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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Giveaway and Book Review of The Thing With Feathers

Giveaway and Book Review of The Thing With Feathers



Sponsored by Virtual Book Tours

Welcome to Books, Books, and More Books.  I am pleased to share my review of this book with you.  Thank you for visiting and please come again.

Genre - Historical Fiction/Saga
Publisher - Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC
Release Date - 9-11-2012

Blurb : 

It was the ugliest photo he had ever seen.
And nothing would be the same again.

     As the inhabitants of Cloverdale, Oregon, welcomed in the twentieth century, they were not unaccustomed to hard times and thorny situations. Small communities banded together for protection and hope. Heroes and villains were often difficult to decipher.

     When an itinerate Baptist preacher arrived with his baby daughter and a wife lost on the trail, there was no one prepared to suspect what lurid secrets and heartbreak he might be concealing. As the preacher sets his sights against those who might oppose him, the names and the lives of the good people of Cloverdale may not be spared.

     Yet in the midst of the machinations of a mad man, virtue and valor can persist. The Thing with Feathers is known to fly through wars, depressions, and natural disasters. Will the Marshall clan and the good people of Cloverdale find it in time?

About the Author:

ANNE SWEAZY KULJU has won awards for editorials and honors for short stories, but now she writes historical fiction adventures, exclusively. Her debut novel, “the thing with feathers,” was released by Tate Publishing in September 2012. Her book, “Bodie,” a total thrill ride, is expected to release in early 2013, and she is currently busy on her next book, “Grog Wars,” set in 1850’s Portland, Oregon, the Shanghai capital of the world. Anne lives near Pacific City, Oregon, and divides her free time between the beach and Mount Bachelor. Readers may learn more about Anne and correspond with her on her website.

Contacts:





Buy: Amazon

Giveaway:

Winners Choice for a Kindle paperWhite or Nook Book Glowlight
Character Name chosen by one lucky winner


 
Excerpt:

The first thing she saw was the money. She raised her eyebrows at him. He shook his head no again. That wasn’t what he wanted. Then she found an envelope folded in half. It was pale pink, badly faded, and worn from handling. She took the letter out, and her eyes went immediately to the bottom of the single sheet of paper with the beautiful penmanship. It read, “All my heart, Cindy.” Rebecca was both curious and a trace jealous. She read the letter and looked up at the man in the bed.
“Sean...?”
His arm wavered again, pointing to the box. There was more. Rebecca looked again at the contents. There was a photograph, quite old from the looks of it, probably worth a fortune if it was one of Sean’s earlier photos. She took it gingerly by the edges and brought it up close to her face so she could see it clearly.
“Oh!” She put the photograph back in the box as though it could bite her. She looked at Sean somberly, tears brimming in her eyes. “I never…oh, Lord, Sean.” Her voice cracked.
“Beck-wheat, once I knew, what could I do? But I should have burned that photo years ago. And I would have, but it was the only proof I had. That doesn’t matter any more. I don’t want Victor to see it. Please take care of that for me.” He stopped to catch his breath and stem off a coughing fit. “I want him to have the letter, though. He has so little to remember his mother by. Please see that Blair’s portrait goes to him, too. And the watch—he should have the watch. It was Blair‘s most prized possession.”
“I’ll see to it, Sean.”
The photograph explained everything. She took hold of his hand to calm him and squeezed it. She loved that man. She always had. But fate had other plans for the two of them. Together, they had tried to save a young girl’s life. Rebecca was only now learning of the role she had played all those years ago. She remembered it like it was yesterday. So did Sean, and he began telling her the things she hadn’t known. His voice came bursting out between coughs like the spat of machine gun fire. It would be a long and difficult story for him to tell, but it was time he told it to someone. It was only right that the someone be Rebecca.

Review

This was the best worst book I’ve read in a long time.  By that I mean that it was an excellent book; well written, intense and driven.  The story was gripping, involved, and moved me to tears, laughter, and more.  However, the underlying storyline, the story that Sean tells Rebecca, is hard to read.

The story reminds me of one of my former jobs as a Child Welfare Services social worker.  It is the long sad story of Blair/Cindy and the horrible abuse she endured at the hands of or because of the person who first should have protected her, her father.  Although I think a different name should be applied to men who abuse children.

It is also the story of how one good man suffered because he made a choice to make a difference.  I can only pray that my children turn out half as good as Sean (and pray that they do not have to suffer like he did for doing the right thing.).

I give this story 4.5 out of 5 clouds.

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

ABOUT ROAD TO DAMASCUS



Virtual Book Tour January 14 - February 15,2013 



ABOUT WILLIAM Y. HIGGINS
 

The seed for this book was planted many years ago. Bill's journey down his road to Damascus began as a senior in high school when he had his personal encounter with the risen Lord. Immediately upon graduation from high school he faced his first crossroad when contemplating what to do vocationally. He joined the U.S. Air Force because he really wasn't sure what he wanted to do. It was while in the service that he began to see how his own internal GPS (God's Positioning System) was calibrated.

As he began to follow the direction of his internal GPS, other crossroads led him to Biola University and Talbot Seminary where he earned a B.S. and M.A. respectively in Christian Education. Upon graduation, the next three destinations on his journey led to local churches in the U.S. and Canada where he served as a Minister of Christian Education for almost 10 years. These were opportunities to use his organizational, curriculum development, instructional design and classroom facilitation skills. These were delightful years.

Bill faced another crossroad at the last church he served when he resigned and then found himself in his prison years. For four years he traveled a dusty, pothole filled road as he consulted his roadmap. During this time he viewed the world from the prison cell of under-employment. His perspective through the cell bars was as an owner/operator of a commercial janitorial business. These were four tortuous years as he saw one opportunity after another disintegrate. These years gave him the ability to relate to others experiencing the same employment imprisonment.

At the conclusion of these four years, Bill faced another crossroad and selected a new direction in his vocational travels; looking to apply his skills and experience in the business community. He made stops along the way as he worked for about six years in three industry leading organizations as a Director of Training & Development, attaining the position of Vice-President of Corporate Training at one stop.

It was also during this time that he took a parallel road into the field of Career Coaching. He has spent over 20 years working with individuals and small groups as they struggle down their own roads to Damascus and conduct their own job searches.

While continuing as a career coach, where he has worked with over 5,000 clients, Bill also embarked down another path by starting his own consulting business, MindWare Incorporated (www.mindwareincorporated.com). MindWare pulled together the specialties of career coaching, instructional design, and technical writing. IN this capacity, Bill has worked with many Fortune 500 companies as well as numerous smaller organizations of a for-profit and non-profit status.

Bill's writing experience has been primarily in the area of technical and curriculum writing of a proprietary nature. He has written literally hundreds of technical documents and curriculum courseware. This stop, writing Your Road to Damascus, is his first venture into writing for public consumption.

ABOUT ROAD TO DAMASCUS

 

The crisis of a job loss is the story of struggling souls hidden behind the walls of the Christian faith. They valiantly forge forward with little in the way of biblical or faith-based instruction. No one talks much about it. No pastor dedicates a sermon to it. Good luck finding a book about it written from the Christian perspective. For most it's a difficult time, for many it's a crisis of faith and life. With nearly 20 million people out of work that claim a Christian affiliation, this is a national crisis of faith.

Your Road to Damascus addresses this issue by presenting biblical strategies and principles, and practical guidelines, on how to conduct an effective job search. It examines in detail biblical strategies and provide pragmatic guidelines for all aspects of a job search. The message of Your Road to Damascus is one of hope, encouragement, renewal, and revival in the midst of the job loss. It boldly proclaims that God is at work and isn't finished yet, and He wants to have a new encounter with the believer through their job search.

Your Road to Damascus will capture your imagination and transform the way you view a job loss. From identifying your GPS (God's Positioning System), to weaving your resume, to seeing God's hand in job opportunities and offers, it will revolutionize the way you see God's involvement in this aspect of your life, as well as how He touches many other crisis points.

Secrets of a Dangerous Woman

Secrets of a Dangerous Woman
 by p.m. terrell


Welcome to Books, Books, and More Books.  I am pleased to share my review of this book with you.  Thank you for visiting and please come again.

p.m. terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 16 books in four genres: paranormal romantic suspense, suspense/thriller, historical adventure/suspense and non-fiction. Vicki's Key, the second book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, was a finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards (one of only five in the mystery/suspense category) and River Passage won the 2010 Best Drama & Fiction Award. She has been a full-time writer for more than ten years. Previously, she founded and operated two computer companies; her clients included the CIA, Secret Service and Department of Defense. Her work in detecting computer white collar crime and computer intelligence inspired many of her books. She is an avid dog lover and advocate for animal rights and founded the New Leash on Life program in Robeson County, NC, which rescues dogs and places them in the prison system for obedience training and adoption. She also co-founded The Book 'Em Foundation, whose slogan is Buy a Book and Stop a Crook; their mission is to raise awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She co-chairs the Book 'Em North Carolina Writers' Conference and Book Fair each year in Lumberton, NC, which raises money for literacy campaigns in our communities.


Book 'Em NC | Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Fan Page



Genre: Suspense
Publisher: Drake Valley Press
Release Date: September 2012
Buy: Amazon | Kindle

Irishman Dylan Maguire is back in Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, reuniting with psychic spy Vicki Boyd. In his first mission with the CIA, he must interrogate recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when she escapes again, it's obvious she's had help from within the CIA's own ranks. With Vicki Boyd's psychic assistance, Brenda is back in his custody again. And now he must find out why some in the highest branches of government want her dead - and others will risk everything to help her. And when he discovers her true identity, his mission has just become very personal.

Excerpt:

#1:
Brenda was taller than her sister. His chest touched her back as he leaned on the door, her hair brushing against his face and flowing downward nearly to the top of his jeans. She smelled of Vicki’s shampoo and Vicki’s perfume.
Where the bloody hell do you think you’re goin’?” Dylan said.
She didn’t answer but continued facing the door.
Put the gun down, Red,” he said calmly.
Since you remember me,” she said, still with her back against him, “you know I didn’t have a gun.”
I know that you’ve got me gun in your right hand. And I know as soon as you turn around, that gun is goin’ to be pointed at me chest.”
Let me go, Irish. Don’t make me shoot you.”
There are two things I won’t be allowin’ to happen. First, you’re not gonna shoot me with me own gun. And second, they won’t be catchin’ you with me gun on you. They won’t be tracin’ you back to me.”
She remained motionless and he could almost hear her mind racing. “I’m bad news, Irish. You and I both know it. It’s better this way.”
It’s better that you stay here. You’re safe here.”
What are you saying?”
I think I just said it.”
I’m turning around,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “And I’m handing you the gun.”
He moved slightly away from the door, dropping his arms from around her head as she turned around. He took the gun from her hand and set it on the kitchen table beside them.
I wish I’d met you before Vicki did. We would have been good together.”
His eyes followed her jawline, her full lips, a slightly wide, upturned nose, her high cheekbones, and a mountain of copper hair a man could get lost in. Then his eyes moved to her perfect brows, one raised slightly, coquettishly, before stopping to peer into her mesmerizing amber eyes. “We would have been dangerous together.”

Giveaway – Gift Basket of goodies from the town of Lumberton where the Black Swamp Mysteries series is based (picture coming soon), to one lucky commenter from tour.








Review

 This is an intense book with a hint of supernatural in that one of the main characters is a psychic that basically travels on the spirit plane to "see" things that are happening elsewhere.  It is also the story of two sisters and how their "nature" results in them ending up on the opposite sides of the law.

I give this story 4.5 out of 5 clouds.

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Covert Dreams

Covert Dreams
by Michael Meyer

Author bio:

I have resided in and have visited many places in the world, all of which have contributed in some way to my own published writing. I have literally traveled throughout the world, on numerous occasions. I have lived in Finland, Germany, Thailand, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Saudi Arabia, where COVERT DREAMS is set. I gained the wanderlust to see the world, to experience other cultures, at an early age, and this desire has never left me. If anything, it has only gained in intensity as I have aged. I try to travel internationally at least once a year. In the interim, I spend lots of time traveling around both my home state of California and other nearby states.
I spent my early years in the small town of Lone Pine, California, the home of almost every western movie, in addition to a wide variety of other genres, made in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. In fact, Hollywood still films parts of big-time movies there today. My dad, the town’s lifeguard at the time, personally knew John Wayne, Lloyd Bridges, and Lee Marvin, all of whom came to the town’s pool, the Memorial Plunge, at times to cool off after a hectic day of working in the sun. I was even an extra in a movie filmed there in 1957, MONOLITH MONSTERS, a B-cult favorite even today. I was ten years old at the time. Even though I resided in a small town hours from the big city, I was exposed to the excitement of action and heroes at a formative age, and, thus, my interest in writing novels of suspense such as COVERT DREAMS was born.
As a recent retiree from a forty-year career as a professor of writing, I now live in Southern California wine country with my wife, Kitty, and our two other cats.

Author Links:


Genre: Suspense/thriller/mystery


BOOK PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

Blurb:

Imagine waking up remembering intimate details about a country in which you have never traveled and fluently speaking a language that you have never spoken. B.J. is living the ideal life. He has a great wife, a wonderful job. And yet he is experiencing life-like vivid dreams of Munich, a city he has never visited.

Stan Halsey is a professor in Saudi Arabia, who sends for his wife to join him. She arrives, and, in the blink of an eye, she vanishes, leaving no trace of ever being alive in either the United States or in Saudi Arabia.

COVERT DREAMS is a fast-paced international suspense thriller that moves from Munich to the burning sands of Saudi Arabia. What is real, and who is responsible for the terrifying nightmare?

Excerpt:

The Munich all around her was bustling with activity. She could hear it from all directions. Munich was a wonderful city, a fun-loving place, the live and let live ebullience of the city emanating from its every nook and cranny. She had had a lovely stay here. All of it had been so adventurous, so new, so unlike life back home in Arizona. She could vividly recall the first time she had ventured into a Munich beer garden, where the liter mugs had been so huge that she had had to lift hers with both hands, and the giggles, from him, until he too had had to use both hands.

The fumbling noises he had been making came to an abrupt halt. He began stroking her cheek again. Gus looked so happy, so young, so full of life. It was so hard to imagine that he could be so heavily involved in all this horror.

Gus smiled at her once more. His eyes were soft, so gentle, so caring, so loving.

Maybe this was some kind of huge mistake. Maybe he wasn't going to kill her after all. Maybe everything would turn out happily ever after. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

But then suddenly she saw it clearly. It was no fairy tale. There would be no maybe. This was real, as real as the mixture of sadness and fear that now flooded her brain.

And then she died, with her eyes wide open, challenging, piercing his to the end.