If you are a frequent visitor, today’s guest may sound familiar.  He was here back in May of 2011 when he stopped by to talk about his novel Dead of Wynter, which I had stated to put him on your radar.  So when Erin and Kate, from The Book Trib, contacted me to review his latest novel, be part of his tour and scavenger hunt, it was a definite yes.  So please help me welcome back, Mr. Spencer Seidel.

ABOUT SPENCER SEIDEL

Spencer Seidel’s love of reading and writing began as a child after he discovered Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His first novel, Dead of Wynter, was published in 2011 and was well-received by critics and readers alike. When he’s not writing novels, Spencer enjoys playing loud rock guitar, something he’s been doing for over twenty-five years.

You can connect with Spencer Seidel at his website, Facebook, Twitter and Author Page at The Book Trib

GUEST POST

The Terrifying World of a Writer

By Spencer Seidel

Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you that I can be overly scheduled, neurotic, a tad eccentric . . . Well, I won’t go on. You get the picture. Let’s just say that sometimes I’m not real good with going with the flow.

Show me a writer who isn’t a little strange, and I’ll show you a mediocre writer. Writers throughout history have been weird. Hemingway was weird. Same goes for F. Scott Fitzgerald. Do I even have to mention Truman Capote?

I think there’s a simple reason for this.

For those of you who don’t write, let me describe the concept with an analogy. Suppose you woke up one day with a sense of smell as keen as a bloodhound. Can you imagine how awful that would be? You’d smell everything vividly. Every cleaning product on every surface, your own BO, or worse, everyone else’s BO. And I won’t even mention that cat box or God forbid, the old cat herself. And that’s just the beginning. What about the garbage, the laundry hamper, or the week-old milk in the fridge? Even sex would be a challenge. You’d go mental.

But there’s a flip side. Imagine how wonderful freshly baked cinnamon rolls would smell. Or bacon in the morning. No wonder dogs are always begging around for food or dying to get outside. The complex and sometimes overwhelming smells must drive them nuts.

Being a writer is a lot like that, except instead of smells, it’s motivations, emotion, and possibilities. When I get into the car to drive to work every morning, it isn’t hard for me to make my writer voice say things like, “His last day on earth began just like any other.” Yikes! Even on that short drive to my day job, I’m always seeing possibilities. Things that could happen, little things that change lives forever, events that books are made of, like a dropped cellphone on the passenger-side floor that makes someone stray into oncoming traffic, or a blown tire. The more complex the situation, the worse this effect gets. I think this can make writers a little crazy and regimented in their ways as they seek to control their environments.

But, like with our newly found bloodhound senses, there is a flip side. Although some can be extremely introverted, writers are very good at sniffing out people’s angles and motivations. I contend that this makes writers very difficult to lie to. Think your writer spouse could never find out that you’re having an affair? I’ll bet she already knows. Or suspects, anyway. We can be hypersensitive and detect subtle verbal clues and facial expressions people aren’t even aware they’re using. We do that because that’s in part what makes good characterization. That’s a powerful thing.

People are always telling me I would have made a great psychologist. I’ll bet that’s true of most writers. That’s because you really need to understand people at a gut level to make believable characters.

That also gets a little hairy. You can’t just think about all the good things people do, although there is plenty of that around, despite what you hear on the news. Sometimes you have to live inside the head of a killer or rapist or worse, trying to understand how a character like that would think. It can be frightening.

I mean, what if I find out I sort of like it in there? Damn, there I go again.

SCAVENGER HUNT
Next Stop:   http://www.myatlantamommy.com

She’d fallen in love with 227 Cumberland Avenue immediately upon seeing it one snowy day in January a few years ago. She’d gotten damn tired of the scrum-dum one bedroom apartment she’d lived in for years over in Parkside and decided to trade up. She didn’t own and didn’t want to. She was a busy woman and had no time to spend fixing things or waiting for someone else to come and fix things. Here, she had a landlord for that. That cold January day, he’d explained that some young guy was moving out after less than a year there for business reasons. The hardwood floors, the exposed brick in the hallway leading to her bedroom, wrought-iron chandeliers, two full baths, brand new appliances, twelve foot ceilings, absolute quiet, and two entrances, front and back, had worked their magic in a matter of a minute or two. She signed the lease that very visit.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When the ladies at The Book Trib contacted me regarding today’s author and her book and then reading the synopsis, I just couldn’t say NO.  So without further ado, please help me in welcoming Ms. Nelle Davy to the CMash blog today.

ABOUT NELLE DAVY

Nelle Davy was born in Grenada in 1984 and was raised in London within an Anglo-Caribbean family. She studied English with creative writing at the University of Warwick and then undertook a master of philosophy degree in creative writing at Trinity College Dublin. She currently lives in London with her husband, where she works in publishing. THE LEGACY OF EDEN is her first novel and she is currently working on her second.

GUEST POST

An Insider’s Look at the Publication Process

The only thing that surprised me during the publishing process was how hard I found it. Of course I knew what would happen, the pitfalls and the difficulties but going through it yourself is something else entirely. It is hard and horrible and personally cutting, especially as I was surrounded by a litany of authors either watching their own dreams come true or fall away. I also was determined that I would be published on my own merit and not because of who I knew or where I worked. Because of that I did not say where I worked in any of my submission letters and it was also partly why I wrote under my married name to separate me from my work life and that way if my manuscript was called in by an agent it was really because they wanted to read it and not because they were intrigued by who I worked for or what I did. Because of that however I had to experience what it was like coming up through the slush pile (the term publishers and agents give to unsolicited manuscripts) of which they get tons every single day. It was incredibly harsh. It took me just under a year to get an agent and then 4 months to get a publisher so in total the process was 18 months. This is actually by no means the average. And it was also doubly awkward when publishers I was working with started rejecting my book. But I think things happen for a reason, because what I learned going through all that has made me kinder and more understanding to my own authors. It still does. I can really empathise with their worries and concerns but I have been incredibly lucky with my own publishers who have been nothing but enthusiastic and supportive throughout.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:

An epic, sweeping tale of a dynasty rotten to the core, driven by ambition, lust – and hatred.

For generations, Aurelia was the crowning glory of more than three thousand acres of Iowa farmland and golden cornfields. The estate was a monument to matriarch Lavinia Hathaway’s dream to elevate the family name—no matter what relative or stranger she had to destroy in the process. It was a desperation that wrought the downfall of the Hathaways—and the once-prosperous farm.
Now the last inhabitant of the decaying old home has died—alone. None of the surviving members of the Hathaway family want anything to do with the farm, the land or the memories.

Especially Meredith Pincetti. Now living in New York City, for seventeen years Lavinia’s youngest grandchild has tried to forget everything about her family and her past. But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy that destroyed her family’s -great name.

Back at Aurelia, Meredith must confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway family…and her own part in their mottled history.

THANKS TO THE LADIES AT THE BOOK TRIB
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

He’s baaaaack!!   Yes, my paisan from the old neighborhood is back.   For those who aren’t Italian, paisan means pal and/or buddy.   I don’t think I ever told the story how we virtually met.   So before he starts telling us about his latest book, I will digress and share.

He sent me an email via GR asking me if I lived anywhere near Providence College, which is where he attended college and in which he mentions in his Moonlight novels.  And then he happens to mention…..”Oh and btw I just wrote a book that you might enjoy.”  I explained I would put it on my TBR list but that I review for several publishers and publicists and when I had a lull I would pick it up.  It just so happened, that a week later a tour company that I was reviewing for put a call out for his book so I jumped at the chance, and as they say the rest his history.

As I said, he is returning today to talk about his latest book, which should be quite interesting since this is definitely not in the genre that he hooked me with.  But I will let him explain.  So I am happy to have Vincent Zandri here once again!!!

ABOUT VINCENT ZANDRI

Vincent Zandri is the No. 1 International Bestselling author of THE INNOCENT, GODCHILD, THE REMAINS, MOONLIGHT FALLS, CONCRETE PEARL, MOONLIGHT RISES and SCREAM CATCHER. He is also the author of the bestselling digital shorts, PATHOLOGICAL and MOONLIGHT MAFIA. Harlan Coben has described his novels as “…gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting,” while the New York Post called THE INNOCENT, “Sensational…Masterful…Brilliant!” In March, April and May of 2011, he sold more than 100,000 Kindle E-Book editions of his novels. In September 2011, he signed a major deal with Thomas and Mercer of Amazon for the publication of his new novel, Murder by Moonlight, and the re-publication of many of his back-list titles, including The Innocent and The Remains. Zandri’s list of publishers also include Delacorte, Dell, StoneHouse Ink and StoneGate Ink. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, Zandri’s work is translated into many languages including the Dutch, Russian and Japanese. An adventurer, foreign correspondent, and freelance photo-journalist for RT, Globalspec, IBTimes and more, he lives in New York. For more go to WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM

You can find Vin at the following locations:
Website, Blog, Amazon Author Page, Facebook, Twitter

Or at his next 2 stops:

2/14/2012 Misty Rayburn Review – http://www.the-top-shelf.com

ABOUT THE BOOK

A young U.S. Army officer who’s served in Afghanistan finds himself suffering from intermittent bouts of “hysterical” temporary blindness due to impossible and deadly orders he was forced to obey by high command in the field. When he’s reunited with his fiancée in a military hospital in Germany after being separated for more than year, the couple are encouraged by doctors to travel to Venice, Italy together. There, amongst the canals and the cafes, they try to rekindle their love and fight off their personal demons while trying to comprehend the enormity of the heartbreaking role they now must play in love and war.

Amazon buy link

Barnes and Noble Buy Link

Addendum:  In case you don’t see it, Vin just left a comment that his novel Scream Catcher is a free download all weekend!!!!  What a deal!!!  Don’t miss out!!!

MY REVIEW

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by Vincent Zandri

Published by  StoneGate Ink

ASIN: B0060MB5JM

At the request of his Virtual Publicist a digital short edition, was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

  Synopsis (borrowed from Amazon):  A young U.S. Army officer who’s served in Afghanistan finds himself suffering from intermittent bouts of “hysterical” temporary blindness due to impossible and deadly orders he was forced to obey by high command in the field. When he’s reunited with his fiancée in a military hospital in Germany after being separated for more than year, the couple are encouraged by doctors to travel to Venice, Italy together. There, amongst the canals and the cafes, they try to rekindle their love and fight off their personal demons while trying to comprehend the enormity of the heartbreaking role they now must play in love and war.

  My Thoughts and Opinion:  The mystery, the suspense, the engrossing roller coaster twists and turns, white knuckle ride to the very last word is what put this author on my radar when I read Moonlight Falls.  And as I kept reading his subsequent novels (all of them) it moved him right on up to the Number 1 spot for mystery/suspenseful reads.  Then I read Scream Catcher and instantly saw a difference in his writing style.  Not in a bad way, but in a way that proved that this author has a lot to give, that he is most definitely a master at storytelling.  And then something happened, that I can honestly say, I was blown away.  I never thought these 2 words would be in the same sentence, Zandri and romance.

OK..another test..could he pull this one off?  Even though it was a digital short, which disappointed me because I wanted to get the whole package, but I will be patient until the sequel is out), he transported me to the sidewalk cafe in Italy sitting next to this American couple that seemed to be quite uncomfortable with each other.  Yes, he made the characters come to life, he allowed the reader to form a vivid imagery of the scene, feel the emotions, see the sights and sounds.  If this digital short is any indication what the novel will be, I have something to look forward to.  He just raised the bar even higher!!!

I don’t know about you, but when an author revisits here at the CMash blog, for me, it’s a delight.  It’s like an old friend stopping by, sharing a cup of coffee and catching up on the latest news.  And today is just that case.  James LePore was here the last time talking about his book, Blood of my Brother and today to tell us about his latest novel, Gods and Fathers.  So have a seat, grab your coffee and let’s visit with an old friend, Mr. James LePore.

ABOUT JAMES LePORE

James LePore is an attorney who has practiced law for more than two decades, and an accomplished photographer. He is the author of three previous novels, A WORLD I NEVER MADE, BLOOD OF MY BROTHER, and SONS AND PRINCES, as well as the story collection, ANYONE CAN DIE. He lives in Westchester County, NY with his wife, artist Karen Chandler.

Nationally bestselling author James LePore has established a reputation as a writer whose vividly drawn characters and morally complex plots have kept readers up to all hours turning pages. His new novel promises more sleepless nights and more nonstop thrills.

I practiced law for twenty-five years before retiring in 1999 to write and take pictures. My photography can be seen here.

I have written a number of works of short fiction that have evolved from my novels. After each novel was completed, its characters continued to live in my head, telling me, it seemed, that they wanted to go on living on the page. The stories that grew out of A World I Never Made were published in February, 2011, in a volume entitled, Anyone Can Die. My second novel, Blood of My Brother, and my third, Sons and Princes, are available now at amazon and all other online booksellers.

I have heard it said that genre novels are plot driven, while novels in the literature category are character driven. I believe that my novels offer something of both: compelling, fast moving plots in exotic venues, and characters that are complex in that they are flawed, and, finding themselves caught up in situations of extraordinary stress and danger, are forced to face their own demons in order to prevail. It has been gratifying to find that many readers and reviewers have enjoyed this blend in my work.

My first three novels all feature people from the area where I have lived all of my life, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. The characters in these novels are not the same and there are no connections between them. But the novels’ themes are the same—the struggle of flawed men and women to change and grow in the face of great danger. In this sense the three novels can be categorized as a trilogy, the Tristate Trilogy is the name I am giving them.

The hardcover version of A World I Never Made, published in April, 2009, attracted a passionate audience of readers. The paperback version, along with the releases of my next two novels, are an opportunity for a broad, mass-market readership to experience my work. I do not think that anyone who reads my novels and stories will be disappointed. I am recently finished my fourth novel, Gods and Fathers—the story of a high profile Manhattan prosecutor whose son is wrongly accused of murder—which will be published in February, 2012. I live in South Salem, NY with my wife, Karen Chandler, an artist whose work can be seen here.

P.S. As you may have guessed, I am an avid reader and have been all my life. I have compiled a list of my fifty favorite novels (the “LePore Top Fifty”). The list changes from time to time (since I have sole control over it), and I am working on a second Top Fifty list, but If anyone is interested in receiving a copy of the first list, just go to the “Contact The Author” page and ask for it in an email to me and I will send it along.
You can visit Mr. LePore at his website here.

GUEST POST

            The Conception and Birth of a James LePore Novel.

             To me, my novels are ‘born’ when they’re published. It is the process of conceiving and creating them that your readers might find interesting. For example, the idea for my first published novel, A World I Never Made, came to me one night while having dinner with friends. One of them was telling a sad story of a woman she knew whose thirty-year-old daughter had committed suicide out of the blue. Her family thought she was happy, in her work and in her life, then suddenly she kills herself and leaves an audio cassette for each of her parents and six siblings by way of personal explanation. Such planning, so meticulous. Of course, there have been countless novels whose premise was the question of whether a dead body was a suicide or a homicide. I was not inspired to do another one. Then it occurred to me that similar planning, similar attention to detail, could go into a faked suicide, and with that thought, A World I Never Made was conceived.

Blood of My Brother, my second published novel, was conceived many years ago when I came across this from Aeschylus’ Agamemnon:

             And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.

            I typed it on a piece of paper, pinned it above my desk, and began writing a novel that was going to be titled, Drop by Drop Upon the Heart. That novel, many years later, was published as Blood of My Brother. The inspiration for it was the death, many years earlier, of a childhood friend, a death that I still mourn today, though much less so after writing the novel.

A word on creation, that is, the work of actually writing (and rewriting) that takes place between conception and birth. I change. I am a different person when I am writing a novel. I write every day, with few exceptions. I think of my plot and my characters as I’m falling asleep each night. When I’m not writing, I do things that require no brain power, but my novel is never far below the surface. I am always conscious that I am creating something out of nothing, more so of course when I am at my computer, but even away from it. Also a word on perfectionism: I am a great believer in reviewing and rewriting, which is how I start each day. I want my novel to be perfect, which is not possible of course, but to not try to make it perfect would be wrong, a sin, I think. A man’s reach should exceed his grasp—as Gerard Manley Hopkins put it, or what’s a heaven for?

ABOUT THE BOOK

Matt DeMarco is an accomplished Manhattan attorney with more than his share of emotional baggage. His marriage ended disastrously, his ex-wife has pulled their son away from him, and her remarriage to a hugely successful Arab businessman has created complications for Matt on multiple levels. However, his life shifts from troubled to imperiled when two cops – men he’s known for a long time – come into his home and arrest his son as the prime suspect in the murder of the boy’s girlfriend.

Suddenly, the enmity between Matt and his only child is no longer relevant. Matt must do everything he can to clear his son, who he fully believes is innocent. Doing so will require him to quit his job and make enemies of former friends – and it will throw him up against forces he barely knew existed and can only begin to comprehend how to battle.

GODS AND FATHERS is at once a powerful mystery and a provocative international thriller, all of it presented with LePore’s signature fascinating characters placed in dire circumstances where every choice poses new and potentially fatal challenges.

READ AN EXCERPT:

See my review here.

Don’t you just love it when a friend calls and asks if they can stop by and visit for a while?  You know, that type of visit where you have some coffee catch up on what’s been going on?  Well today’s visitor hasn’t been here since July and I am looking forward to hearing about this latest novel and hope you are too.  So please help me welcome back Bill Brown.

ABOUT WILLIAM F. BROWN

I live in Ohio.  As a Vice President of the real estate subsidiary of a Fortune 500 corporation, I traveled widely in the US and abroad.   A native of Chicago, I earned a BA in History and Russian Area Studies and a Master of Urban Planning degree from the  University of Illinois.  (Go Illini!)  I’ve been active in politics (I had the stupidity to run and the misfortune to win a -year seat on a County Board of Supervisors) (more hard time than you’d get for armed robbery, car theft, or embezzlement in most states!) and active in numerous civic organizations.  I served in the US Army and was a company commander and drug counselor. (The only two places in the country that teach leadership and organizational management are the Boy Scouts and the Army)   When I’m not writing, I like to play golf (usually poorly) paint landscapes in oil or acrylics and running 5Ks.  (slower every year) .

My wife and I have traveled widely in Russia,Germany, the Caribbean, England, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Holland, Egypt, and Israel.

You can visit Bill at is website here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis (from author’s website):

Amongst My Enemies is a fast-paced story of action and international suspense  that plumbs the depths of brotherhood, honor, a debt that can never be repaid, and one man’s revenge.   Beginning in the closing days of WW II, it deals with horde of stolen Nazi gold and art, a missing German U-boat, Russian spies, Nazi hit men, and a secret that could shatter NATO. In February 1945, two young Americans, Mike Randall and Eddie Hodge, door gunners on an American B-24, are shot down on an ill-fated bombing mission over Berlin.  Instead of a Nazi POW camp, however, they find themselves in a forced labor battalion in the frozen hell of Konigsberg in East Prussia.  With the SS inside and the rampaging Red Army outside, the old port city and everyone in it are doomed.  When Hodge dies in his arms, Randall swears he will have his revenge.  Assigned to a work detail loading mysterious crates into a German U-boat, Randall manages to hide in the hold as the SS. massacre the other laborers.  In the end, he owes his life to Eric Bruckner, the U-boat Kapitan, and perhaps the last honorable man left inGermany.  When Bruckner to set Randall free on the coast of Sweden, he pays the ultimate price when a British bomber catches him on the surface.  He and his U-boat are destroyed, leaving Randall an emotional cripple overcome by exhaustion and guilt. For the next six years, Randall remains inSweden, working as an anonymous deck hand on fishing boats, trying to forget and to heal; but it is no use.  He knows he must return to US and confess his role in Hodge’s death to his father and sister.  While there, he learns the impossible . . .  Eric Bruckner is alive!   Somehow, he survived the air attack and is now a West German Admiral in charge of NATO plans and operations, visiting east coast ports on a good will mission.  Randall hurries toNew Yorkto see him and to thank him; but when they come face to face in a Manhattan hotel lobby, he immediately sees that the Admiral is not Eric Bruckner.  He is a phony, but whose phony is he? Randall knows the truth, and he knows what he saw inside the wooden crates in that U-boat . . . a fortune in gold, stolen art and jewels, Nazi records, and a dead hero.  No one wants to believe Randall, so he returns to Sweden, to the Baltic coast, with a ragtag group consisting of Hodge’s little sister, a retired NY cop, and an old Swedish fishing captain, and two Israeli salvage experts to find that U-Boat and prove them all wrong.   Equally determined to stop him are the Soviet KGB, the Russian Navy, and the underground Nazi network of Martin Bormann and his ‘strong right arm’, Heinz Kruger. The truth lies three-hundred feet down on the bottom of the Baltic.  Some want the gold.  Some want to know the truth.  Some want to destroy it and kill everyone involved.

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF BILL BROWN,
HE IS OFFERING , TO GIVE ONE OF MY FOLLOWERS,
THE CHANCE TO WIN AN EBOOK EDITION OF BOTH HIS BOOKS,
AMONGST MY ENEMIES AND THE UNDERTAKER.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

Robyn and Jodi, the ladies at WOW, have done it again!   They are introducing us to another inspirational writer today.  So without further ado, please welcome Ms. Pesi Dinnerstein!

ABOUT PESI DINNERSTEIN

Do you like thrillers?  Do you like series?  Well, Erin from Media Muscle is stopping by  to introduce us to today’s guest as he tells us about the first book in his newest triolgy.  Welcome Mr. Allan Topol!!

ABOUT ALLAN TOPOL

Allan Topol is the national bestselling author of six novels of international intrigue, including Spy Dance, recently translated into Chinese. He is a graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology, who majored in chemistry, abandoned science, and obtained a law degree from Yale University. A partner in a major Washington law firm, and an avid wine collector, he has traveled extensively, researching dramatic locations for his novels. You can join him on Facebook. Please let him know if you would like to receive his free newsletter. Allan is available for speaking opportunities on subjects of international affairs, dealt with in his novels.

You can visit his website here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

National bestselling author Allan Topol returns with a thrilling new trilogy of international intrigue. THE CHINA GAMBIT(Vantage Point; $14.95; January 2012) introduces Craig Page, a daring and resourceful former CIA agent, now fighting terrorism in Europe after being unceremoniously fired from the agency. After his daughter Francesca — a New York City reporter investigating the biggest story of her young career — dies in an “automobile accident,” Craig is instinctively convinced that she was murdered and sets out to find answers…and vengeance.

Joined by Francesca’s editor, the gutsy and equally resourceful Elizabeth Crowder, Craig soon begins to peel back the conspiracy layer by layer, eventually learning that Francesca was just collateral in a much larger ultimate target: The United States.

With a worldwide conflict that revolves around oil, money, weapons, and greed, THE CHINA GAMBIT raises the stakes by presenting frighteningly real consequences. The action races around the globe, jumping from Canada to Tehran, Beijing to Washington, and finally to Aspen, with Craig and Elizabeth narrowly escaping the deadliest of obstacles in their attempts to prevent impending catastrophe at the hands of Chinese General Zhou. Yet the rogue general is not the only twisted mastermind, and Craig soon learns that this conspiracy is a “three-headed monster”— one Chinese, one Iranian, and one American, led by a traitorous CIA director with whom Craig has a tumultuous past.

Timely, fast-paced, and relentless, THE CHINA GAMBIT is the pulse-pounding breakout thriller that Allan Topol has seemed destined to write.

THANKS TO ERIN FROM MEDIA MUSCLE
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

I remember a few, many, ok, eons ago, when I was in college and studying to be a nurse, I had to put in so many “required” practical hours working on different units of the hospitals.  And I remember thinking how  kind the patients were when asked by the instructor if they minded if they had a “student nurse” for the day to take care of them.  Do you know that to this day, I still remember some of those patients, but I digress.    It was because of those patients, that had the confidence in me,  so that I gained the experience I needed to obtain my license.

So even though it is in different fields, I feel that I am paying it forward.  When a debut author contacts me, asks if I would review their book, share sites, etc., etc., I remember those days of old.  Even though I can’t read every book, I can offer them a platform to share their work with others.  And today, we have such a guest stopping by.  So please help me welcome Ms. Denise Baer!!

ABOUT DENISE BAER 

Denise Baer wrote her novel, Net Switch, while working as a LAN Administrator and has published a poetry e-book, Sipping a Mix of Verse. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and recently lived in Germany, writing and traveling throughout Europe. She currently lives in Chicago learning German to prepare for another journey to Europe.

A native of the South Side of Chicago, Denise Baer is a published poet and author. She currently splits her time between the United States and Europe.
You can visit Denise at her website here.

GUEST POST

I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. After I graduated from Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, I worked full-time while bartending and going to college part-time. As the years past, I thought I’d never finish college, but I finally graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, IL with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

During my last trimester in college I came up with an idea for a novel. I sat down and wrote it within a matter of a few weeks…but it wasn’t an entire book, more like the core of it. It was a romance novel, and after trying to refine it, I decided to put it in a drawer and let it sleep. I continued to write, learn the craft, and read plenty of books.

In 2008, I began writing poetry, and decided to publish a poetry e-book last year, Sipping a Mix of Verse, which is a collection of poetry arranged by traditional forms and free verse.

You can visit “Sipping a Mix of Verse Book Trailer” on Youtube: http://youtu.be/RuLIB5zizoU

In 2008, I entered the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and completed a novel in a month. I was ecstatic, but I had no plans to publish it. That same year, I met the love of my life, who convinced me to publish it. In 2010, I left my IT job, moved to Germany to concentrate on editing and revising my novel. Of course, I took the opportunity to travel through Europe and find inspiration for my writings.

My debut novel, Net Switch, a dark, psychological suspense, is available on Createspace (subsidiary of Amazon) and Amazon in paperback, and Kindle and Nook.

You can visit “Net Switch Book Trailer” on Youtube: http://youtu.be/2TYUzwkgaz8

For now I am currently living in Illinois, focusing on the success of my book, and looking forward to living in Germany for a few years with the love of my life.

Website: http://www.authordenisebaer.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeniseBaer8

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis (from the author):

“In the dead of winter, Sydney Hayes finds herself in an internet chat room in hopes of expelling her loneliness. Enchanted by a stranger, she soon finds herself caught up in an affair that spills over into her everyday life. Within a short period of time, the stranger captures her mind, her body and eventually her heart, but excitement turns to terror and Sydney must abandon the life she built in Chicago and assume a new identity.

A fragile woman in a new city, Sydney tries to put it all behind her as she makes a fresh start in Seattle, but her troubles follow her and she is running out of time. Feeling as though she has no other choice, Sydney is determined to destroy him before he destroys her—unaware that her journal holds the key.

Will she discover the secret before it’s too late?”

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF DENISE BAER,
I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY OF HER BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY– OPEN TO ALL–INTERNATIONAL

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