Worldwind VBT Presents: THE WHITECHAPEL VIRGIN by Carla Acheson

CMash April 16, 2014 Leave a Comment

“Acheson has a gift for being able to bring the grit of poverty to life ” – (Rachel Malone) HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY

“TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND JOURNEY INTO THE SLUMS OF WHITECHAPEL, LONDON, DURING JACK THE RIPPER’S BRUTAL REIGN OF TERROR.”

About The Book:

Catherine, a fifteen year old runaway, stumbles into a seedy brothel-house tavern in the back streets of Whitechapel, London. She hesitates at the scene before her, one filled with low class prostitutes and drunkards, but it is late, and the dimly-lit labyrinthine alleyways are filled with deviant fellows and petty criminals.

Weary and hungry, she meets Eddie, the rugged young tavern boy who shows her to a room for the night. She settles down only to be awoken in the early hours by piercing cries from the room next door. Arising to find the cause of the commotion, she becomes witness to a gruesome abortion.

Filled with revulsion, Catherine decides to flee as soon as daylight arrives, but Eddie quickly soothes her fears and convinces her to stay, arranging for her to meet Madame Davenport, the nefarious brothel-mistress who employs Catherine as a serving girl, under the proviso she begins work ‛servicing’ men once she is settled in.

Difficulties arise, however, when Eddie’s growing romantic affections for Catherine clash with her sudden infatuation for the dashing middle-class gent, Mr Cross. Unknown to Catherine, the lothario is keeping a diary of his affairs with Whitechapel’s whores, with the dishonourable intention of turning his writing into a successful ‛gentleman’s, publication.’ Mr Cross quickly seduces the fresh young virgin, allowing his sexual fantasies to escalate into an unfathomable obsession.

As Catherine tries her hardest to fit into the ways of life at the lodging house, she encounters only jealousy from Eddie, and resentment from the other prostitutes who reside there. Annie, in particular, dislikes the new girl who has blossoming beauty and youth on her side.

Unexpectedly one night, a crime occurs within the narrow landing of George Yard Buildings. Local prostitute Martha Tabram is found brutally hacked to death by a cruel assailant. The police can unearth no explainable motive. The Victorian crime stuns the entire Whitechapel district, causing widespread panic amongst the prostitutes who each fear for their own lives.

Catherine’s anxiety increases when Edward Cross begins to show signs of ‘odd’ sexual behaviour and mental decline, as he brutally tries to expunge the girl of her virtues.

When two more gruesome murders occur in the area, the prostitutes realise that there is no escape from the vicious killer who calls himself Jack The Ripper.

But who is he? And who will be the next Jack victim?

Purchase The Book

Amazon Kindle * Amazon Paperback

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About The Author

Carla lives in Gibraltar with her family and is a member of the Freelance Writers Association. She works as a book

reviewer and has interviewed and published book reviews and articles for best-selling and award-winning authors. Her articles and reviews have been featured in various press publications, as well as Waterstones Quarterly UK Magazine.

Her debut fiction novel ‘The Last Gift’ released October 2012, is available on both Kindle and paperback.

Carla is also the founder of the Rock Writers Group formed in Gibraltar in 2009.

Music production, singing, reading and writing have always been the main essential ingredients in Carla’s life.

Visit her website: http://www.carla-acheson.com/

Visit her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitechapelvirgin

This tour was hosted by Worldwind Virtual Book Tours

Follow the rest of The Whitechapel Virgin tour

Authoright, Giveaway, Guest Author, Showcase

Guest Author KELLIE LANE showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash April 8, 2014 Leave a Comment

WELCOME KELLIE LANE

KELLIE LANE

Kellie Lane is a passionate communicator and orator of God’s Word with a great desire to motivate His people to reach their maximum potential in Jesus Christ. It is her heartfelt desire for all to connect with and experience God’s love and plan for their lives. She is a free lance writer, author, motivational speaker, prayer warrior, and minister of dance. Kellie graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Nursing with a Bachelor’s degree (2002) and Master’s degree (2006) in Nursing. She is currently completing her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree at the University of Mississippi. She is happily married with six children. She is a spiritual mother to many more.
Connect with Kellie at these sites:

Q&A with Kellie Lane

Writing and Reading:
Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
Typically I draw from personal experiences as well as testimonies from others. Many chose to send their personal stories to me. Yet this is not always the case. At times something may grab my attention in the news and in turn I incorporate it into my writings.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
I start with the introduction. I sometimes spend weeks fine tuning it. Once I am satisfied with its flow I can then progress with the book. I never know exactly how the story will end. I leave that part up to God.

Your routine when writing?
When writing I only need three things: My Jesus, My laptop, and my noise maker to tune out sound.

Any idiosyncrasies?
I wait to hear a particular sound. It’s a bit difficult to explain but someone may be speaking or a song may be on the radio and then all of a sudden whatever has been spoken inspires me. I then know that this is what I am to write about next. Perhaps something said is my next book title or simply a chapter title for that matter. Yet, I cannot write until I hear a sound. I know what it is when it happens.

Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Writing is not my full-time job yet. I am a family nurse practitioner serving veterans on the daily basis. I’ve been in nursing for over a decade. What I have learned spills over into my writing because caring for others is a part of me. It’s who I am. In addition, I am a life coach ( niche is weight loss and relationships ) and a motivational speaker. I thrive off of empowering others.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
The apostle Paul. His writings in the new testament are simply awesome. Next I would say Cindy Trimm, Joyce Meyer, and Bishop T.D. Jakes.

What are you reading now?
The ESV study Bible. I feel that in order to be most effective I must continuously feed off of the Word of God. With it we are a force to be reckoned with. Without it, we lack power and control.

Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
Yes, my next release “Chosen: Know your Kingdom Assignment” will be released in Summer of 2014. This book guides the reader into discovering their unique task in the Earth realm assigned by God . Everyone has a purpose. God had a hope of what each of us would become. Chosen will help you get there.

In addition, my third book will be released in the Fall of 2014. It is titled “Internal Chaos: Battles of the Heart”. This book will serve as an eye opener and liberation tool for women who are or have been trapped in unfruitful relationships with men who make false claims to love them. This was my personal struggle for many years. I fell subject to spiritual manipulation and domestic misuse. Now the time has come to expose the tactics of the enemy. The reader will walk away empowered and equipped to be the virtuous woman spoken about in the book of Proverbs (31).

Fun questions:
Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
Internal Chaos will be a movie. It will depict the lives of four different women each experiencing Hell in their current relationship or marriage. Somehow they will find their way to Salvation and restoration. I would love to have one of the lead roles played by Sanaa Lathan and another by Gabrielle Union. It wouldn’t hurt to have Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey as well.

Manuscript/Notes: hand written or keyboard?
Keyboard

Favorite leisure activity/hobby?
I love exercising, listening to music, writing! Spending time with my family, traveling, and shopping!

Favorite meal?
Tilapia or salmon with mixed veggies. I love asparagus and mushrooms. Quiche is my favorite breakfast meal with spinach. Yes I am a health fanatic. Fitness is essential for prosperity!

ABOUT THE BOOK

What do you do when you’ve prayed and prayed and there seems to be no answer?

Kellie Lane knows what it is like to feel as though you are holding a ticket for a ride that’s never going to arrive.

Through personal experience and Bible study she has learned how to hold on to heaven’s promises–for yourself or others–when it seems like all hell is breaking loose.
You will discover why you may be waiting, where God is in this difficult season, and what you can do to cooperate with His plans and purposes for you.

If it feels like the heavens have turned to brass, let prayer warrior Kellie Lane show you how to position yourself to receive the gold that is coming your way through the fire of refinement.

BOOK DETAILS:

Number of Pages: 112 pages
Publisher: Creation House
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN-10: 1621366774
ISBN-13: 978-1621366775

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO KATY AT AUTHORIGHT,
I HAVE THREE (3) COPIES TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. and U.K. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS APRIL 22nd AT 6PM EST

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

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YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

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.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Guest Author, Showcase, The Story Plant

Guest Author SUSAN ISRAEL

CMash April 3, 2014 Leave a Comment

WELCOME SUSAN ISRAEL

SUSAN ISRAEL

Susan Israel lives in Connecticut with her beloved dog, but New York City lives in her heart and mind. A graduate of Yale College, her fiction has been published in Other Voices, Hawaii Review and Vignette and she has written for magazines, websites and newspapers, including Glamour, Girls Life, Ladies Home Journal and The Washington Post. Sheâ€™s currently at work on the second book in the Delilah Price series, Student Bodies.
Connect with Susan at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Delilah is accustomed to people seeing her naked. As a nude model – a gig that keeps food on the table while her career as a sculptor takes off – it comes with the territory.

But Delilah has never before felt this vulnerable.

Because Delilah has an admirer. Someone who is paying a great deal of attention to her. And he just might love her to death.

The debut of a shockingly fresh voice in suspense fiction, OVER MY LIVE BODY will work its way inside of you.

READ AN EXCERPT

I’ve gone from posing in one studio to posing in another in less than an hour. Ordinarily I don’t complain about the cold. I don’t move before I’m told to. I try to be the model I’ve never had the good luck to hire. But today I feel like I’m lugging around a portfolio of hypersensitivity along with my usual artist supplies and it’s not even justified. Here, I’m among friends.

The instructor of this class has drawn a chalk outline of where I’m supposed to lie and indicates the pose she wants me to strike, that of a classic come-to-my-casbah odalisque. I feel my calf muscles tighten as I scrunch up into the framework of the drawing on the floor. There are no new faces in this class, no surprises, I’ll be forgiven if I twitch or scratch an itch. Morgan, one of the best artists and my best friend, has brought poppy seed pound cake and stops what he’s doing to tiptoe over and feed me morsels of it. “Should be grapes,” the instructor says. Someone down the hall is playing Carmen on a boom box. “Should be Scheherezade,” Morgan says, winking at me.

The wink isn’t misunderstood, wouldn’t be even if Morgan wasn’t gay.
We artists are like a cast ensemble in repertory. Many of us have seen each other nude in classes. I’m dressed in the part I’m playing. It’s when I change locations, freelance in other schools, that I’ve felt uncomfortable and I’ve tried not to do that too often. I try not to, but sometimes I need the money to buy extra supplies or pay off mounting bills and I have to do it, like I did last night. I sometimes say never again, never again! What do I need this aggravation for? I feel smarmy; it makes me fight with Ivan more. Except, like a new enrollee in some 12-step program, I’m learning to recognize what I have and haven’t the power to change and ironically now that I’ve decided to kick Ivan and his half of the rent money out, I’m going to have to pay more bills than ever, starting with the new lock I’m having installed.

“Delilah, you moved!”

I look down and see my arm and leg protruding from the smeared outline marking where they’re supposed to be. “I’m sorry.”

“Delilah rarely strays,” Morgan says with a smile, holding a pencil up to me to gauge the span of my body stretched out in front of faded brocade. Another artist, Keith, moves in for a closer look, so close that I can smell the eucalyptus cough drop lodged in his cheek that I first thought was an abscess.
The others take turns approaching me, walking around me, appraising me with the dispassionate curiosity they would exhibit while looking at a piece on display in a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. The instructor, their tour guide, calls attention to my posterior as the center of gravity upon which all else rests. She points to my right shoulder with a well-sharpened Conté crayon and lightly touches it, then moves on to the sole of my right foot. My toes curl. “Notice how the light is distributed here and here, how opalescent these areas seem compared to this.” I feel the pencil glide along the base of my spine. “I want you to pay attention to these tonal differences in your drawings as if you were painting them because you will be.”

The door bangs open suddenly, unexpectedly; no one casually walks in and out of this studio. “Phone call downstairs for Delilah,” someone hollers, retreating down the hall.

“She can`t come to the phone right now,” the instructor bellows back. “Take a message.”

“Tell whoever it is I`ll call back,” I add, “unless it`s Ivan.” I know it’s Ivan.

One of the graphic arts students backs into the studio and looks around furtively, like one more step and she`ll be accused of breaking and entering. “He said he`d call back.”

“Who was it?”

She shrugs. “Beats me. He didn’t say.”

“Another member of your burgeoning fan club, Delilah. Maybe someone who’s seen your exhibits and wants to buy all your sculptures,” Morgan suggests, smudging the charcoal on the page with the heel of his hand.

“I wish.”

“Hey, you never know.”

I know it was Ivan on the phone. He’s the only person who has ever called me here. I can feel his heavy breathing impatience wafting all the way up from Wall Street. He knows a call from him will unsettle me, make me put my clothes on to rush to the phone at the very least and not be able to get back into the right pose and the right mood afterwards. He gets off on this. I`m not taking any calls until I`m through for the day.

“Delilah!” someone else calls. “Telephone!”

“Jesus, again? Doesn`t he take a hint?”

“It’s okay, take a five minute break, you’re marked,” the instructor says as I scramble to my feet clumsily. I grab a blue-and-white pinstriped man’s shirt from the back of Morgan’s easel and throw it on and pad down the cold corridor and down the stairs, pulling the shirt closed around me, grumbling, steeling myself for what I have to say to him and that is, “Leave me alone!”

“Is that any way to answer the phone?”

I look down at the way I’m dressed. Is that any way to answer the phone? “Who is this?” It’s not Ivan’s voice. He’s the only person who has ever called me here, but it’s not him. Someone he put up to calling me, though, I’m sure of it, one of his co-workers wearing an oxford shirt not unlike the one that I’ve got wrapped around me like a toga, only fully buttoned down and fit to be tied. “Get him to come to the phone.”

“You don’t want to talk to anyone else,” the voice declares. “It’s me you want.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Don’t say that!” the voice snaps. “You do. At least you will.”

BOOK DETAILS:

Number of Pages: 280 pages
Publisher: The Story Plant
Publication Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN-10: 1611881188
ISBN-13: 978-1611881189

PURCHASE LINKS:

DISCLAIMER
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.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Giveaway, Guest Author, JKS Communications, JKS Communications, Showcase

Guest Author JONATHAN CURELOP showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash April 2, 2014 Leave a Comment

WELCOME JONATHAN CURELOP

JONATHAN CURELOP

Jonathan Curelop is a graduate of the City College of New York’s Creative Writing Program. He has studied at Gotham Writer’s Workshop and the New York Writers Workshop. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in various publications, including Solstice, Amarillo Bay, Liquid Imagination, UMass Amherst Magazine, apt, Raging Face, The Melic Review, The American Book Review and Aura. Originally from Massachusetts, where he graduated from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst’s Theater department, he now lives in New York City with his wife, Pamela, and works as an editor and as a compliance officer at an international investment bank.
Connect with Jonathan at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Meet Jimmy LaPlante – sensitive, bookish, baseball obsessed – the neighborhood fat kid and easy prey for his bullying older brother. The story opens in Brockton, MA. It’s 1976. When Jimmy tries to stand up to Cliff, the verbal abuse turns physical and an accident occurs, sending Jimmy to the hospital with an injury that changes the trajectory of his life. TANKER 10 follows Jimmy during his pre-teen and teenage years as he struggles to understand the physical and psychological effects of his injury. Throughout this period, baseball is his outlet. By the time he begins high school, Jimmy is an up-and-coming right fielder on the freshman baseball team. Despite having no physical signs of his condition, he is so ill at ease with himself that he can’t help but feel like a freak. Jimmy spends his life grappling with what it means to be normal as he tries to find his place in his family, among his friends, and with his brother Cliff. TANKER 10 is a funny and heart-breaking story about self-acceptance in the wake of trauma. Readers will root for Jimmy as he struggles to understand that the key to becoming who you are is learning to get out of your own way.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: General Fiction, Sports
Number of Pages: 282 pages
Publisher: Book Case Engine
Publication Date: October 2, 2013
ISBN-10: 1628480327
ISBN-13: 978-1628480320

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO SAMANTHA AT JKS COMMUNICATIONS,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY (PRINT OR DIGITAL) TO GIVE AWAY.
PRINT~OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS DIGITAL~OPEN TO ALL

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS APRIL 16th AT 6PM EST

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

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.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

GCP/Forever, Guest Author

Guest Author KATIE LANE

CMash March 30, 2014 1 Comment

WELCOME BACK KATIE LANE

KATIE LANE

Katie Lane’s interest in romance was sparked in high school in the backseat of a ‘65 mustang—okay, so maybe it wasn’t romance as much as raging teenage hormones. Still, coupled with a wild imagination, those make-out sessions inspired many a steamy storyline along with a strong belief that true love does prevail. Katie lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the owner of that mustang and is the bestselling author of the Deep in the Heart of Texas series.
Connect with Katie at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

A MATCH MADE IN TEXAS is the sixth book in Katie Lane’s bestselling, witty and sexy Deep in the Heart of Texas series.

Living with four over-protective brothers is enough to make a good girl go bad. But the day Brianne Cates hits the road for a taste of freedom, she gets more trouble than she bargained for when she’s arrested by a sexy sheriff in mirrored shades. Now doing a stint of community service, she’s not going to let a cowboy cop like Dusty Hicks mess with her newfound independence-even if he awakens every wicked fantasy she’s ever had.

In Bramble, Texas, Dusty is the law. That means no leniency for the gorgeous rebel whose highway antics almost got them both killed. The divorced lawman doesn’t need another rich, pampered princess, even if Brianne has the lushest body and sweetest smile in the whole darn state. But even as Brianne proves that she lives to walk on the wild side, Dusty begins to wonder if maybe he has what it takes to tame her….

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Fiction
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: March 25, 2014
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN-10: 1455575801
ISBN-13: 978-1455575800

PURCHASE LINKS:

DISCLAIMER
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.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

GCP/Forever, Guest Author, Showcase

Guest Author LORI WILDE

CMash March 27, 2014 Leave a Comment

WELCOME LORI WILDE

LORI WILDE

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lori Wilde has written sixty novels. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Texas Christian University and a certificate in forensics. She volunteers as a sexual assault first responder for Freedom House, a shelter for battered women. Lori is a past RITA finalist and has been nominated four times for the Romantic TimesReviewers’ Choice Award. She’s won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, the Lories, the More Than Maggie, the Golden Quill, the Laurel Wreath, and the Best Books of 2006 Book Award. Her books have been translated into twenty-five languages and featured in Cosmopolitan,Redbook, Complete Woman, All You, TIME, and Quick and Simple magazines. She lives in Texas with her husband, Bill.
Connect with Lori at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

LICENSE TO THRILL
Las Vegas private eye Charlee Champagne is absolutely fearless. But when handsome Mason Gentry strides into her office, demanding to know where his grandfather is, she can’t control the goosebumps. It’s not like Mason to be in Sin City while the biggest deal of his banking career wraps up without him, but one moment with Charlee brings out his wild side. Before he knows it, Mason is on a mission, driving pedal to the metal across the desert with the toughest, sexiest woman he has ever met . . .

YOU ONLY LOVE TWICE
Comic book creator Marlie Montague’s life isn’t as exciting as her heroine’s . . . until someone points the business end of a pistol right at her. Now she needs help from a real-life action hero: her rock-hard Navy secret-agent neighbor, Joel Hunter. Soon he and the beautiful Marlie are blowing the doors off a full-blown conspiracy with more double agents than a Bond flick. But the real mystery is: How does Marlie manage to leave Joel both shaken and stirred?

READ AN EXCERPT

“You live your entire life by someone else’s rules, is

what you do,” she mumbled.

“What?” He cocked his head. “I didn’t quite catch what

you said.”

“Nothing.”

“You muttered something. Let’s hear it.”

Charlee folded her arms over her chest. “I said, lest you

forget, we’re being followed.”

“That’s not what you said.”

“Pretend it is.”

He knew exactly what she’d said and she was right. He

was a law- abiding man. Where would society be if everyone

threw the rules of civilized behavior out the window?

Charlee probably went for those swaggering bad boy types

who broke the law and broke her heart with equal ease.

“So let them follow us.”

“Need I remind you my grandmother’s trailer was ransacked,

we were shot at, and someone torched my father’s

apartment complex?”

“Your father did that.”

“No he didn’t.”

“Whatever you say.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m tired of arguing with you.” The woman could

wear a professional fi libuster into the ground.

“Oh, no, no, no.” She shook a fi nger. “You don’t believe

me and simply saying you do doesn’t change your mind.

You can’t just give in because you don’t want to argue.”

“Yes I can. See, I’m shutting up. No more arguing

with you.”

Gleefully, Charlee found the chink in his logic. “Good,

then let’s ditch the Bentley.”

“No.”

“Thought you weren’t going to argue.”

“Sit back and hush.”

He wondered if he was going to have to kiss her in

order to shut her up. Why was kissing her such an appealing

idea?

This had to stop. He was almost engaged.

Think of Daphne.

Determined, he tried to call up Daphne’s image and

his mind went blank. He struggled to summon her scent

but instead of the fl oral aroma of Daphne’s expensive

perfume, he could only smell Charlee’s fresh soap scent.

Instead of mentally seeing Daphne’s sleekly coiffed blond

hair, he saw long, jet- black tresses twisted in beguiling

braids. Instead of hearing Daphne’s dulcet acquiescence,

his ears vibrated with the sound of Charlee’s deep,

throaty- voiced fi rmly held opinions.

Something about Charlee called to that wildness inside

of him he’d buried along with Kip. The wildness that

scared him because he knew what trouble it could cause.

The wildness he missed and feared with equal intensity

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Contemp. Romance
Published by: Forever/GCP
Publication Date: March 25, 2014
Sold by: Hachette Book Group
Number of Pages: 660 pages
ISBN: 1455553077
ASIN: B00DTUHMMC

PURCHASE LINKS:

DISCLAIMER
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.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Giveaway, Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

Guest Author JOHN MANOS showcase & giveaway

CMash March 26, 2014 1 Comment

WELCOME JOHN MANOS

JOHN MANOS

John K. Manos was a magazine editor in Chicago for 20 years. Since 2001 he has earned his living as a writer, editor, and occasional musician. He is a graduate of Knox College. Dialogues of a Crime is his first novel.
Connect with John at these sites:

Q&A with John Manos

Writing and Reading:
Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
I tend to start with personal experience and then expand from there. I’ve found that with very few exceptions, truly autobiographical writing—my own included—is simply not very interesting. It’s like hearing about someone else’s dream—intriguing to the individual, but not to the audience. However, everything I write sparks from a personal experience or an event I happen to notice, perhaps in the news.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
It’s often a combination of both approaches. But most often, I know where the story is going to end and on occasion have even written the last line almost at the outset. However, even though I also know where the story begins, it unfolds according to its own reality as much as it unfolds according to an plot outline I have on paper or in my mind.

Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
I treat writing as a job, albeit a job that can consume seven days a week. So I start writing once the dogs have been walked and I have a cup of coffee at hand. I take breaks but will work into the evening when I’m accomplishing something. But there’s nothing particularly idiosyncratic about my usual routine.

Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
If I can include editing other people’s work, then yes, I have done almost nothing other than writing to earn a living since 2001. Prior to then I was a magazine editor.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
This list is almost too long. The prose writers who immediately spring to mind are Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Thomas Pynchon, J.M. Coetzee, Pete Dexter, Cormac McCarthy, Kurt Vonnegut, Ann Patchett, Joseph Conrad, Flannery O’Connor, Saul Bellow, and Toni Morrison, but a recitation of my favorite authors could go on and on. I love many different authors and many different writing styles.

What are you reading now?
I read multiple books simultaneously. The ones that are underway at the moment are Bad Reputation by Matt Hader; House of Meetings by Martin Amis; Bird Sense by Tim Birkhead; TransAtlantic by Colum McCann; The Long Home by William Gay; Seeing by Jose Saramago; Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon; and Life by Richard Fortey.

Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
Yes. It’s the story of a 35-year-old woman in 1960 who is in no way prepared to raise four children by herself. The novel follows the twists and turns of her efforts to make her way under what, for her, are nearly impossible circumstances.

Fun questions:
Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
Ryan Gosling as Michael Pollitz; Kevin Dunn as Detective Klinger.

Manuscript/Notes: hand written or keyboard?
Both, but mostly keyboard.

Favorite leisure activity/hobby?
Playing guitar.

Favorite meal?
There are far too many to list—it would take dozens of pages just to compile the finalists. So here’s just one out of at least a thousand: A souvlaki dinner with Greek fries, slathered in white wine sauce and tzatziki, at The Athenian Room restaurant on Chicago’s north side.

ABOUT THE BOOK

(from Kirkus Reviews)

In Dialogues of a Crime, Michael Pollitz must decide whether to protect the mobster who has protected him.

When Mike, a college student in 1972 Illinois, is arrested on drug charges, his father insists he use a public defender. His childhood friend’s father, Dom Calabria, head of the Outfit in Chicago, wants to help Mike by providing a first-rate lawyer, but Mike goes with his father’s wishes. The outcome is a plea bargain for a short stay in Astoria Adult Correctional Facility—but after he’s brutally beaten and raped by three inmates, Mike spends most of his sentence in the infirmary. He doesn’t give up his assailants’ names but threatens their lives right before he’s set to be released. When Mike is picked up by the head of the mob, people notice.

Flash forward to 1994, when Detective Larry Klinger begins investigating the murders of two former Astoria inmates who were violently killed shortly after being released. An informant—the third man who beat Mike—tells Klinger that the murders were committed by Calabria, the kingpin whom Klinger would like to see taken down. Klinger investigates, coming in contact with Mike, and the two form a friendship. When Klinger realizes that Mike will never give up Calabria, he begins to wonder whether it’s even worth investigating the murders of such evil men.

READ AN EXCERPT

From the top of the empty building the river cannot be seen, but its presence seeps through the air like a sense of winter on the northern wind. Blood swells around the wire binding the muscular man’s wrists, and his long blond hair is matted with more blood, just now coagulating in streaks across the duct tape sealing his mouth and muffling his periodic cries. Able to see little more than a red mist through his swollen eye sockets, he flinches away as something round and hard, a thick dowel perhaps, leaves stinging stripes across his back and thighs. Thick hands clutch at his shredded clothing. Not yet in shock and with his lungs straining to somehow split the tape he senses a void at the edge of his consciousness, pebbles on the brittle tar spraying and clattering as in agony he is forced to shuffle forward, shoeless but not feeling the frozen roof.

A pounding on the thin panels of the dormroom door invaded the young man’s sleep. He dreamt briefly of the caissons being driven for the Hancock Center construction when he and his father and older brother visited the site in Chicago in 1968, but the banging woke him in time to hear the door opening. What he saw first against the weak early-spring light from the windows was a tall, disheveled middle-aged man with short salt-and-pepper hair wearing an inexpensive suit. Cop? was his first thought. The man glanced around the messy room, then stared down at the student as another heavier officer moved through the entranceway, holding aside a burlap screen the young man’s roommate had hung between the room and the closets. Finally a remotely familiar short bald man with a beard entered quickly, looked down at the young man and said, “That’s him.” The bald man pivoted and disappeared. The young man thought he recognized the beard, but not the bald head or the tie.

“What?” the young man breathed as the heavier cop twitched away his blanket and with an air of perfunctory finality clutched his upper arm, pulled him upright, turned him toward the windows and clipped handcuffs around his wrists. Salt-and-pepper rummaged through the top drawer of his desk and pulled out his checkbook. The young man sat naked on the bed with his hands cuffed behind his hips.

The heavier cop stared down at him, then seemed to relent and said, “You’re under arrest.” An inane idea entered the young man’s mind—he thought it was an April Fool’s joke. The door to his room stood open, and he could hear activity down the hall, more pounding on doors.

Salt-and-pepper opened the checkbook and said, “Michael J. Pollitz. That you?”

“You don’t know who I am?” Michael felt a rush of sleepy terror. His narrow face reddened.

“We know,” said the heavy cop. Both men moved around the room, opening drawers in the desks and small dressers. They walked across his clothing. The heavy cop kicked aside some junk-food wrappers on the floor and used his foot to rearrange a pile of papers and books. Salt-and-pepper opened one of the closets, looked down at the pile of clothing, luggage, books and trash, and shut the door again. It occurred to Michael that they weren’t searching for anything, their indifferent examination a matter of going through the motions. Both seemed bored.

“Can I put on some clothes?” Michael asked. He was well muscled in a way that echoed high school athletics, but he was small and felt shriveled and unbearably vulnerable, nude and handcuffed. His nineteen-year-old mind flashed a brief homophobic panic, even though he knew he was dealing with police. The freeze-dried fantasy included a grisly murder. The heavy cop exchanged a look with salt-and-pepper, then nodded. Michael stood and turned, and the detective removed the cuffs. Michael self-consciously shifted his body as he grabbed a pair of threadbare blue and white striped bell bottom pants from the floor and pulled them on. He picked up a wrinkled blue work shirt and buttoned it, and he tied his tennis shoes without sitting. He combed his long hair away from his face with his fingers before he detective replaced the handcuffs, and Michael sat again.

“Feel better?” salt-and-pepper asked with an ironic smile. Then he left the room. The heavy cop positioned himself in the entrance, in front of the flimsy curtain, and stared impassively. Michael looked at the windows, brighter now as dawn filled the sky. Almost to himself, he said, “What is this?”

“You’re under arrest,” the detective repeated.

“Why?”

The detective didn’t answer, and Michael wasn’t able to endure his stare. He looked through the windows again. His room was at the end of a long hall on the top floor in one of the older dormitories on the small campus, a three-story building with just two floors of rooms, the building shaped like a T with a central staircase that led down to the Student Union. The noises from the hall had died down, but he could hear voices. Still bleary, he couldn’t sort out his thoughts. Why was he being arrested? He hadn’t done anything. It was something with the bald guy, but he couldn’t fill in the blanks.

His friend John Calabria’s father came into his mind. He was suddenly overcome with a desire to be sitting in the office at Dominick Calabria’s farm northwest of Chicago, untouchable, waiting for the man’s sharp smile to fade as he offered a serious solution. What would Dominick Calabria do? Nothing. He would say nothing at all and wait for his lawyer. Lawyers. An army of lawyers.

“Can’t you tell me what’s going on?” Michael asked, overcome by confusion and anxiety. The heavy detective’s expression didn’t change even as salt-and-pepper returned.

“Set?” the heavy detective asked.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Both cops stepped to the bed and raised the young man by his arms.

As they walked down the hall, Michael said, “I need to piss,” nodding toward the common bathroom. Both cops followed him to the urinals, and the heavy detective removed the handcuffs. When Michael finished, they didn’t replace the restraint. The young man felt a childish flush of relief that was almost pride for the miniscule favor: He was trustworthy, they could see that. And this added an absurd hope that the arrest was a mistake that would soon be clarified.

Outside, a friend from the sophomore class, Pat Kinnealy, whose room was down the hall from Michael’s, stood in handcuffs near an unmarked car in the small parking area next to the dorm. It was brightening into a lovely day. Michael glanced up at the sky, then back toward the parking spaces. Behind the unmarked car were one local squad car and three state cruisers. State troopers stood near their cars. Strangers were seated in the backseats of two of the state vehicles. He could see another acquaintance, a man two years older who lived in an apartment in town, with another stranger in the backseat of the local car. Both sat with the awkward tilt of handcuffed prisoners. Two freshmen from the floor below Michael’s stood in the parking area, also with their hands manacled behind their backs, and a small comprehension formed: The two roommates sold reefer, LSD, mescaline and amphetamines in small quantities from their room—he had purchased from them. Michael suddenly felt conspicuous without handcuffs, caught somewhere in the hostile twilight between Us and Them.

He and Pat were ushered into the backseat of the unmarked car. The two freshmen were placed in one of the state cruisers. “Why aren’t you handcuffed?” Pat asked. Beneath a taut strain of somnolent shock, his pallid face was a mixture of relief and accusation.

“They took them off when I peed,” Michael said. “They didn’t put them back on.” The cops were talking outside the cars.

“Did you recognize the bald guy?” Pat asked.

“Not really.”

“I think I sold him some white cross last fall,” Pat said mournfully. “Dan brought him over with another guy,” nodding toward their friend in the local squad car. “I think he was wearing a stocking cap, but I recognize the beard.” Pat seemed on the verge of tears, the skin pale around his eyes.

“I never sold him anything,” the young man mused, feeling relieved and silently reassuring himself that a mistake was being made. His roommate had from time to time sold an ounce or two of excess grass; they must have intended to arrest him instead. A straw to grasp. He didn’t know about the strangers in the state cars, but even though the two freshmen usually had hallucinogens or speed to sell, they weren’t serious dealers, and he, Pat and Dan weren’t dealers at all. Not in the sense of buying quantities and selling again for a profit or even for a supply of free drugs. But he had an uneasy feeling. He thought he recognized the bearded bald man as well, and Pat confirmed it. He thought he had met him once, when Dan brought him to his room in search of drugs. Michael had shown him to the freshmen’s room several months earlier, before Thanksgiving. Could that be it? It seemed too inconsequential to be real.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Crime Fiction
Published by: Amika Press
Publication Date: July 26, 2013
Number of Pages: 300
ISBN: July 26, 2013
NOTE: Excessive strong language & Graphic violence

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DISCLAIMER
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.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Guest Author, The Cadence Group

Guest Author SUSAN E. DAVIS

CMash March 25, 2014 Leave a Comment

WELCOME SUSAN E. DAVIS

SUSAN E. DAVIS

Susan E. Davis is a New Jersey Licensed Physical Therapist with over 36 years of clinical experience, who transitioned from human practice to working with animals. She owns and operates Joycare Onsite, LLC, formed in 2008, providing Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation services exclusively to multiple animal species: in the pet’s home, farm, in clinics, animal shelters, and a zoo. She currently provides pro-bono services once per week to the Monmouth County SPCA and prior to that at Associated Humane Societies/Popcorn Park Animal Clinic. Susan has been a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and its Animal Rehabilitation Special Interest Group and also belongs to the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO). In 2004, she received the Monmouth- Ocean NJAWBO Business Woman of the Year Award, and is currently a nominee for a Northwestern University Alumni Community Service Award. In addition to clinical practice, Susan is a writer and author, public speaker and consultant.
Connect with Susan at these sites:

Q&A with Susan E. Davis

What was your inspiration for your book?
The animals and how they respond to Physical Therapy, especially when compared to human beings! I have a unique perspective on this, having been a “people” physical therapist for 30 years before transitioning into the veterinary world. Animals, though they may not be sure exactly what you are trying to do the first few minutes, figure it out fast. Once they sense you have inherent good intentions, they accept every bit of care you provide. They don’t harbor hidden agendas. They let down their emotional barriers quickly. Because of these traits, they absorb the benefits of PT rapidly and respond usually within the very first encounter. What may take 4-6 PT sessions for a human, can be accomplished in 2 visits or less with an animal. They also hold the improvement longer and I don’t need to schedule appointments as often. For example a person might attend PT 2-3 times per week, but animal sessions are just once per week or every other week.

What do you hope to accomplish?
Empowerment of pet owners to be able to better help their beloved furry/feathered friends. I wrote the book specifically as a guide for the consumer, instead of gearing it toward the veterinary professional. I strongly believe that knowledge is power and if concerned owners are armed with information, they can make the best choices and achieve optimal outcomes for their pets. As a therapy provider, I love to have clients who are savvy and keep me on my toes. I also feel it is very important to teach pet owners all they can do on their own regarding therapy, and there are many examples and recommendations of this throughout the book.

Did you write the book in a linear fashion, or skip around to various topics?
I started with an extensive outline (which became the Table of Contents), in a logical (linear-style) order and organized by medical condition. But after that, I wrote sections in random order, based on my particular passion at the time. If I had a current caseload with lots of neurological cases, I tended to jump ahead to those sections of the manuscript. I drew the contents from actual clinical cases, educational courses, review of current literature, information from therapeutic symposiums, and interviews. I included anecdotal stories from actual experiences in pet’s homes, animal shelters, zoos, and farms which were woven throughout the book.

What is the most important lesson the animals have taught you?
Trust. Not simple blind trust, but allowing oneself to trust another once you have used your internal intuition or compass to determine that the other’s intentions seem sound. The animals don’t wait for you to prove yourself fully or lay out all of your cards, but quickly process the initial input provided and if it meets their threshold, they surrender to your loving care.

What traits or habits are important for someone interested in writing a book?
Curiosity, concentration, discipline, a love of reading, and the ability to function on reduced sleep!

Who are your favorite authors?
My favorite current day author is Anita Shreve. I also love the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and Charles Dickens.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation for Animals is an essential guide that helps a pet owner navigate the veterinary physical therapy and rehabilitation field throughout their animal¹s lifespan. Topics include: finding a qualified therapist, getting started, what to expect on the initial visit, goal setting, treatment intervention plans, anatomy, and descriptions of a wide variety of conditions affecting the pet in the areas of Orthopedics, Neurology, Oncology, Metabolic Illness, etc. The book also addresses interesting topics such as Seniors/Geriatrics, Arthritis, Injury Prevention, Sports and Athletic animals, Stem Cell Procedures, Reiki, Braces and Splints, Wheeled Carts and Artificial limbs, etc. Numerous patient case studies and anecdotal stories covering over 5 animal species are interspersed throughout the book.

BOOK DETAILS:

Number of Pages: 286 pages
Publisher: Joycare Media
Publication Date: July 30, 2013
ISBN-10: 0989275000
ISBN-13: 978-0989275002

PURCHASE LINKS:

DISCLAIMER
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.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.