for the struggle, as it’s made it very clear to me that this is the only thing I want to do and it causes me even more gratefulness every time a new book comes out. One of the most exciting days of my life was when I finally received a publishing contract and began to see my dreams unfold. I’ve done things a little backwards, as I was with the publisher for the first few years of my career and through them saw around fifteen novels published, and had many of them translated into several different languages. Since then, I’ve gone the self-publishing route, which has been quite the experience. Before, I’d write a story and everything else was up to the publisher, now, I’m in charge of  my editing team, cover art, formatting, everything. And I love every single second of it!

Think that’s the same, is every single time I sit down to write a book, it is a genuine labor of love and comes along with its own battle, triumphs, and joys.

If you were to pen your own autobiography, what might the title be?

The Tenacious Dreamer

As I alluded in the first question, very little of this dream fulfillment has come easily. It’s required sacrifice, hard work, and fighting with every tooth and nail that I have available. It’s one of those situations where if you knew just exactly how hard-fought this whole thing would be from the beginning, you might have been too afraid to head down the path. So… I’m glad I didn’t know.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything!


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

There’s very little time that I’m not working on the writing career, but, when I’m not, I love to spend time with my dogs, luckily, they like to hang out with me even when I’m writing.  I’m also an avid cook, I love to work out, go on long walks with the dogs and listen to audiobooks.

What makes your book stand out from the rest?


The Lavender Shores series is most definitely romance, filled with tropes, idealized heroes, and guaranteed happy endings. However, my characters are real, believable--you will fall in love with them not simply because they are beautiful, good, and sweep you away, but because they have shadows, struggles, darkness and their own hopes that they have to fight for. They are not shallow or simple. You’ll be able to see yourself in them, and that will cause you to love them even more, and to rejoice that much harder when they get their hearts’ desire. As you go through the series, with each installment, you feel like you’re visiting family and friends, and returning to a place that you love, almost like coming home in a way.

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

From my latest, The Victorian

Charley

Fog lay in a thick blanket over Lavender Shores, dense enough that parking a couple of blocks away from the Blue Blossom Bed-and-Breakfast was probably a moot point—anyone driving by would barely see a figure walking along the sidewalk, let alone identify me. But that was part of the fun, the thrill. After a couple of decades living in the small town, chances for anonymity were few and far between.
As I stepped from one pool of the streetlamp to the next, I pulled my jacket and scarf a little tighter. With the way my blood pounded through my veins, they were unnecessary as well. The Christmas Eve night was cool enough, but it wasn’t like there was snow or anything. Between the fog and the slight salty breeze from the Pacific, it was chilly, but in my aroused state, I could’ve been naked on an iceberg and been in danger of melting it. Still, the cloak-and-dagger routine also added to the excitement.
I paused as I rounded the corner and the Blue Blossom came into view. If I didn’t want to take a match and burn the place down, I’d have to admit how charming it was. Garland and Christmas lights looped over the street guiding the eye to the sprawling Victorian, with its gazebo on one side leading toward the wraparound porch below its turrets and gables. The entire structure was outlined in ruler-straight Christmas lights, each twinkling a soft white and illuminating the dusty lavender of the paint. The bed-and-breakfast could’ve been the setting of a Hallmark Christmas special. Hell, that was pretty much exactly what it had been designed to be. And it hit all the right notes. Lavish, expensive, beautiful, taking it right up to the line of being ostentatious but stopping just short so it remained charming.
The only thing that would’ve improved it was an actual striking of the match that I didn’t have in my pocket. What a glorious Christmas blaze that would be.
Then again, every once in a while, there was something to be said for subtlety. And a match… well… that would be a short-lived pleasure, and it would take away one of my favorite pastimes. At the thought, I adjusted myself in my pants and continued down the block.
Most of the time, when I snuck into the Blue Blossom, I alternated between darting to the back door of the kitchen or the side entrance. But it was Christmas Eve, after all—might as well make the gift to myself all that much sweeter. I walked up the steps and through the front door like I was a paying guest.


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

I have to say Christmas. For me, that particular holiday is one of the most complex that there is. It’s this time of frantic brightness and cheer, yet for so many there are complicated emotions around to family, memories, and loss. But for those of us that are able to hold all of that in our hands, when we can be authentic, the holiday can be even more beautiful,  when were able to sit back, see the beauty of the lights in the snow, relish in the love that we have in our lives that is genuine and pure.  That’s what the Lavender Shores series is to me. It’s beautiful, shiny, and sparkly, yet deep, impactful, and real.

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

That has already been done. Part of the strength of the Lavender Shores series is that was the plan  from the very beginning. Though each installment can be read as a standalone, as everything was planned out before the first word of the first book was written, feels complete and like a real place with real people.

When you were young, did you ever see writing as a career or full-time profession?

As a young child, no. I didn’t even learn to read very well until I was around ten, and then became a voracious, if slow, reader. It wasn’t until I was fifteen and fell in love with creative writing thanks to my English teacher, Ms. Hungerford,  that the dream was formed. I’ve held tight to it ever since!

Did any of your books get rejected by publishers?

YES!!!!   The first two books I’ve ever written, were turned down for nearly a decade, countless times. Until that magical day when one publisher saw promise in both me and those two books and signed them at the same time. By that point, it felt too good to be true. I will ever be grateful.

What is your view on co-authoring books; have you done any?

I haven’t co-authored any books yet, but I would like to one day. I think it would be fun. However, I am a very structured, type A personality, and my books are planned, outlined, and  thought through way in advance. If I don’t know where the characters are going or what their outcome goal is, I have a hard time turning them loose to explore their journey on the page. As strange as it sounds, if I haven’t done all the planning and hard work in advance, I tend to micromanage the characters when I sit down to write. Whereas,  if I’ve done the micromanaging in advance, once the writing begins, the characters have a complete freedom, and surprise me quite a bit of the time. I would need to co-write with someone who also plans and sees the larger picture before diving in.

What’s next for you?

I have the final two installments of the Lavender Shores series coming up, The Lighthouse, and The Refuge.  After two years with these men, it’s a little surreal to finally be having it all come to fruition. I’m excited, but going to miss them desperately!



Lavender Shores is a charming little California town enclosed by the Point Reyes National Seashore. It has forests, wildlife, cliffs, beaches, and ocean views. At the center of it all is a fancy downtown of picture perfect restaurants and shops, surrounded by Victorian mansions and craftsman cottages.

The town was designed to be a safe-haven in the 1940’s by five families. The series follows the descents of those five founding families as they discover romance, redemption, passion, adventure, and love. Like all small towns, everyone always knows everyone else’s business. And when you’re ‘founding family royalty’ all eyes are on you, and that can make things… interesting.

While each novel is guaranteed to have you laughing, crying, sighing, and fanning yourself as you reach every happy ending, there will always be twists and turns along the way. Lavender Shores is pure storybook quality (of the grown-up variety) and the ultimate place to fall in love.


Title: The Palisade
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 230
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Title: The Garden
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 264
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Title: The Veranda
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 258
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Title: The Shipwreck
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 292
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Title: The Hideaway
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 258
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Title: The Glasshouse
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 304
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Title: The Alcove
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 312
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Title: The Wilderness
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 298
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Title: The Victorian
Author: Rosalind Abel
Publisher: Wings of Ink, LLC
Pages: 336
Genre: Gay Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon





http://www.pumpupyourbook.com