Category: Guest Author

Guest Author My Review and International Giveaway Mr. Joseph Hayes 02/03 to 02/17

Once again, Megan from Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists has given me the honor to introduce you to a new author that they are working with.  And I have to tell you, I started reading the book the other night and by the first few pages, I was hooked!!  So I am excited, not only to have the pleasure of  hosting this Guest Author, but Phenix & Phenix has generously offered for 2 of my lucky international visitors the chance to win his book.  My review is posted below.  So please help me welcome, Mr. Joseph Hayes!!!

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ABOUT JOSEPH HAYES
    Joe Hayes is a native of Chicago. He grew up in a family of eight children in the Beverly neighborhood on Chicago’s Far South Side, where the Irish-Catholic heritage and influence was strong and visible. Joe attended St. Barnabas Elementary School, Brother Rice High School and De Paul University before leaving Chicago to attend law school in California, at UC Berkeley. Since graduating from Berkeley, he has practiced law in Chicago, San Diego and Houston. Joe currently serves as chief ethics officer and assistant general counsel for a large, publicly held company based in Houston, Texas, and is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts in his field. In his professional capacity, he has written extensively about legal and ethical issues and frequently speaks about such issues before employee and industry groups. When No One is Watching is his first work of fiction. His second novel, a legal thriller entitled Consequential Damages, is expected to be published next year.

    Joe currently resides in The Woodlands, Texas, with his wife, Susan, and their three children, Amy, Sean and Erin.
Visit his website at:  http://www.joseph-hayes.com/

ABOUT THE BOOK
    When Danny Moran is roused from a drunken stupor, he finds himself behind the wheel of his Porsche looking at a grisly accident scene. It seems clear to him and everyone else that he was the cause of the fatal wreck, and he is left to face life-altering consequences: criminal prosecution, financial ruin, public disgrace and an overpowering sense of guilt.

    Unbeknownst to Danny, he didn’t cause the accident. His best friend and aspiring politician, Blair Van Howe, was driving Danny’s car that night because Danny had drunk himself into oblivion. Knowing that Danny was prone to alcohol-induced memory blackouts, and panicked at the prospect of seeing his promising political career explode in scandal, Blair made it appear that the accident was Danny’s fault and fled the scene. While Danny struggles to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, Blair’s political career takes on a meteoric trajectory, as he rises from Chicago’s South Side to become a beloved and fabulously successful figure on the national stage. But when a dogged detective digs deeper into the case, Blair must decide just how far he is willing to go to keep his dark secret.
    When No One is Watching is both a page-turning thriller and a poignant tale of a man’s search for meaning and redemption in the face of cruel and overwhelming personal hardship. It explores the impact of guilt on the human mind and heart, and searches for inspiration and heroism in unexpected places. Among other thought-provoking questions, author Joseph Hayes asks, is “the greater good” just a lie we tell ourselves to justify the sins we commit when no one is watching?

MY REVIEW
WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING by Joseph Hayes

Published by Synergy Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-9843879-4-6
ISBN-10: 0-9843879-4-3
At the request of Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (back of book): On the eve of announcing his run for Congress, a charismatic Chicago politician causes a deadly accident. Panicked, he frames his best friend, a good-hearted alcoholic, and flees the scene. As one man tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, the other embarks on a meteoric rise to political stardom. But when a dogged detective digs deeper into the case, the political superstar must decide just how far he is willing to go to keep his dark secret. Author Joseph combines page-turning suspense with a poignant tale of inspiration and redemption as he asks, is “the greater good” just a lie we tell ourselves to justify the sins we commit when no one is watching?
  My Thoughts and Opinion: Wow!! Where do I start without including any spoilers? This book pulled me in as fast as the Porsche was going the night of the accident. A page turning, suspenseful book full of real life characters, some you instantly feel for, cry with, despise, empathize with, some you want to hate but can’t, and those that you cheer on. A can’t put down book that at times has you holding your breath. This would be a great pick for a book club selection as it includes some very profound discussion questions. Full of lies, secrets, integrity, forgiveness, love, and friendship. Outstanding!!

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CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
 THE ENTRY GIVEAWAY PAGE
DISCLAIMER

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners
via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts
the giveaway on behalf of the above.
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

Guest Author My Review and International Giveaway Mr. Joseph Hayes 02/03 to 02/17

Once again, Megan from Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists has given me the honor to introduce you to a new author that they are working with.  And I have to tell you, I started reading the book the other night and by the first few pages, I was hooked!!  So I am excited, not only to have the pleasure of  hosting this Guest Author, but Phenix & Phenix has generously offered for 2 of my lucky international visitors the chance to win his book.  My review is posted below.  So please help me welcome, Mr. Joseph Hayes!!!

Photobucket
ABOUT JOSEPH HAYES
    Joe Hayes is a native of Chicago. He grew up in a family of eight children in the Beverly neighborhood on Chicago’s Far South Side, where the Irish-Catholic heritage and influence was strong and visible. Joe attended St. Barnabas Elementary School, Brother Rice High School and De Paul University before leaving Chicago to attend law school in California, at UC Berkeley. Since graduating from Berkeley, he has practiced law in Chicago, San Diego and Houston. Joe currently serves as chief ethics officer and assistant general counsel for a large, publicly held company based in Houston, Texas, and is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts in his field. In his professional capacity, he has written extensively about legal and ethical issues and frequently speaks about such issues before employee and industry groups. When No One is Watching is his first work of fiction. His second novel, a legal thriller entitled Consequential Damages, is expected to be published next year.

    Joe currently resides in The Woodlands, Texas, with his wife, Susan, and their three children, Amy, Sean and Erin.
Visit his website at:  http://www.joseph-hayes.com/

ABOUT THE BOOK
    When Danny Moran is roused from a drunken stupor, he finds himself behind the wheel of his Porsche looking at a grisly accident scene. It seems clear to him and everyone else that he was the cause of the fatal wreck, and he is left to face life-altering consequences: criminal prosecution, financial ruin, public disgrace and an overpowering sense of guilt.

    Unbeknownst to Danny, he didn’t cause the accident. His best friend and aspiring politician, Blair Van Howe, was driving Danny’s car that night because Danny had drunk himself into oblivion. Knowing that Danny was prone to alcohol-induced memory blackouts, and panicked at the prospect of seeing his promising political career explode in scandal, Blair made it appear that the accident was Danny’s fault and fled the scene. While Danny struggles to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, Blair’s political career takes on a meteoric trajectory, as he rises from Chicago’s South Side to become a beloved and fabulously successful figure on the national stage. But when a dogged detective digs deeper into the case, Blair must decide just how far he is willing to go to keep his dark secret.
    When No One is Watching is both a page-turning thriller and a poignant tale of a man’s search for meaning and redemption in the face of cruel and overwhelming personal hardship. It explores the impact of guilt on the human mind and heart, and searches for inspiration and heroism in unexpected places. Among other thought-provoking questions, author Joseph Hayes asks, is “the greater good” just a lie we tell ourselves to justify the sins we commit when no one is watching?

MY REVIEW
WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING by Joseph Hayes

Published by Synergy Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-9843879-4-6
ISBN-10: 0-9843879-4-3
At the request of Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (back of book): On the eve of announcing his run for Congress, a charismatic Chicago politician causes a deadly accident. Panicked, he frames his best friend, a good-hearted alcoholic, and flees the scene. As one man tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, the other embarks on a meteoric rise to political stardom. But when a dogged detective digs deeper into the case, the political superstar must decide just how far he is willing to go to keep his dark secret. Author Joseph combines page-turning suspense with a poignant tale of inspiration and redemption as he asks, is “the greater good” just a lie we tell ourselves to justify the sins we commit when no one is watching?
  My Thoughts and Opinion: Wow!! Where do I start without including any spoilers? This book pulled me in as fast as the Porsche was going the night of the accident. A page turning, suspenseful book full of real life characters, some you instantly feel for, cry with, despise, empathize with, some you want to hate but can’t, and those that you cheer on. A can’t put down book that at times has you holding your breath. This would be a great pick for a book club selection as it includes some very profound discussion questions. Full of lies, secrets, integrity, forgiveness, love, and friendship. Outstanding!!

Photobucket

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
 THE ENTRY GIVEAWAY PAGE
DISCLAIMER

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners
via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts
the giveaway on behalf of the above.
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

Guest Author and Giveaway Reid Rosenthal

Today it is cold and snowing here in New England but it’s always a warm day at CMash Loves to Read when I get a request to host a special guest.  And today is just that type of day.  Rebecca from The Cadence Group contacted me, and asked if I would introduce Mr. Reid Rosenthal to all of you, and of course I said yes!!!  I would be thrilled to.  So grab your coffee and lets get right to so he can tell us all about his first book of a six-novel series.  Please help me welcome Mr. Reid Rosenthal !!!

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ABOUT REID ROSENTHAL
Reid is fourth generation land and cattle. His cowboy heart and poet’s pen captures the spirit of the western landscape and its influence on generations of its settlers. His long-standing devotion to wild and remote places and to the people—both past and present—who leave their legend and footprint upon America and the American West is the inspiration and descriptive underpinning of all of his writing.

FROM THE AUTHOR
Expression
   I was musing the other day while taking a break from writing Maps of Fate, the second book of my Threads West, An American Saga series. I paced over to the window. Misty shadows of snow squalls clung to the mountains around the ranch house. I looked back at the desk. Threads West, the bestselling first book of the series nestled side by side with my camera. My eyes widened as an epiphany struck me. Each is a tool for expression in image or word, and has as a central theme the power of the land, and the primal role that energy plays in shaping passions, lives and spirits.
   Since I began writing the series, I am always accompanied by a small dictation device. For forty years it has been rare that I ventured anywhere without a camera.
   My poor photo gear has been rolled on by horses, accompanied me on various fishing expeditions and been forgotten and then retrieved on cold snowy ridges during elk season after long return hikes. A few unfortunate pieces have even taken a swim with me when I lost my footing and drifted and tumbled down some river somewhere in North or South America. My dictation tool has been similarly abused. The perils of equipment in the wild and remote!
   The incredibly wide range of subjects and styles of authors intrigue me. I am also fascinated by the varying styles of different photographers and disparate aptitudes certain artists have for a range of subject matter.
   I am a landscape photographer. The camera and Threads West side by side on the desk brought home sudden realization. I am also a landscape writer. The land is as much a character in my books as it is the predominate image of my photos. That flows, I suppose, from the affinity I have always felt with the energy that radiates from landscape. It is my touchstone.
   I am fascinated by and simply love to photograph or write of the endless variety of light, shape, angle and seasons of the land. There is no second of any minute, of any hour, of any day of any millennium which is exactly the same in any terrain.
   The season, sun aspect, clouds, weather, time of day, angle of shadow, and wind are all ingredients in the ever changing and never duplicated recipe of a landscape photograph. So too are they the critical elements in penning a descriptive scene. The instant in which the image is created can never be duplicated. It is the only recording of that particular millisecond of that scene from that specific vantage that carries into infinity.
   I smiled as another parody struck me. Right on the front page of my website, www.ReidLRosenthal.com are not only discussions of my books but the precursor to the site’s landscape photos pages!
   I became more excited as the full force of my discovery struck me. Papers flew everywhere as I pawed the cluttered desk surface for a copy of my “fiction author biography,” and some blogs I had posted on my website long prior to completion of Threads West. I found them finally and held one in each hand looking back and forth.
From the Photo Blog:
   “This spring morning the land was particularly vibrant. Wildflowers dotted the southern flanks of gentle rolls of prairie. Grasses fluttered lightly in a soft breeze. They shimmered and danced like ripples of sea waves across the landscape. Along the base of a particularly beckoning series of low sandstone bluffs stretched a riparian ribbon of emerald slightly darker than the coming summer greening of the grass around it. Across the top of the miniature butte, a bright almost ethereal mist began to rise and form.
   As I ascended a distinct game trail along the side of the tiny cliffs my eyes became level with the top surface of the butte. The density of mist had increased. It chugged and boiled slowly along the top of the stony surface. Each seductive billow and hollow created a visual incident which appeared, then disappeared, and then materialized again, ghostly, with prisms of color that trembled as the sun caught the movement of the vapors. A magical dance of ground rainbows.
   Directly in front of me, my eyes still level with the surface of the top of the warming rocks was a cluster of foxtail. They were bathed in sunlight, their pine cone like tips bristled with soft feathery golden spires, a perfect foreground to the rainbows performing on the stage of earth just behind them.”
From My Fiction Author Biography:
   “If your mind and spirit are seduced by images of windswept ridge tops, flutters of aspen leaves caressed by a canyon breeze, and the crimson tendrils of dying sun…if your fingers feel the silken pulse of a lover and your lips taste the deep kisses of building passion…if nostrils flare with the conjured scents of gunpowder and perfume, sage brush and pine, and your ears delight in the murmur of river current…if your heart pounds at the clash of good and evil and with each twist and turn of interwoven lives you feel a primal throb, then I have accomplished my mission.” ~Reid L. Rosenthal, author of Threads West, An American Saga.
   I have found new purpose and energy (not that I have ever lacked either) in my prose and photographic expression now that I have become cognizant of their synergy. They are both of the land, the stage upon which we and the characters in my novels line dance in a fleeting moment of existence, to then be replaced by the shoulder taps of successive generations. The only character or image that survives all the previous and the entirety of chapters or photograph yet to come is the land itself.
The epic saga of Threads West begins in 1855 with the first of four richly-textured, complex generations of unforgettable characters. The separate lives of these driven men and independent women are drawn to a common destiny that beckons seductively from the wild and remote flanks of the American West. They are swept into the dangerous currents of the far-distant frontier by the mysterious rivers of fate, the power of the land and the American spirit. Their turbulent journeys are heartbreaking quests intertwined with romance and adversity, passions and pathos, despair and triumph.

This is not only their story. It is our story.

It is Threads West: An American Saga.
Like on FB:  
http://www.facebook.com/search.php?q=threads%20west&init=quick&tas=0.9379701957178415#!/ThreadsWest?v=wall

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ABOUT THE BOOK
SYNOPSIS (borrowed from B&N):
  USA Book News National Best Book Awards … Threads West is a WINNER in the Fiction & Literature: Western category and FINALIST in the Fiction & Literature: Romance category.

  The romance of America, her people, her spirit, and the West. The ongoing story of us. This first book and namesake of the six-novel series is being compared by reviewers and authors to Lonesome Dove and Centennial. The tale bursts with the adventure, romance and promise of historical America and the West. The epic saga of Threads West begins in 1855 with the first of four richly-textured, complex generations of unforgettable characters. The separate lives of these driven men and independent women are drawn to a common destiny that beckons seductively from the wild and remote flanks of the American West. They are swept into the dangerous currents of the far-distant frontier by the mysterious rivers of fate, the power of the land and the American spirit. Their turbulent journeys are heartbreaking quests intertwined with romance and adversity, passions and pathos, despair and triumph. This is not only their story. It is our story. It is Threads West, An American Saga.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU
TO THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE
DISCLAIMER
Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners
via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts
the giveaway on behalf of the above.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

Guest Author and Giveaway Reid Rosenthal

Today it is cold and snowing here in New England but it’s always a warm day at CMash Loves to Read when I get a request to host a special guest.  And today is just that type of day.  Rebecca from The Cadence Group contacted me, and asked if I would introduce Mr. Reid Rosenthal to all of you, and of course I said yes!!!  I would be thrilled to.  So grab your coffee and lets get right to so he can tell us all about his first book of a six-novel series.  Please help me welcome Mr. Reid Rosenthal !!!

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ABOUT REID ROSENTHAL
Reid is fourth generation land and cattle. His cowboy heart and poet’s pen captures the spirit of the western landscape and its influence on generations of its settlers. His long-standing devotion to wild and remote places and to the people—both past and present—who leave their legend and footprint upon America and the American West is the inspiration and descriptive underpinning of all of his writing.

FROM THE AUTHOR
Expression
   I was musing the other day while taking a break from writing Maps of Fate, the second book of my Threads West, An American Saga series. I paced over to the window. Misty shadows of snow squalls clung to the mountains around the ranch house. I looked back at the desk. Threads West, the bestselling first book of the series nestled side by side with my camera. My eyes widened as an epiphany struck me. Each is a tool for expression in image or word, and has as a central theme the power of the land, and the primal role that energy plays in shaping passions, lives and spirits.
   Since I began writing the series, I am always accompanied by a small dictation device. For forty years it has been rare that I ventured anywhere without a camera.
   My poor photo gear has been rolled on by horses, accompanied me on various fishing expeditions and been forgotten and then retrieved on cold snowy ridges during elk season after long return hikes. A few unfortunate pieces have even taken a swim with me when I lost my footing and drifted and tumbled down some river somewhere in North or South America. My dictation tool has been similarly abused. The perils of equipment in the wild and remote!
   The incredibly wide range of subjects and styles of authors intrigue me. I am also fascinated by the varying styles of different photographers and disparate aptitudes certain artists have for a range of subject matter.
   I am a landscape photographer. The camera and Threads West side by side on the desk brought home sudden realization. I am also a landscape writer. The land is as much a character in my books as it is the predominate image of my photos. That flows, I suppose, from the affinity I have always felt with the energy that radiates from landscape. It is my touchstone.
   I am fascinated by and simply love to photograph or write of the endless variety of light, shape, angle and seasons of the land. There is no second of any minute, of any hour, of any day of any millennium which is exactly the same in any terrain.
   The season, sun aspect, clouds, weather, time of day, angle of shadow, and wind are all ingredients in the ever changing and never duplicated recipe of a landscape photograph. So too are they the critical elements in penning a descriptive scene. The instant in which the image is created can never be duplicated. It is the only recording of that particular millisecond of that scene from that specific vantage that carries into infinity.
   I smiled as another parody struck me. Right on the front page of my website, www.ReidLRosenthal.com are not only discussions of my books but the precursor to the site’s landscape photos pages!
   I became more excited as the full force of my discovery struck me. Papers flew everywhere as I pawed the cluttered desk surface for a copy of my “fiction author biography,” and some blogs I had posted on my website long prior to completion of Threads West. I found them finally and held one in each hand looking back and forth.
From the Photo Blog:
   “This spring morning the land was particularly vibrant. Wildflowers dotted the southern flanks of gentle rolls of prairie. Grasses fluttered lightly in a soft breeze. They shimmered and danced like ripples of sea waves across the landscape. Along the base of a particularly beckoning series of low sandstone bluffs stretched a riparian ribbon of emerald slightly darker than the coming summer greening of the grass around it. Across the top of the miniature butte, a bright almost ethereal mist began to rise and form.
   As I ascended a distinct game trail along the side of the tiny cliffs my eyes became level with the top surface of the butte. The density of mist had increased. It chugged and boiled slowly along the top of the stony surface. Each seductive billow and hollow created a visual incident which appeared, then disappeared, and then materialized again, ghostly, with prisms of color that trembled as the sun caught the movement of the vapors. A magical dance of ground rainbows.
   Directly in front of me, my eyes still level with the surface of the top of the warming rocks was a cluster of foxtail. They were bathed in sunlight, their pine cone like tips bristled with soft feathery golden spires, a perfect foreground to the rainbows performing on the stage of earth just behind them.”
From My Fiction Author Biography:
   “If your mind and spirit are seduced by images of windswept ridge tops, flutters of aspen leaves caressed by a canyon breeze, and the crimson tendrils of dying sun…if your fingers feel the silken pulse of a lover and your lips taste the deep kisses of building passion…if nostrils flare with the conjured scents of gunpowder and perfume, sage brush and pine, and your ears delight in the murmur of river current…if your heart pounds at the clash of good and evil and with each twist and turn of interwoven lives you feel a primal throb, then I have accomplished my mission.” ~Reid L. Rosenthal, author of Threads West, An American Saga.
   I have found new purpose and energy (not that I have ever lacked either) in my prose and photographic expression now that I have become cognizant of their synergy. They are both of the land, the stage upon which we and the characters in my novels line dance in a fleeting moment of existence, to then be replaced by the shoulder taps of successive generations. The only character or image that survives all the previous and the entirety of chapters or photograph yet to come is the land itself.
The epic saga of Threads West begins in 1855 with the first of four richly-textured, complex generations of unforgettable characters. The separate lives of these driven men and independent women are drawn to a common destiny that beckons seductively from the wild and remote flanks of the American West. They are swept into the dangerous currents of the far-distant frontier by the mysterious rivers of fate, the power of the land and the American spirit. Their turbulent journeys are heartbreaking quests intertwined with romance and adversity, passions and pathos, despair and triumph.

This is not only their story. It is our story.

It is Threads West: An American Saga.
Like on FB:  
http://www.facebook.com/search.php?q=threads%20west&init=quick&tas=0.9379701957178415#!/ThreadsWest?v=wall

Photobucket
ABOUT THE BOOK
SYNOPSIS (borrowed from B&N):
  USA Book News National Best Book Awards … Threads West is a WINNER in the Fiction & Literature: Western category and FINALIST in the Fiction & Literature: Romance category.

  The romance of America, her people, her spirit, and the West. The ongoing story of us. This first book and namesake of the six-novel series is being compared by reviewers and authors to Lonesome Dove and Centennial. The tale bursts with the adventure, romance and promise of historical America and the West. The epic saga of Threads West begins in 1855 with the first of four richly-textured, complex generations of unforgettable characters. The separate lives of these driven men and independent women are drawn to a common destiny that beckons seductively from the wild and remote flanks of the American West. They are swept into the dangerous currents of the far-distant frontier by the mysterious rivers of fate, the power of the land and the American spirit. Their turbulent journeys are heartbreaking quests intertwined with romance and adversity, passions and pathos, despair and triumph. This is not only their story. It is our story. It is Threads West, An American Saga.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU
TO THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE
DISCLAIMER
Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners
via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts
the giveaway on behalf of the above.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

Guest Authors Linda and Tony Cole

These authors may seem very familiar to you, and you are right.  They visited on January 4th, just a few short weeks ago.  They were generous and allowed me to host a giveaway of their inspirational book Resurrecting Anthony, which I read and reviewed.  However, it was brought to my attention, that I accidentally and unintentionally forgot to include a very important part of the posting that day.  So, after apologizing to Linda and Tony Cole and Tricia from Media Muscle, it is only fair to the Coles, that I repost the entire “Guest Author” showcase that should have been published on January 4th including the post that I forgot to post (the one that is in bold type).  I would greatly appreciate it, if you would please take the time to read the post in it’s entirety. 

If you have followed me over this past year, you have an idea as to what type of books interest me and which ones don’t. However, Tricia from Media Muscle (The Book Trib) contacted me asking if I may be interested in reading and reviewing this particular book. After reading the synopsis, not only was I interested, I informed her that I would also like to be a host to introduce the authors to all of you. So please help me welcome Linda and Tony Cole today and I hope you find this book intriguing as I did.  You can read my review of Resurrecting Anthony here.

ABOUT LINDA AND TONY COLE

   Tony and Linda Cole co-wrote Resurrecting Anthony: A True Story of Courage & Destination, which tells the story of their 12-year-old son’s heart attack and brain injury. A look back over the decade since the event helps the reader see how her once perfect family survived the devastating loss of a child and how a new family has come to be. Visit www.resurrectinganthony.com for more information and to purchase
   The Coles launched Anthony Cole Training in 1991, a company that builds sales cultures within organizations nationwide. An immediate success, by the end of 1998, the little company of two grossed half a million dollars. However, when their son became severely brain injured, the company down shifted for several years. In 2003, having adjusted to a new life and family, the company began to grow once again. Visit www.anthonycoletraining.com for more information.
   Linda founded Alexandra Publishing in 2009 to bring stories of personal courage to those who are enduring difficult times. Her goal is to provide real life experience, insight and useful strategies and resources, empowering readers to meet and overcome their challenges. Linda’s vision is to compile thousands of courageous stories from the multitudes of people who have weathered tragic personal storms and have found their way to a new life. Each Personal Courage® book will contain narratives from different contributors dealing with a specific life challenge such as Alzheimer’s in a loved one or a young family losing a parent or divorce and the aftermath. Visit http://resurrectinganthony.com/courage.html to share your Story of Personal Courage.

Guest Post by Linda Cole, co-author of Resurrecting Anthony: A True Story of Courage & Destination:

On September 8, 1998, our idyllic world was shattered when our son Anthony, who was joining a basketball game on the playground of the junior high school, turned to his buddy, uttered “I don’t have a pulse,” and fell to the ground unconscious.


Seven to ten precious minutes ticked away before paramedics arrived to perform CPR and clear Anthony’s airway. In those few moments, our lives changed forever. Drastically.


The good news is that our son survived. The bad news is that he was so drastically affected by the lack of oxygen to his brain, that he is fully dependent, in a wheelchair and must rely upon us and nurses to do everything for him—even to the extent that we must help him roll over in bed.


The new life that was thrust upon us left Tony and I with inconsolable losses, for the reality is that our first son died on September 8, 1998. Never again would we know the child who could make his own single shot on the basketball court sound like a Michael Jordan move. Not only would he never play his favorite sport of basketball again, he wouldn’t remember that he played it with a passion every day or that his lifelong goal was to be a professional basketball player. Our Anthony, the one that was born on August 4, 1986, was gone forever.


Our intimate little family of four died that day as well. Our dynamic, the way we were together, the way we related to one another, changed immediately and radically. The burden and blessing of our “reborn” Anthony came with the full-time responsibilities of a medically complicated child who was in a coma for nearly a year. The pressures, financially, physically and emotionally, were overwhelming.

We were at a loss. We had no idea how to do any of this. We had no idea how to do life without Anthony.


A nurse once told me that 85% of marriages don’t make it through a tragedy like this and I understand, through our experience, why this is true. The losses of child, of family dynamic, of a life once lived, impose a grief that is inconsolable. The added pressures of around-the-clock care-taking and new financial responsibilities create environments rife with resentment and stress because it doesn’t matter what one might do, it will never be enough. There will never be a “fix”.


Twelve plus years have passed and our family has ridden the raging waters wrought by September 8, 1998. The river we ride is wide and calm. We have come to be in a good place as a family with a love that is layered with shared experiences, understanding and time gone by. I am thankful for this peaceful river of today for I recognize now that “I know not what tomorrow may bring”.


And I am sure of this—we will be together until death parts us.

About Resurrecting Anthony:

   Tony and Linda Cole were living the American Dream—a successful national training company, a nice home, a close-knit circle of friends and a loving family.
   Then came the call every parent dreads.
   Their twelve-year-old son Anthony had collapsed on the school playground. In the ensuing panic-stricken moments, Anthony lay motionless, unconscious, not breathing. These critical minutes without oxygen left his brain damaged. In one heartbreaking afternoon their idyllic world was shattered and the son that Tony and Linda Cole knew was gone.
   Resurrecting Anthony is the true, inspiring story of an unexpected tragedy that steals a child from his family and initially leaves them full of grief and sorrow. It reveals the Cole family’s incredible devotion and determination—despite the medical evidence and advice of health professionals—to return Anthony to his previous self.
   Steadfast and single-minded of purpose, Tony Cole tries to balance stressful business demands and the emotional dynamics of a devastated family as he desperately tries to bring his son back.
   Ultimately, it is a story of courage—the courage to summon inner strength to make hard decisions, the courage to do what must be done, and finally the courage to accept a new life and family.

RESURRECTING ANTHONY:
A True Story of Courage & Destination
By Linda Cole and Tony Cole

   “Courage is the one telling trait that allows us to soldier on in the face of life’s greatest challenges,” writes Linda Cole. “We never know who we are capable of becoming until we are put to the test.” In this remarkable story RESURRECTING ANTHONY: A True Story of Courage & Destination (Alexandra Publishing, January 2011) authors Linda and Tony Cole find themselves stretched beyond anything they could have ever imagined when their 12-year-old son, Anthony, declares to a friend “I have no pulse” and collapses on the school playground.
   It takes paramedics 13 tries to shock Anthony back to life, only to discover that the healthy, athletic boy has had a heart attack caused by a rare abnormal electrical pathway in his heart. It took four to five minutes to resuscitate him which deprived his brain of oxygen setting into motion a chain of medical events that ultimately resulted in global traumatic brain injury.
   Drawing courage from their family and faith, the Coles face the enormity of Anthony’s situation and search for answers that will give them back their son. Ever the pragmatist, Linda plans for all of Anthony’s day-to-day care while Tony intensifies his efforts to coach his boy back to the person he was before his heart attack. Driven by the need to make progress before the window for optimal recovery closes, they begin an experimental treatment hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), to restore whatever function Anthony has left.
   Slowly, glimpses of Anthony emerge, a light in his eyes, a brief smile, and one day, his first words since his journey began – “yeah, baby!” – inspired by cheerleaders during a football game on TV.
   Anthony’s incremental progress leads to a series of personal revelations for his father. Tony’s test is to understand his new Anthony, whose greatest gift now is the ability to live totally and completely in the moment, the riveting heart of this tender tale. “I realized I must let go of my first Anthony in order to accept and love this new and different one,” Tony says.
   “This was not an easy story to tell,” writes Linda Cole. “We found the courage to tell it because we hope that those in crisis will learn how to cope, how to be open and accepting of offered help, and how to advocate for needed services. We hope to inspire people to summon the courage they need to persevere, to commit without reservation, to adapt. We hope that others might learn from our mistakes and gain from our progress. We wrote this book and created the “Personal Courage SeriesTM” as a vehicle for people who have experienced life changing crisis to share their stories, learning and hope.”
   The book also includes helpful “Toolbox” or takeaways for living through crisis which includes organizational advice for dealing with the maze and mountain of paperwork that results from hospital and insurance bills. It also has an indispensible directory of resources that includes contact info for groups such as: Brain Injury Association of America and the National Association of the State Directors of Developmental Disabilities. For more information please go to www.resurrectinganthony.com
   Tony and Linda Cole are the founders of Anthony Cole Training Group established in 1991 to help sales people and their organizations drive consistent and predictable results through a unique, multi-faceted approach custom tailored to each organization.

Guest Authors Linda and Tony Cole

These authors may seem very familiar to you, and you are right.  They visited on January 4th, just a few short weeks ago.  They were generous and allowed me to host a giveaway of their inspirational book Resurrecting Anthony, which I read and reviewed.  However, it was brought to my attention, that I accidentally and unintentionally forgot to include a very important part of the posting that day.  So, after apologizing to Linda and Tony Cole and Tricia from Media Muscle, it is only fair to the Coles, that I repost the entire “Guest Author” showcase that should have been published on January 4th including the post that I forgot to post (the one that is in bold type).  I would greatly appreciate it, if you would please take the time to read the post in it’s entirety. 

If you have followed me over this past year, you have an idea as to what type of books interest me and which ones don’t. However, Tricia from Media Muscle (The Book Trib) contacted me asking if I may be interested in reading and reviewing this particular book. After reading the synopsis, not only was I interested, I informed her that I would also like to be a host to introduce the authors to all of you. So please help me welcome Linda and Tony Cole today and I hope you find this book intriguing as I did.  You can read my review of Resurrecting Anthony here.

ABOUT LINDA AND TONY COLE

   Tony and Linda Cole co-wrote Resurrecting Anthony: A True Story of Courage & Destination, which tells the story of their 12-year-old son’s heart attack and brain injury. A look back over the decade since the event helps the reader see how her once perfect family survived the devastating loss of a child and how a new family has come to be. Visit www.resurrectinganthony.com for more information and to purchase
   The Coles launched Anthony Cole Training in 1991, a company that builds sales cultures within organizations nationwide. An immediate success, by the end of 1998, the little company of two grossed half a million dollars. However, when their son became severely brain injured, the company down shifted for several years. In 2003, having adjusted to a new life and family, the company began to grow once again. Visit www.anthonycoletraining.com for more information.
   Linda founded Alexandra Publishing in 2009 to bring stories of personal courage to those who are enduring difficult times. Her goal is to provide real life experience, insight and useful strategies and resources, empowering readers to meet and overcome their challenges. Linda’s vision is to compile thousands of courageous stories from the multitudes of people who have weathered tragic personal storms and have found their way to a new life. Each Personal Courage® book will contain narratives from different contributors dealing with a specific life challenge such as Alzheimer’s in a loved one or a young family losing a parent or divorce and the aftermath. Visit http://resurrectinganthony.com/courage.html to share your Story of Personal Courage.

Guest Post by Linda Cole, co-author of Resurrecting Anthony: A True Story of Courage & Destination:

On September 8, 1998, our idyllic world was shattered when our son Anthony, who was joining a basketball game on the playground of the junior high school, turned to his buddy, uttered “I don’t have a pulse,” and fell to the ground unconscious.


Seven to ten precious minutes ticked away before paramedics arrived to perform CPR and clear Anthony’s airway. In those few moments, our lives changed forever. Drastically.


The good news is that our son survived. The bad news is that he was so drastically affected by the lack of oxygen to his brain, that he is fully dependent, in a wheelchair and must rely upon us and nurses to do everything for him—even to the extent that we must help him roll over in bed.


The new life that was thrust upon us left Tony and I with inconsolable losses, for the reality is that our first son died on September 8, 1998. Never again would we know the child who could make his own single shot on the basketball court sound like a Michael Jordan move. Not only would he never play his favorite sport of basketball again, he wouldn’t remember that he played it with a passion every day or that his lifelong goal was to be a professional basketball player. Our Anthony, the one that was born on August 4, 1986, was gone forever.


Our intimate little family of four died that day as well. Our dynamic, the way we were together, the way we related to one another, changed immediately and radically. The burden and blessing of our “reborn” Anthony came with the full-time responsibilities of a medically complicated child who was in a coma for nearly a year. The pressures, financially, physically and emotionally, were overwhelming.

We were at a loss. We had no idea how to do any of this. We had no idea how to do life without Anthony.


A nurse once told me that 85% of marriages don’t make it through a tragedy like this and I understand, through our experience, why this is true. The losses of child, of family dynamic, of a life once lived, impose a grief that is inconsolable. The added pressures of around-the-clock care-taking and new financial responsibilities create environments rife with resentment and stress because it doesn’t matter what one might do, it will never be enough. There will never be a “fix”.


Twelve plus years have passed and our family has ridden the raging waters wrought by September 8, 1998. The river we ride is wide and calm. We have come to be in a good place as a family with a love that is layered with shared experiences, understanding and time gone by. I am thankful for this peaceful river of today for I recognize now that “I know not what tomorrow may bring”.


And I am sure of this—we will be together until death parts us.

About Resurrecting Anthony:

   Tony and Linda Cole were living the American Dream—a successful national training company, a nice home, a close-knit circle of friends and a loving family.
   Then came the call every parent dreads.
   Their twelve-year-old son Anthony had collapsed on the school playground. In the ensuing panic-stricken moments, Anthony lay motionless, unconscious, not breathing. These critical minutes without oxygen left his brain damaged. In one heartbreaking afternoon their idyllic world was shattered and the son that Tony and Linda Cole knew was gone.
   Resurrecting Anthony is the true, inspiring story of an unexpected tragedy that steals a child from his family and initially leaves them full of grief and sorrow. It reveals the Cole family’s incredible devotion and determination—despite the medical evidence and advice of health professionals—to return Anthony to his previous self.
   Steadfast and single-minded of purpose, Tony Cole tries to balance stressful business demands and the emotional dynamics of a devastated family as he desperately tries to bring his son back.
   Ultimately, it is a story of courage—the courage to summon inner strength to make hard decisions, the courage to do what must be done, and finally the courage to accept a new life and family.

RESURRECTING ANTHONY:
A True Story of Courage & Destination
By Linda Cole and Tony Cole

   “Courage is the one telling trait that allows us to soldier on in the face of life’s greatest challenges,” writes Linda Cole. “We never know who we are capable of becoming until we are put to the test.” In this remarkable story RESURRECTING ANTHONY: A True Story of Courage & Destination (Alexandra Publishing, January 2011) authors Linda and Tony Cole find themselves stretched beyond anything they could have ever imagined when their 12-year-old son, Anthony, declares to a friend “I have no pulse” and collapses on the school playground.
   It takes paramedics 13 tries to shock Anthony back to life, only to discover that the healthy, athletic boy has had a heart attack caused by a rare abnormal electrical pathway in his heart. It took four to five minutes to resuscitate him which deprived his brain of oxygen setting into motion a chain of medical events that ultimately resulted in global traumatic brain injury.
   Drawing courage from their family and faith, the Coles face the enormity of Anthony’s situation and search for answers that will give them back their son. Ever the pragmatist, Linda plans for all of Anthony’s day-to-day care while Tony intensifies his efforts to coach his boy back to the person he was before his heart attack. Driven by the need to make progress before the window for optimal recovery closes, they begin an experimental treatment hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), to restore whatever function Anthony has left.
   Slowly, glimpses of Anthony emerge, a light in his eyes, a brief smile, and one day, his first words since his journey began – “yeah, baby!” – inspired by cheerleaders during a football game on TV.
   Anthony’s incremental progress leads to a series of personal revelations for his father. Tony’s test is to understand his new Anthony, whose greatest gift now is the ability to live totally and completely in the moment, the riveting heart of this tender tale. “I realized I must let go of my first Anthony in order to accept and love this new and different one,” Tony says.
   “This was not an easy story to tell,” writes Linda Cole. “We found the courage to tell it because we hope that those in crisis will learn how to cope, how to be open and accepting of offered help, and how to advocate for needed services. We hope to inspire people to summon the courage they need to persevere, to commit without reservation, to adapt. We hope that others might learn from our mistakes and gain from our progress. We wrote this book and created the “Personal Courage SeriesTM” as a vehicle for people who have experienced life changing crisis to share their stories, learning and hope.”
   The book also includes helpful “Toolbox” or takeaways for living through crisis which includes organizational advice for dealing with the maze and mountain of paperwork that results from hospital and insurance bills. It also has an indispensible directory of resources that includes contact info for groups such as: Brain Injury Association of America and the National Association of the State Directors of Developmental Disabilities. For more information please go to www.resurrectinganthony.com
   Tony and Linda Cole are the founders of Anthony Cole Training Group established in 1991 to help sales people and their organizations drive consistent and predictable results through a unique, multi-faceted approach custom tailored to each organization.

Guest Author and Giveaway Daniel Palmer 01/18 to 02/01


To this day, I still find it amazing when an author contacts me and asks if I mind if they stop by and visit.  Do I mind?  I am honored!!!  And today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Mr. Daniel Palmer.   I ask, that along with myself, that we give him a huge warm welcome.

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ABOUT DANIEL PALMER
Daniel Palmer spent a decade as an e-commerce pioneer, helping to build first generation websites for Barnes & Noble and other popular brands. An experienced musician and songwriter, Daniel has recorded two CDs and licensed his songs for commercial use. A graduate of Boston University, Daniel lives in New Hampshire with his wife and two children.
You can learn more about Daniel Palmer at his website:  http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/

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ABOUT DELIRIOUS
Synopsis (borrowed from B&N):
Charlie Giles is at the top of his game. An electronics superstar, he’s sold his startup company to a giant Boston firm, where he’s now a senior director. With his dog, Monte, at his side, Charlie is treated like a VIP everywhere he goes.

Then one day, everything in Charlie’s neatly ordered world starts to go terrifyingly wrong. His prestigious job and his inventions are wrenched away from him. His family is targeted, and his former employers are dying gruesomely, picked off one by one. Every sign, every shred of evidence, points to Charlie as a cold-blooded killer. And soon Charlie is unable to tell whether he’s succumbed to the pressures of work and become the architect of his own destruction, or whether he’s the victim of a relentless, diabolical attack.

In a desperate struggle to save his life, Charlie races to uncover the truth, all the while realizing that nothing can be trusted — least of all his own fractured mind…

You can also find Mr. Palmer at these sites:
Become a Daniel Palmer Books Fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/danielpalmerbooks
Follow Daniel Palmer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/danielpalmer
http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/
InVision Blog: http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/invision-blog/
(To preorder this book, go here:  http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/news/pre-order-delirious/)

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER

 Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners
via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts
the giveaway on behalf of the above.

Guest Author and Giveaway Daniel Palmer 01/18 to 02/01


To this day, I still find it amazing when an author contacts me and asks if I mind if they stop by and visit.  Do I mind?  I am honored!!!  And today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Mr. Daniel Palmer.   I ask, that along with myself, that we give him a huge warm welcome.

Photobucket
Photobucket
ABOUT DANIEL PALMER
Daniel Palmer spent a decade as an e-commerce pioneer, helping to build first generation websites for Barnes & Noble and other popular brands. An experienced musician and songwriter, Daniel has recorded two CDs and licensed his songs for commercial use. A graduate of Boston University, Daniel lives in New Hampshire with his wife and two children.
You can learn more about Daniel Palmer at his website:  http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/

Photobucket
ABOUT DELIRIOUS
Synopsis (borrowed from B&N):
Charlie Giles is at the top of his game. An electronics superstar, he’s sold his startup company to a giant Boston firm, where he’s now a senior director. With his dog, Monte, at his side, Charlie is treated like a VIP everywhere he goes.

Then one day, everything in Charlie’s neatly ordered world starts to go terrifyingly wrong. His prestigious job and his inventions are wrenched away from him. His family is targeted, and his former employers are dying gruesomely, picked off one by one. Every sign, every shred of evidence, points to Charlie as a cold-blooded killer. And soon Charlie is unable to tell whether he’s succumbed to the pressures of work and become the architect of his own destruction, or whether he’s the victim of a relentless, diabolical attack.

In a desperate struggle to save his life, Charlie races to uncover the truth, all the while realizing that nothing can be trusted — least of all his own fractured mind…

You can also find Mr. Palmer at these sites:
Become a Daniel Palmer Books Fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/danielpalmerbooks
Follow Daniel Palmer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/danielpalmer
http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/
InVision Blog: http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/invision-blog/
(To preorder this book, go here:  http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/news/pre-order-delirious/)

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

DISCLAIMER

 Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners
via publisher, agent and/or author. This blog hosts
the giveaway on behalf of the above.