Guest Author Ruth Kaiser

CMash April 11, 2012 Leave a Comment

Those ladies have done it again!! Jodi and Robyn from WOW are stopping by with yet another amazing author. So put on your smiley face, sit back, and have some fun with today’s guest, Ms. Ruth Kaiser!!

ABOUT RUTH KAISER

Ruth is proud to be a self-proclaimed, happy-go-lucky, cockeyed optimist. Also known as a Pollyanna, a goofball, and little Miss Sunshine, Ruth is an easy breezy, cup runneth over, top of the world, outgoing, people loving, fun seeking gal. This perky gregarious, cracking herself up child at heart is filled with gratitude every minute of every day!

She is mom to three of the greatest kids ever who, even though they are all out in the world pretending to be grown-ups, will always be her babies. To pay for all those kids college tuitions, Ruth owns a small chain of preschools called TOT DROP where for 18 years she has been known and loved as Teacher Ruth by hundreds of preschoolers and their parents. To quote one of her mommies, Everyone should have a Teacher Ruth in their life!

Although completely allergic to cats, she is also completely enamored with them. So Philbert, Noodle, Rooster, and Mr. Simon have the run of the house and Ruth sits on a plastic chair and washes her hands a hundred times a day.

Ruth studied art at the University of California at Berkeley, but really believes that everyone is an artist. With excitement she proclaims, How cool is it that the Internet has given us all an avenue to share our art!

Smile. Be happy!

Its a choice you can choose.

Give it a try,

Youve got nothing to lose.

Connect with Ruth at her Facebook page, website and blog.

Listen to her Spontaneous Smiley Song here.

GUEST POST

Here is the message
That we want to share:
There’s a happier life,
You can pull from thin air.
From A child’s book of Optimism, A SMILEY BOOK OF COLORS
www.tinyurl.com/3c2qyd6

You Needn’t Wait for Happiness to Sneak Up on You.

I’m the Smiley Lady, both by virtue of my online art project, SpontaneousSmiley.com and by virtue of my sunny disposition.

I recently went a few verbal rounds with someone who asserted that my sunny outlook, my being decidedly optimistic (as in I decide to be optimistic) meant that the happiness I experience was artificial, synthetic, not to be valued.

His assertion was that true happiness was that great feeling that sneaks up on you when you’re doing something really fun or being with someone really great.

I don’t doubt that that is true. I just assert that it isn’t the only way to experience happiness. You needn’t wait for happiness to sneak up on you. You can search it out, you can sneak up on it.

One reporter’s headline about the Spontaneous Smiley Project was: Finding Mirth in the Mundane. That’s what this project is all about. But, when fun doesn’t seem to be there (ironing, errands, waiting to cross the street), you can make fun.

Here’s an example that comes right from getting ready this morning. Whenever I near the end of a jar of vitamins, I put the last few from the old jar into the new jar. Why? I figure those last guys have managed to survive every time I unscrew the lid. Why not toss them into the new jar. Why not give them a chance to survive a little longer.

And it’s got to be a big thrill for them (here I know I am my father’s daughter, talking about the feelings of objects). After all for the last many weeks their odds of getting consumed rose everyday as the number of vitamins remaining in the jar diminished. Suddenly they are tossed into a full jar. No longer are they one among a few; now they are one among many.

Who knows? They might make it to the end of this jar as well. I’m rooting for them. But I also like, that I’ll never know.

So the point here is that happiness isn’t only derived from things you describe as really, really this or really, really that. The lesson of Spontaneous Smiley is that it’s possible to derive happiness from minutia, from the littlest of things, the most mundane of chores, the least likely of objects.

Bird Poop? Yes! Garbage Can? Yes!

Peeling Paint? Yes! Broken Keyboard? Yes!

But if minutia is going to do it for you, it does require that you decide to notice minutia and define it as good, pleasant, beautiful, etc.

Smile. Be happy!

Ruth

These holes are on the floor where a gate swings  to lock an entrance.  I imagine the worker who drilled not 1 but 6 holes  before getting one in the right place, was none too happy.  I wish I’d been there to point out  that it was Smiley good luck that his/her errors  left a reason for all to smile.  And no, we’re not laughing at you,  we’re laughing at how great life can be!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Smiley Book of Colors contains a rhyming verse written to get parents talking to their children about optimism, specifically about choosing happiness. The photo illustrations — arranged by color — are “Smileys” found hidden in fire trucks, flowers, clouds, even mommys latte. Although it is a children’s picture book, A Smiley Book of Colors is really for anyone who needs a burst of happiness in their day.

Just Thought You Should Know:

For every Smiley photo that is uploaded to the Spontaneous Smiley website, one dollar is donated to Operation Smile, to fund reconstructive surgeries for children with facial deformities such as cleft palate and cleft lip. The Spontaneous Smiley has funded eighteen surgeries so far, one Smiley at a time.

Ruth is also running a special contest for a signed copy of The Smiley Book of Color on her website to be awarded on the last day of the tour: April 19. To enter this contest, readers have to snap a pic of a Smiley and upload it to her website. To be entered in the contest, your readers should enter the word WOW in the box marked Smiley Title when they upload their photo.

[yframe url=’http://youtu.be/LAKZfZ5BZtU’]

THANKS TO AUTHOR, RUTH KAISER, I HAVE
ONE (1) COPY OF HER BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

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.

Guest Author, Tribute Books

Guest Author Dan Romain

CMash April 9, 2012 1 Comment

Today, Nicole from Tribute Books, is stopping by to introduce us all to a very busy and talented gentleman to talk about his new book. Please welcome Dan Romain!!

ABOUT DAN ROMAIN

Dan Romain is a nationally recognized business consultant who built one of the most successful insurance firms in the country. A graduate of the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economics Society, he currently resides in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Lori, their two children, Danielle and Brian, and their black Labrador, Kona. He has been widely credited as one of the few who accurately predicted the economic melt down.
You can connect with the author at the following sites:
The Quaker State Affair website:
Dan Romain’s business website:
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
The Quaker State Affair blog tour site:

GUEST POST

When writing The Quaker State Affair, I realized that Americans have grown numb from all the buzz killing news thrust upon them every day. All of us are suffering from chronic media “TMI.” As a result, we’ve become desensitized at precisely that moment in time when our perspectives need to be challenged.

So, I endeavored to write this book to be an enjoyable read notwithstanding the fact that all hell breaks loose. And, from the various books reviews we’ve enjoyed, I guess that I managed to do just that. I hope you enjoy the book and I’d love to hear from you.

The world revolves around the drill bit and yet, man has passed the point where we pump more black, unctuous goo (oil) today than we did yesterday. This comes at a time when our oil appetite continues to grow exponentially. Just imagine 1.3 billion Chinese with average incomes in 2035 equal to American incomes today (fact).

The problem is that oil is priced in US dollars and those greenbacks are losing their buying power at an unparalleled rate. Meanwhile, a worldwide movement is afoot to replace the US dollar as the sole currency used to purchase oil. When, not if, that occurs, life as we know it will turn to pooh. This book is about such a moment in time, sans the buzz kill, of course.

Compounding the geopolitical problem is an emerging China with serious structural and cultural issues that they will not be able to suppress for much longer. Their economy is riddled with corruption, unofficially high levels of inflation and political unrest arising out of the enlightenment of its people. Socio-economic tensions in China are real. Its rural population is depopulating at a time when Chinese need evermore from those migrating farmers. Pollution in China is out of control. They thirst for oil. Their imports are growing faster than their exports. The overall trade surplus of China has fallen 34 percent since 2009. America, China’s favorite buyer, is dead, flat, irritably broke. That’s a problem if your job is to centrally plan the world’s second largest economy.

Amidst all the turmoil, China is amassing a naval armada unequaled in man’s history. It uniforms over one million men and trains them at a pre-war frenzy. For what?

If one could construct a financial balance sheet to depict the world’s economic “net worth”, that image would paint a dire picture. The world’s sovereign paper-based currencies and the countries that print them are bankrupt. The corresponding Credit Default Swap redemptions would collapse the financial systems if that realization ever took hold. This, then, is a tale about all such things coming to a point in time when a seemingly harmless event pushes the inevitable into motion and sets upon the landscape a hundred years of backdrop that unfolds “overnight.” It’s a story of intrigue, tragedy and hope.

ABOUT THE BOOK

What happens when “some day” finally arrives?

A mysterious explosion in Taiwan. Nuclear secrets stolen from Los Alamos. China’s manifest destiny at hand.

In the near future, America and China go head-to-head in a battle of technological bluffs, setting in motion a chain of events that could lead to skyrocketing oil prices, the end of the dollar, the American way of life, and the republic itself. The only man who might have an answer in the midst of the international crisis is Patrick “Mac” McDaniels, a world-renowned physicist who wants nothing to do with the government. Has he been conducting revolutionary energy research in secret? And if so, will McDaniels be America’s salvation—or its ruin?
Book Details:
Hardcover
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Price: $22.95
ISBN: 9781937293406
Pages: 375
Release: November 1, 2011
MyBookOrders.com Buy Link:

THANKS TO AUTHOR, DAN ROMAIN, I
HAVE A HC OF HIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER

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,

Barnes & Noble and/or any other retail/wholesale

outlets either online and/or elsewhere.

I am providing this link solely for visitors

that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

I do not receive any monetary compensation from any parties

Guest Author

Guest Author Lois Hoitenga Roelofs

CMash April 7, 2012 Leave a Comment

The ladies at WOW have done it again!! They are touring with another remarkable woman, and today we have the pleasure of her company, as she visits and tells us about her book. So lets give a warm welcome to Ms. Lois Hoitenga Roelofs.

ABOUT LOIS HOITENGA ROELOFS

Lois longed to fly the friendly skies but in 1968 ministers daughters did not become stewardesses. They chose practical careers like teaching or nursing. For the entire first year of nursing school, Lois made weekly calls home to beg her parents to let her come home. Then her instructors decided she had a bad attitude. Despite her lukewarm feelings about a nursing career Lois set out to prove those cranky old instructors wrong.

Loiss attitude, as well as her feelings about nursing, changed radically during her over 30 year career. She retired in the year 2000 as professor emerita from Trinity Christian College with Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees in nursing. But even that wasnt enough classroom time for Lois. She recently completed three years of the University of Chicago Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults. She now spends her days writing and being a happy grandma.

You can visit the author at her website here.

GUEST POST

Changing Minds about Mental Illness

When I was a young mom, forty-two years ago, I left my husband and two young kids for an overnight to find myself, only to find myself hospitalized two days later on a psychiatric unit diagnosed with anxiety.

After realizing I was missing the adult stimulation of my prior nursing career, I went back to school for advanced degrees in nursing. Later, for nearly fifteen years, I taught mental health nursing to senior nursing students. I spent hundreds of hours on inpatient psychiatric units mingling with the patients.

When I’d meet patients that knew me, they would, without fail, say, “You won’t tell anyone you saw me here, will you?” Of course not. I understood. I had told only a few people myself of my hospitalization.

So I know about the mind-set surrounding mental illness. The hush-hush. The stigma. And it’s always been a mission of mine to help reduce that stigma.

What about you? Have you or a loved one ever been diagnosed with a mental illness? How did you feel? What did you do? Whom did you turn to? How did or does the stigma of mental illness affect your life?

When we do not know that mental illnesses are brain disorders similar to physical illnesses being disorders, for example, of the heart, liver, or pancreas, it’s what we don’t know that leads to our “fear of the unknown.” And it’s that “fear of the unknown” that leads to the hush-hush, the stigma surrounding mental illness.

So how can we begin to take steps to change minds in our society about mental illness? Let’s take an example: your friend tells you her college-age daughter, Mackenzie, has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. What can you do?

1. Listen. Do not judge. Your friend needs support.

2. Offer to walk along with your friend into this new world. Maintain her confidentiality. Do not gossip about her or her daughter with others. Attend “open” support groups with her.

3. Adopt the same attitude that you have toward physical illness. If the clinic physician at Mackenzie’s college diagnosed her with strep throat, would you advise against antibiotics?

4. Make it your mission to learn about schizophrenia. An easy place to start is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (www.nami.org). NAMI’s site presents information covering all mental illnesses, explaining their physical (structural and functional brain changes) as well as other causes.

5. Educate yourself on public policy issues. Observe what’s lacking for your friend. Is it access to care, availability of care, insurance coverage? Write your congressman. Make a difference.

Is there something you already do to educate others about mental illness? If so, thank you! And know that people living with mental illness and their families and friends, will appreciate that you are educating yourself, being their support, and advocating on their behalf.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:

Lois Roelofs describes herself as a rebellious ministers daughter, a reluctant nurse, a restless mom, and a perpetual student who eventually became a fun-loving teacher of mental health nursing. During her forty-year nursing career, she cared for patients and taught nursing students in primarily mental health and medical-surgical settings. As a caregiver, she learned the value of caring for herself and did so by changing jobs to suit her interests, going back to school more than once to feed her crave for learning, and seeking professional help when personal and family crises invaded her life.

You will be amused, saddened, and inspired as you read this intimate and introspective memoir. Plus you will learn the importance of faith, family, and friendshipwhatever your professionand come away with a new appreciation of caring for yourself as well as caring for others.

You can see my review here.

Just Thought You Should Know:

Caring Lessons would be the ideal gift for a nurse celebrating a flurry of nursing holidays in May:

· National RN Day (May 6)

· Florence Nightingales Birthday (Mary 12)

· National Nurses Week (May 6 to May 12)

· Nursing Month (May)

· Nursing School Graduations (May)

Mental Health nursing and personal mental health issues are also a sub-plot of this memoir and May is Mental Health Month.

THANKS TO THE AUTHOR, LOIS HOITENGA ROELOFS
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF HER MEMOIR TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

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.

Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours

Guest Author Alan Williams

CMash April 5, 2012 Leave a Comment

Today I have a very special guest stopping by. I have met the nicest people since I started reviewing, blogging and now with Partners In Crime Tours and Alan is one of them. Today I hope is the beginning of this author’s dreams. You will learn more about him in the remainder of this post and my review. So let’s get started and please help me welcome Mr. Alan Williams to the CMash blog!!

ABOUT ALAN WILLIAMS

Alan Williams is a UK based writer, environmentalist, naturalist, allotment holder, dog owner and blogger. He is also a reviewer for Partners In Crime Tours!
You can visit Alan at his website, Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A killer is stalking London; a banker is already dead, killed in an explosion, and there are more victims in the killer’s sights.
Techno geek and Internet journalist, Wil Jackson becomes inadvertently embroiled in the investigation when he interviews one of the murder victims, and the killer starts communicating with Wil via the Internet.
Can Wil help the police stop the killer before the body count increases further?

Read an excerpt:

As Wil walked up his front path, he heard the gate open behind him and a voice ask, “Mr Jackson?”
He turned. “Yes, that’s right, how can I help you?”
The person asking the question was tall and well-built, although it looked all muscle, not a streak of fat. But for the pink polo shirt and linen trousers over deck shoes, the guy would look quite frightening, as he filled the gateway on his way through it.
“I’m Detective Chief Inspector Price, Metropolitan Police. I’d like to talk to you about a Mr Arthur Trent. Do you know Mr Trent?”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t say that I actually ‘know’ him, as such. I interviewed him a couple of days ago for a piece I’m writing for a website. What’s this all about?”
“It would be better if we spoke inside, Mr Jackson – the situation is a little delicate at this moment in time.”
“Sure, come around to my office; we can talk there. Follow me.”
Wil led the Inspector around the side of his end terrace and through another gate, taking him into the back garden and towards his living-ark office. He unlocked the door and slid it to one side. The cool air from the inside washed across them.
“Seems like it would be more comfortable to talk in there,” Price said. “Air-conditioning?”
“No, it’s all part of the design. Stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer, perfect for working in, an office away from home, although not quite. Pretty geeky too, isn’t it? Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Err…yes.”
Wil raised an eyebrow in enquiry.
“Sorry. Yes to the tea, and your shed. Milk no sugar, please.”
“Come in and take a seat.” Wil waved towards a smart red leather sofa centre-piecing a wall of his office. “I’ll put the kettle on.”
Price relaxed into the plush sofa and had a good look around the interior. It was clearly, first and foremost, an office of sorts, although from the outside, it looked a little like something out of a science fiction movie. One wall contained a work bench with monitors, telephone, computers and a printer, as well as a disarray of paperwork scattered across the surface. The side where Price was sitting was mostly taken up by the sofa but also had some bookshelves with a mixture of what looked to be science fiction novels crossed with text books and other works of non-fiction. Price watched Wil as he moved towards the back corner of the room, where there was a kettle and a coffee maker. As with the computer hardware and other paraphernalia in the room, these looked rather sedate, but apparently functional. There were a further two doors on the back wall; Price guessed that one probably led to some kind of bathroom, but had no idea what might lie behind the other. In between th! em stood a wood burning stove with a polished, galvanised chimney, which rose to the ceiling; it was showing some blueing from heat at the joins.
Price continued to watch Wil; he didn’t look to be a very likely murder suspect, more like an out of place schoolboy. Somewhere between nerd and geek, he hardly looked capable of blowing someone up – although appearances could be deceptive, and judging by the amount of technology and other bits and pieces in this one room alone, he wouldn’t be at all surprised if Wil Jackson had more than one skeleton in his closet.
Wil turned from his tea making duties with a cup of steaming brew in his hand, which he passed to Price. After taking a second cup, he settled into his office chair at the work bench.
“Now, what’s all this about Arthur Trent?” Wil asked, raising an eyebrow.
“When you saw Mr Trent, was it in his office, Mr Jackson?”
“It was, down in the Docklands. That big tower, owned by the bank he worked for – great view from forty-four floors up. I still don’t understand what I can help you with, though, Inspector, err, Price, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right, Gavin Price. Mr Trent is dead, sir – murdered by the looks of things, and we’re trying to establish who he saw in the last few days of his life. That’s why I need to speak to you. It seems as though you were one of the last people to actually see him alive.”
Suddenly it all made sense to Wil; the news report, and now the policeman on his doorstep asking questions.

Read my review here.

Amazon link for Killer Bytes: A Novella of Intrigue by Alan Williams

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,

Barnes & Noble and/or any other retail/wholesale

outlets either online and/or elsewhere.

I am providing this link solely for visitors

that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

I do not receive any monetary compensation from any parties

Book Review, Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

Guest Author Bill Walker

CMash April 1, 2012 Leave a Comment

Today is a very special day for me. And what better way to spend my birthday then with an old (and not chronologically lol) friend. I read and reviewed Bill’s first book, A Note from an Old Acquaintance, for another tour company back in March of 2010 . He then emailed me asking if I would post my review on Amazon and we kept in touch. Then in August of 2010 he bestowed on me a great honor and entrusted me to read and review his rewritten manuscript of Titanic 2012. Today, not only is he stopping by to kick off his tour, but he is kicking it off with Partners In Crime Tours. I will be reposting my review because, as you will see, that was what I promised to do. So please help me welcome my friend and author, Mr. Bill Walker.

ABOUT BILL WALKER

A graduate of Emerson College’s prestigious film school, Bill wrote and directed his first feature film, Pawn, while still a student. After graduation, he co-founded Newbury Filmworks, Inc., an award-winning production company renowned for making high-quality corporate films and commercials.

In 1990, Bill relocated to Los Angeles, and began a freelance story analysis career for various studios and independent production companies, while devoting his spare time to the writing of novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is also a highly-respected graphic designer, specializing in book and dust jacket design. He has worked on books by such luminaries as: Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King. In addition, Bill is a member of the Authors Guild.

He has won awards for his screenwriting, his two short story collections for Mid-Graders, Five-Minute Frights and Five-Minute Chillers, are perennial Halloween favorites, and his first novel, Titanic 2012 was enthusiastically received by readers. His second novel, Camp Stalag was released in 2001. Bill lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Debbie, and their sons, Jeffrey and Brian.
You can visit Bill at his website or Facebook.
You can hear his interview on Blog Talk Radio here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Best-selling mystery novelist Trevor Hughes has no idea that attending his twentieth reunion at Harvard will forever change his life.

Persuaded to go by his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Dr. Julia Magnusson, he meets up with three old friends: Solly Rubens, a self-made Wall Street millionaire; Ken Faust, a successful software entrepreneur; and Harlan Astor, New York real estate tycoon and the glue that holds their circle together.

That afternoon, over drinks at the Harvard Club, Harlan drops his bombshell: He is doing what James Cameron did not — he is rebuilding the Titanic, and sailing the ship on the hundredth anniversary to honor those who died, including his great-grandfather, John Jacob Astor IV. Only Trevor is intrigued by Harlan’s audacity. Touched by his friend’s interest and concern, Harlan invites him on the maiden voyage to serve as the official chronicler.

On April 10, 2012, Trevor journeys to Southampton and, along with the hundreds of handpicked passengers, boards the Titanic. He is awed by the immensity of the ship and the feelings that well up in him. His friend has made his grand dream a reality.

During the journey, armed with his iPod Touch and a miniature wireless camera hidden in his glasses, Trevor interviews both passengers and crew, eager to learn the reasons why they chose to sail on the reborn ship.

Nearly every one of them claims to have been profoundly affected by Cameron’s film, wanting to recapture the magic for themselves. And some of them are dying — their last wish to be on the maiden voyage of the new Titanic.

Trevor is touched that his friend has allowed these people to come aboard, and is unprepared when he meets Madeleine Regehr, a beautiful, free-spirited woman who resists his entreaties to be interviewed, intriguing Trevor all the more. Slowly, and inexorably, Maddy draws him out of his shell, allowing him to love deeply and completely, for the very first time in his life.

But Trevor soon discovers a darker purpose for the voyage, a purpose that threatens to destroy him and the woman he loves. In a race against time that pits friend against friend, Trevor must stop the unstoppable or risk a horrific replay of history…

Read an excerpt:

Chapter One

The furor in the media had just died down when Solly’s call came that rainy midweek day. I’d been hiding from the wolves of the fourth estate for nearly three weeks, holed up in my book-filled condo/prison in Charlestown, unable even to slip outside for a breath of fresh air without some cookie-cutter reporter, with a paint-by-numbers smile, sticking a microphone in my face and asking me the same tired question: “What was it like?”
As if the whole of my experience could be quantified in a sound bite.
Truth was I was avoiding everyone, even Julia and her earnest attempts to help me sort through the miasma of doubt and pain.
Sweet Julia.
We’ve been on-and-off again for the last five years. And I hadn’t seen her for the better part of a year. I¬¬ guess she thought now was as good a time as any to mend fences. Christ, if she only knew….
And what was worse, the book I’d promised my publisher, the one that was supposed to chronicle all I’d been through, lay like a beached whale on the shore of my imagination. I was standing at the bay window overlooking the harbor, watching the rain sluice down the glass, wondering if I would ever have the courage to write again, when my gaze shifted to the pile of DVDs lying in a scattered heap on the teakwood coffee table.
My eyes filled with tears yet again.
“I’m so sorry, Maddy,” I groaned, knocking my forehead against the cool glass. “I’m so goddamned sorry.”
“You have a call,” the computer intoned in a quiet contralto, making me wince. Even the goddamned computer’s voice reminded me of Madeleine.
“Who is it?” I asked, expecting to hear it was yet another call from the Globe. Hometown reporters were the worst, the most ravenous.
And then I remembered I’d instructed the computer to screen all calls, allowing access to only a select few.
“The caller has an Identity Block in place. Shall I take a message?”
I sighed.
To hell with it. I had to rejoin the human race at some point, even if I felt as if I no longer belonged in it.
“Put it through,” I said, making my way over to the sleek MacBook Pro sitting atop my writing desk. The screen came to life and Solly Rubens’ round face filled the screen. His saturnine looks were etched with concern, an expression that somehow looked ominous on him.
“Hey, Hughes, you okay? How are you holding up?”
The tiny “picture-in-picture” in the upper left-hand corner of the screen showed me what Solly was seeing, rendering his question moot.
I looked as if I’d taken the cook’s tour of Hell: blue eyes¬¬–red-rimmed and puffy–surrounded by dark circles, sandy hair greasy and disheveled, three-day growth of a patchy red-flecked beard, and the same clothes I’d worn since Monday. I looked sixty-two, instead of forty-two. All in all, I presented a picture about as far as one could get from what Boston magazine had called: “The World’s Most Eligible Author.”
“How the hell do you think I’m holding up?” I said, staring back at Solly. His eyes blinked rapidly and I debated whether or not to instruct the MAC to disconnect, when he spoke again.
“Aw, man, I’m sorry. I really put my foot in it, didn’t I?” he said, trying to appear contrite. “Listen, I know we’ve never been the best of pals, but we had some good times back in school, didn’t we? I mean, Christ, we’ve been through a hell of a lot since Harvard. You a hotshot writer. Me hittin’ the big time. I still can’t believe it’s been a year–”
“What do you want, Solly?”
His porcine eyes darted somewhere off-screen, then riveted onto mine.
“Ken and I thought you should get out of the house, maybe meet us at the Harvard Club. What do you say?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You gotta talk about it sometime,” he said, his Brooklyn tenor rising in pitch. “You’ve been avoiding us for weeks, you look like crap, and everybody–and I mean everybody’s–been trying to find out what the hell happened out there. And what about Julia? You shutting her out? You treatin’ her like dirt, too?”
I resented him bringing her name up, only because I knew he was using her as leverage, and not out of any real concern for her feelings.
Not that I was any better.
“She’s none of your business, Solly. Leave her out of this.”
“All right, I’m sorry. But you know I’m right. You gotta get on with your life, for Christ’s sake. If you’re not gonna do it for yourself, do it for Harlan.”
I leaned forward, my nose practically touching the screen. “Where were you when Harlan needed the three of us? Huh? Where the hell were you when the chips were down? Taking Karen to another Broadway show?”
Solly’s lips compressed into a thin angry line. “Okay, I deserved that. But Ken and I have a right to know what happened.”
So, that was it. Like everyone else, they wanted to know the truth about Harlan’s death–wanted to know all the gory details. Christ, they were no better than the goddamned muckrakers slinking around my front door. And why was it so important to Ken and Solly, anyway?
Would it bring Harlan back? Would it bring any of them back? Why the hell couldn’t they just leave me alone?
And then, all at once, the anger passed, as if someone had thrown a switch inside me. Suddenly, I wanted very badly to tell someone–anyone. And perhaps it was more than fitting to do it where it all began.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll meet you guys at the club, Friday night at six.”
Solly cracked a grin, revealing crooked yellow teeth. “It’ll do you good, Hughes, you’ll see.”
“Maybe…. But drinks and dinner are on you.”
He chuckled.
“My pleasure. See you there.”
The screen went dark, and I sat there for a long moment, wondering if I shouldn’t blow them off. And then I realized Harlan would want me to go. I doubted very much, however, once they heard the whole story, it would be any pleasure for any of us….

This is my review that was posted on August 16th, 2010:

There are caveats before I give my official review. Back in February I read, reviewed and hosted a “Guest Author” spotlight at the request of Pump Up Your Book, for A Note from an Old Acquaintance by Bill Walker. I thought the book was exceptional, giving it a rating of 5/5. You can read my review here. Bill had contacted me, after I posted my review, and asked if I would mind posting the review on some sites, which I agreed to do. Since that time, we have touched base every now and then as to how things were going with his book. He told me that he was working on a manuscript (revising, editing, making changes) of a book that he had written and with limited printing in 1998. I then received an email from him, which amazed me, surprised me and, quite honestly, felt honored to receive this request. Could he entrust me with this manuscript and give my honest opinion as a reader, consumer and reviewer?

I have not read the original Titanic 2012, that was printed years ago so I can not compare it to the revised manuscript that I recently finished reading. However, and ironically knowing that I had the manuscript in my EReader waiting for me to read, I saw that another blogger had found a copy of the original and had read the book. Sheila, from One Person’s Journey Through A World Of Books, reviewed this book on her blog. I also need to say that the revised manuscript edition, is just that, a manuscript. Bill has informed me that it is now in his agent’s hand, so the revised edition, that I will be reviewing, has not yet been published nor is it available as of this date. However. I did tell him that since this blog is about books and my honest thoughts and reviews of books I read, that I would treat his manuscript in the same manner I do for all books I read. I also told him that I pride myself on giving a credible and honest review of every book I read, and that the same criteria would be utilized for his manuscript. He agreed. He also promised me that when the book does become available, he would notify me to let my followers, readers and visitors know so that I can give an update. And now my thoughts and opinion of said manuscript:

Titanic 2012 by Bill Walker (revised manuscript)
Final Manuscript Draft
At the request of the author, who entrusted me with his manuscript, a PDF was sent via email to be downloaded to my EReader, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (blurb borrowed from GoodReads for original print): When James Cameron’s vision of a movie, Titanic, made it to the screen, who would’ve known just how popular it would become? Now there’s a new mystery thriller that puts the luxury liner of doom in the near future with suspenseful results. It’s the year 2012, and best selling mystery novelist Trevor Hughes has just about completed his next big book when old friend Harlan Astor announces that he’s spent hundreds of millions of dollars to stage one of the biggest publicity shows in history: he’s built a new Titanic, an exact replica of the 1912 version. This tweaks Trevor’s writerly instincts, and in short order, he breaks up with his girlfriend and heads out for Poland to board the maiden voyage of this colossal remake. Even Kate Winslet is on hand to christen the ship, and the media are eating it up. But why did Astor do this, and why did he handpick the people who are boarding this remarkable ship? First-time novelist Bill Walker rings all the bells and blows all the whistles as he sets sail with his maiden voyage déjà vu, TITANIC 2012.

My Thoughts and Opinion: I have to preface this by saying that I saw the movie, Titanic, on multiple occasions and enjoyed it each time. Also, there will be no spoilers in this review. The premise of the plot, at times parallels the movie to some degree, but the story line stands on its own. The parallels were Harlan Astor, whose great grandfather was lost in the tragedy of the original Titanic, designed the new ship to resemble the original. He also planned other details to resemble the maiden voyage of 1912, such as the dress of the passengers, the menu, the different classes, the valets. As the synopsis states, Titanic 2012 is a suspenseful romance. The author’s words transported me back to 1912 and then back to the present. I found myself so engrossed in reading this manuscript whereas I became part of the story and unaware what was going on around me. The characters were brought to life through the writer’s descriptions and each had their reasons for wanting to be a part of Titanic 2012. As far as the suspense, a page turner. I apologize for being vague, but there are many aspects to the suspense theme and will not include any spoilers in this review. The romance perspective profound, yet tender and emotional.
I am sorry for posting this review due to the fact that it is unavailable as of right now. But will honestly tell you, that when it is published, it is a must read. If you are a fan of Titanic, the movie, you will love Titanic 2012. Put this one on your TBR list now and hopefully it will be obtainable soon. And like the movie whereas I saw it more than once, when this is in print, I will be reading it again. Bravo Mr. Walker !!

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.

Guest Author

Guest Author Steve O’Brien

CMash March 30, 2012 1 Comment

Rebecca, from The Cadence Group, is stopping by with an old friend. It’s been a year since he was last here but is visiting today to talk about his latest novel. Welcome back, Steve O’Brien!!

ABOUT STEVE O’BRIEN

Steve O’Brien is an author and attorney. Redemption Day is his third novel. His prior works, Elijah’s Coin and Bullet Work, have been recipients of multiple literary awards. Since its release, Elijah’s Coin has been added to the reading curriculum in multiple secondary schools throughout the US and has been incorporated in a university ethics course. Steve is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and The George Washington University Law School. He lives in Washington, DC.

GUEST POST

Find the MacGuffin

As I read works by other writers I like to play a game.

I call it find the MacGuffin.

If you aren’t familiar with the term MacGuffin, please don’t drive through a McDonald’s and try to order one. They won’t know what you are talking about.

Imagine you are at a play or other performance. At the opening someone walks out and places a paper bag on the stage. There is clearly something in the bag, but unknown to the audience. The play goes on and occasionally one of the actors will point to or mention the paper bag, but never identify what is in it.

That is the MacGuffin.

The audience tries to follow the play, but their minds keep coming back to the paper bag. What’s in it? How does it relate to the story?

Near the end of the performance the audience wants to run up on stage and rip it open. If something doesn’t happen with the MacGuffin by the third act, a patron from the front row probably will.

A MacGuffin is a film and literary plot technique. It is a thing to be desired or to be feared. Ultimately it is the object of search or interest in a story. Properly used it crops up as a mechanical device in a story and drives the plot.

In a heist movie, the MacGuffin is the diamond necklace. In a spy story, the MacGuffin is the locked briefcase or the damning document.

Some think that emotions can be MacGuffins, but I believe that a MacGuffin must be an object or something tangible. Alfred Hitchcock had a room in his studio where they kept MacGuffins. True to him, I don’t believe you can put an emotion in a studio room.

Some MacGuffins are obvious–the Maltese Falcon, the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, the Ring in Lord of the Rings.

There can also be a series of MacGuffins such as Dan Brown used in The DaVinci Code: Vitruvian Man, a Finbonacci sequence, the safe deposit box, the Rose Line, a cryptex, and ultimately the book’s own Holy Grail. The DaVinci Code is a veritable parade of MacGuffins.

In Redemption Day I used a fractional reserve note as an opening MacGuffin. This was followed by the Posse Comitatus Blue Book, and videotapes of the Supreme Court Justice, Silvio Caprelli.

More important than the actual MacGuffin is how the writer reveals to the reader — and when.

If over explained, the tension bleeds away. If not enough spot light on it, the hook won’t be set deeply enough. In the example with the paper bag at the performance, the curiosity can set the reader into a near frenzy.

MacGuffins must be balanced on the razor’s edge and propel the story.

Contrary to some reviews, not all books are read in one sitting. A MacGuffin makes the reader come back and say “What the heck was that?” and “What will happen next?” It slams the reader back into the story. It demands attention.

MacGuffins can create their own backstory in addition to driving the plot. The MacGuffin is a means to slowly reveal information to the reader, like a fisherman letting out line from his reel. And like the fisherman, the writer must yank on the rod at the exact moment to land the MacGuffin in the reader’s psyche.

So as you are reading, try to find the MacGuffin and study how the author teases out the information about it.

So goes the MacGuffin, so goes the story.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:

Steve O’Brien bases his new novel on the historical events and documented teachings of the Posse Comitatus – an anti-government militia group in the 1980’s that tried to convince farmers that banks could not lawfully foreclose on their properties. Their beliefs led to the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on a date of significance to the group—April 19.

In Redemption Day, the Posse Comitatus has returned, reinvigorated and inspired by the economic downturn and anger over government intrusion. The Posse seeks to not only wreak havoc on the country, but to actually change the political landscape. In their effort to “take back the country,” they kidnap a Supreme Court Justice. With money extorted from a government contractor desperate to win back a domestic terrorism contract, redemption day unfolds.

THANKS TO REBECCA, FROM THE CADENCE GROUP,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF THIS THRILLER TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

Guest Author Mark Gilleo

CMash March 29, 2012 Leave a Comment

Mr. Lou Aronica from The Story Plant has given me the distinct honor to introduce you to today’s guest, who this week, kicks off his virtual tour with Partners In Crime Tours.

I am so excited, thrilled, amazed and enthusiastic about today’s guest. Since I started blogging, I have reviewed many books at the request of The Story Plant and because of it, I have added quite a few “must read authors” to my list. And today, another author has been added. I mentioned the word “amazed”. Truly amazed that this was a debut novel!!! So please help me give a very warm welcome to Mr. Mark Gilleo.

ABOUT MARK GILLEO

Mark Gilleo holds a graduate degree in international business from the University of South Carolina and an undergraduate degree in business from George Mason University. He enjoys traveling, has lived and worked in Asia, and speaks fluent Japanese. A fourth-generation Washingtonian, he currently resides in the D.C. area. His two most recent novels were recognized as finalist and semifinalist, respectively, in the William Faulkner-Wisdom Creative writing competition. The Story Plant will publish his next novel, SWEAT in 2012.

You can visit Mark Gilleo at Love Thy Neighbor page and the www.thestoryplant.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Clark Hayden is a graduate student trying to help his mother navigate through the loss of his father while she continues to live in their house near Washington DC. With his mother’s diminishing mental capacity becoming the norm, Clark expects a certain amount of craziness as he heads home for the holidays. What he couldn’t possibly anticipate, though, is that he would find himself catapulted into the middle of a terrorist operation. As the holiday festivities reach a crescendo, a terrorist cell – which happens to be across the street – is activated. Suddenly Clark is discovering things he never knew about deadly chemicals, secret government operations, suspiciously missing neighbors, and the intentions of a gorgeous IRS auditor. Clark’s quiet suburban neighborhood is about to become o! ne of the most deadly places on the planet, and it’s up to Clark to prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives in the nation’s capital.

Fast, acerbic, wise and endlessly exciting, LOVE THY NEIGHBOR marks the unforgettable debut of a startling new voice in suspense fiction.

Read an excerpt:

AUTHOR’S NOTE
(This part is true.)In late 1999 a woman from Vienna, Virginia, a suburb ten miles from the White House as the crow flies, called the CIA. The woman, a fifty-something mother of three, phoned to report what she referred to as potential terrorists living across the street from her middle-class home. She went on to explain what she had been seeing in her otherwise quiet neighborhood: Strange men of seemingly Middle-Eastern descent using their cell phones in the yard. Meetings in the middle of the night with bumper-to-bumper curbside parking, expensive cars rubbing ends with vans and common Japanese imports. A constant flow of young men, some who seemed to stay for long periods of time without introducing themselves to anyone in the neighborhood. The construction of a six-foot wooden fence to hide the backyard from the street only made the property more suspicious.Upon hearing a layperson’s description of suspicious behavior, the CIA promptly dismissed the woman and her phone call. (Ironically, the woman lived less than a quarter of a mile from a CIA installation, though it was not CIA headquarters as was later reported.)

In the days and weeks following 9/11, the intelligence community in the U.S. began to learn the identities of the nineteen hijackers who had flown the planes into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. In the process of their investigation they discovered that two of the hijackers, one on each of the planes that hit the World Trade Towers, had listed a particular house in Vienna, Virginia as a place of residence.

The FBI and various other agencies swooped in on the unassuming neighborhood and began knocking on doors. When they reached the house of a certain mother of three, she stopped them dead in their tracks. She was purported to have said, “I called the CIA two years ago to report that terrorists were living across the street and no one did anything.”

The CIA claimed to have no record of a phone call.

The news networks set up cameras and began broadcasting from the residential street. ABC, NBC, FOX. The FBI followed up with further inquiries. The woman’s story was later bounced around the various post 9/11 committees and intelligence hearings on Capitol Hill. (Incidentally, after 9/11, the CIA closed its multi-story facility in the neighborhood where the terrorist reportedly lived. In 2006 the empty building was finally torn down and, as of early 2011, was being replaced with another office building).

There has been much speculation about what the government should have or could have known prior to 9/11. The answer is not simple. There have been anecdotal stories of people in Florida and elsewhere who claimed to have reported similar “terrorist” type activities by suspicious people prior to 9/11. None of these stories have been proven.

What we do know is that with the exception of the flight school instructor in Minnesota who questioned the motive of a student who was interested in flying an aircraft without learning how to land, and an unheeded warning from actor James Woods who was on a plane from Boston with several of the purported terrorists while they were doing a trial run, the woman from Vienna, Virginia was the country’s best chance to prevent 9/11. To date, there has been no verification of any other pre-9/11 warnings from the general public so far in advance of that fateful day in September.

For me, there is no doubt as to the validity of the claims of the woman in Vienna.

She lived in the house where I grew up. She is my mother.

Mark Gilleo. October, 2011. Washington DC.

* * *

Ariana turned on the nightlight and closed the door to her daughter’s room. She walked down the carpeted hall towards the light stretching out from the plastic chandelier over the dining room table. Her husband’s chair was empty and she quietly called out his name. No response. As Ariana turned the corner to the kitchen and reached for the knob on the cabinet over the counter, eight hundred pages of advertising crashed into her rib cage, sucking the wind from her lungs. As his wife doubled over, Nazim raised the thick Yellow Book with both hands and hit her on her back, driving her body to the floor.

“Don’t you ever disobey me in front of others again.”

Ariana coughed. There was no blood. This time. She tried to speak but her lips only quivered. Her thick-framed glasses rested on the floor, out of reach. Her brain fought to make sense of what happened, what had set her husband off. It could have been anything. But every curse had its blessing, and for Ariana the blessing was the fact that Nazim didn’t hit her in front of Liana. A blessing that the child didn’t see her mother being punched. The reason was simple. Nazim was afraid of his daughter. Afraid of what she could say now that she could speak.

The curse was that Ariana never knew when she had crossed the line. She never knew when the next blow was coming. She merely had to wait until they were alone to learn her fate for past indiscretions.

Ariana gasped slowly for air. She didn’t cry. The pain she felt in her side wasn’t bad enough to give her husband the satisfaction.

“When I say it is time to leave, it is time to leave. There is no room for negotiation in this marriage.”

Ariana panted as her mind flashed back to the Christmas party. She immediately realized her faux pas. “I didn’t want to be rude to Maria. She spent days making dessert. She is old. Do we not respect our elders anymore?”

Nazim pushed his wife onto the floor with his knee, a reaction Ariana fully expected. “You are my wife. This is about you and me. Our neighbor has nothing to do with it.” Nazim looked down at Ariana sprawled on the linoleum and spit on her with more mock than saliva.

“Maria is my friend.”

“Well, her son is coming home and she doesn’t need you.”

Nazim dropped the yellow book on the counter with a thud and went to the basement. Ariana gathered herself, pushing her body onto all fours and then pulling herself up by the front of the oven. She looked at the Yellow Book and her blood boiled. It was like getting hit by a cinderblock with soft edges. When it hit flush, it left very little bruising. As her husband intended. For a man of slight build, Nazim could generate power when a beating was needed.

Ariana took inventory of herself, one hand propping herself up on the counter. She had been beaten worse. Far worse. By other men before she met her husband. Her eyes moved beyond the Yellow Pages and settled on the knife set on the counter, the shiny German steel resting in its wooden block holder. She grabbed the fillet knife, caressed the blade with her eyes, and then pushed the thought from her mind.

Her husband called her from the basement and she snapped out of her momentary daze. “Coming,” she answered, putting the knife back in its designated slot in the wood. She knew what was coming next. It was always the same. A physical assault followed by a sexual one. She reached up her skirt and removed her panties. There was no sense in having another pair ripped, even if robbing Nazim of the joy would cost her a punch or two.

Christmas, the season of giving, she thought as she made her way down the stairs into the chilly basement.

Amazon link B&N link

Read my review here.

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,

Barnes & Noble and/or any other retail/wholesale

outlets either online and/or elsewhere.

I am providing this link solely for visitors

that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

I do not receive any monetary compensation from any parties

Guest Author

Guest Author MJ Rose

CMash March 28, 2012 Leave a Comment

All I can say is WOW!!! It’s not every day that an international best selling author stops by. But today, we are in for a special treat. I have the distinct honor to welcome MJ Rose to the CMash blog. Please help me give her a warm welcome, as she visits and talks about her latest novel. Ms. MJ Rose !!!

ABOUT MJ ROSE

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra–and lost for 2,000 years.

Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances–and of her mother’s suicide–she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it’s financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing–leaving a dead body in his wake–Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother’s disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L’Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation – or is it just another dream infused perfume?

The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac’s quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.

GUEST POST

I’ve been fascinated with lost fragrances since long before I started writing The Book of Lost Fragrances… since I found a bottle of perfume on my great grandmother’s dresser that had belonged to her mother in Russia. Here is one of those lost fragrances that stirs the senses and the imagination… (reasearched and described with the help of the perfume writer Dimitrios Dimitriadis)

CHÉRIGAN – FLEURS DE TABAC
At the height of the Art Deco age, Parfums Chérigan launched Fleurs de Tabacin 1929.
Fleurs de Tabachas a brisk citrus opening over a dry, smokey vetiver heart which is imbued with tiny star-shaped jasmine blooms and sheets of pungent cured tobacco leaf. Finally, a rich amber/vanilla base and sensual muskiness reveals itself and trails off well into the drydown. A wonderful example of the European predilection towards tobacco-inspired scents in the 20’s and 30’s, and one that is sadly now lost to time.

DISCLAIMER

No items that I receive

are ever sold…they are kept by me,

or given to family and/or friends.