Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
America is falling,
ready to join the Roman Empire as a distant memory in the annals of
history. The year is 2027. Tired and desperate, the American people are
deep in the middle of The Second Great Depression. The Florida coastline
is in ruins from the most powerful hurricane on record; a second just
like it is bearing down on the state of Texas. For the first time in
history, the Middle East has united as one and amassed the most
formidable army the world has seen since the Third Reich. A hidden army
of terrorists is on American soil. This is the story of three men:
Howard Beck, the world’s richest man, also diagnosed with Asperger’s
Syndrome. Richard Dupree, ex-Navy SEAL turned escaped convict. Maxwell
Harris, a crippled, burned out Chief of Police of a small Texas town. At
first they must fight for their own survival against impossible odds.
Finally, the three men must band together to save their beloved country
from collapse.
It feels to me like I have read the book, but don’t find a review and marked read anywhere. It looks fantastic and worth another read, just to make sure. I downloaded it from Amazon on 8.23.12 and added it my TBR on 8.8.12. Looks like I won another good book.
I am a huge fan of Kristine Mason’s work, but I have stopped reviewing her books because I proofread them. I think people will believe I am biased and I don’t want that to turn them off to her wonderful stories. Here’s the latest.
Casting director Erica Reese has her life planned: career, monetary success, then maybe marriage and children. Unfortunately, if she doesn’t leave Los Angeles and accept a new position in New York City, producer Derek Delmont will screw up her plans. What was supposed to be a hot distraction from her busy, lonely life has begun to turn into something Erica doesn’t want—love.
Known as the king of reality television, Derek is wealthy, sexy, a total playboy, and crazy about Erica. After being rejected by his family and ex-wife, and sick of being used by people hoping to get ahead in Hollywood, Erica isn’t just a breath of fresh air, she’s hurricane-force winds. She’s blown into his life and has him ready to take another shot at love.
Anxious to take their affair to the next level, Derek invites Erica to join him on an exotic Caribbean island where his crew will begin filming his reality show, Bared and Scared. Before they can reach the luxurious resort, a tropical storm separates them from the crew and leaves them lost in a deadly jungle. While they search for a way out, they’re forced to face the past, present and future. And as they battle the elements, the harsh environment will test their feelings for each other beyond anything either of them ever expected. Can their relationship survive the journey? The bigger question…can they?
Title: TETRASTATUM Author: Dr. Richard & Tim Smith Publisher: Epigraph Publishing Pages: 300 Genre: Time Travel Thriller
In their debut novel TETRASTATUM, authors Dr. Richard and
Tim Smith combine heady concepts about the universe with a thrilling
science fiction story about the search for a new kind of time travel.
The result is a stunning mixture of dense cosmology and old-fashioned
storytelling that will appeal to a wide readership, from science
professionals to lay fans of science fiction.
“Dr. Richard” and “Tim Smith” are the pseudonyms of Dr. Richard Connor and Marcus Rodriguez, respectively.
“TETRASTATUM (‘the fourth state’) is the culmination of my
30 years working in the field of photonics,” Dr. Richard says. “I am an
avid reader of sci-fi, and I wanted to create a new type of work that is
both educational and entertaining in the genre. TETRASTATUM gives
the reader a unique understanding of the existing laws of physics and
extends them to provoke further thought from novice readers as well as
advanced experts in the field.”
Kirkus Reviews notes that “authors Dr. Richard and Smith … tell their
cerebral story with a heady mix of dense theory and absurdist humor.”
The Independent Review of Books declares: “TETRASTATUM is like nothing you have ever read before. This is an impressive work of science fiction …”
The San Francisco Book Review adds that, “These recurring themes of
characterization and distortion feed into the concern that is being
voiced over the current state of our political climate…The layering of
these themes is ultimately what gives TETRASTATUM a relevance that will keep readers turning pages and asking questions.”
“The book ultimately explains how human perceptions alter the future
and puts forth a model based on quantum physics to explain ‘reality’,”
Dr. Richard continues. He calls science fiction “the perfect genre to
explore socio-political ideas within the context of futuristic
technologies and scientific theories.”
Dr. Richard and Smith are currently working with Norith Soth on adapting TETRASTATUM into
a screenplay. Mr. Soth has penned work for Justin Lin (“Fast and
Furious”), Stephen Chin (“War Dogs”), and Norman Reedus (“The Walking
Dead”).
“Well, Dr. Smith, your colleague…uhm, whom you claim is watching us on some monitor-type device, has quite an imagination.Images, imagination, create that which brings wonder into the realm of understanding.I concede that I didn’t contemplate the idea of two spheres and two sets of waves when I derived my equations.I missed the duality, nature’s constant.But I confirm that this
appears to be mathematically accurate and a plausible theory as to the nature
of reality, itself.”–Dr. Erwin Schrödinger
______________________
teaser
_____________________
meet the author
Dr. Richard has been involved in the field of Photonics for over 30
years. He received his BA in physics (honors) from the University of
California Fullerton. He was in a full scholarship PhD program in
physics at the University of California Irvine and a PhD program in
philosophy at Claremont Graduate School. Dr. Richard completed his two
dissertations (involving human interpretations of laser and
electro-optical images) while under top secret clearance. He also has an
advanced placement teaching credential, an advanced certification (from
the University of Wisconsin) in laser and optical design; and other
advanced certifications in fiber optics, computer programming,
technology business development, financial products, dance, anatomy and
physiology.
I am a huge fan of Ken La Salle’s, and if you take a glimpse at the guest post he shared HERE and the review links below, you’ll see why. Now, I want to share his latest with this fabulous cover of Heaven For Now.
Now,
Paul has disappeared and Matt agrees to look in his last known
location, Puerto Vallarta, home of sand and sun and – despite Matt’s
searching – absolutely no sign of Paul. And when Matt Murphy meets
Marisol Saucedo, a physical trainer who makes her living by teaching her
students to beat people up, his search for Paul stops as his
fascination for Marisol blooms.
What
will become of Paul and Neal? How will Matt make sense of their lives
when he can’t make sense of his own? Is love enough when it requires a
leap of faith into a scary, new world? Can you use logic to find the
answers? Or is it better to simply surrender to the moment, to the
inebriating temptation that is love?
Memories of My Childhood by Kathryn Meyer Griffith includes Christmas Magic, but I reviewed that separately. These short stories are a glimpse into Kathryn’s life and I am always curious about the authors I have come to love. How about you?
The lovely original illustrations were done by her and published in the 70s in the Belleville News.
NIGHT SLEDDING: 1979. ‘Funny’ the things that trigger memories. A simple scene…coasting down a hill on a sled. Fearless children, pushing the envelope, taking chances. Also made me think of the giant hill we used to skateboard down, and this is back when it was just a board on wheels. But…someone has to be the voice of reason. Kathryn’s ability to bring to describe something as simple as a tree in such detail that it makes it scary is amazing.
MICHAEL: 1977. Won a newspaper short story award. Fall brings thought of Michael. Seems all families have a black sheep and Michael was theirs. Life is not all fun and games and kids can be cruel. Who knows what that cruelty can create. Michael is a tear jerker and I can see why she won. Sometimes it’s only when they are gone that we find out how much we care.
PONYSUMMER: 1978. We used to run wild in our neighborhood too. There was danger then, we just didn’t know about it or thought about it, until it comes through the unlocked door. Kathryn had always loved horses, even though she had never been near one. ‘Funny’ what we grow to love and desire. Sometimes our dreams don’t come try. That doesn’t mean we don’t have some wonderful memories anyway. Having no money can cause a lot of problems, but I do believe love can overcome. We can only live and learn through our parents. I so remember those carefree days of summer, plenty of time to play. So much of this time is familiar to me and I think it may be to some of you too.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Memories of My Childhood by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Have you ever wondered what a writer’s childhood was like? Well,
wonder no longer. These stories are about my childhood. I began writing
when I was twenty-one in the year 1971 and have since seen not only the
world change dramatically but the publishing world as well. When I
published my first novel, a horror yarn titled Evil Stalks the Night in
1984 with Leisure mass market paperbacks, I was a loyal worker bee of
the big publishing houses with a stingy boiler contract and a whopping 4
percent of the royalties…now thirty-two years later I am
self-publishing and am finally making a living at my craft for the first
time in forty-five years of writing; with 24 novels, 2 novellas and
many short stories to my name. Three of the four short stories in this
collection were the VERY FIRST stories I ever had published and they
were printed in my local newspaper between 1977 and 1979 after the one
titled Michael, a tale about my youngest brother who was murdered in
1971, won their short story contest over two hundred other submissions. I
illustrated all the stories for the newspaper then and have included
those original drawings in this book. The fourth short story was just
recently written and is a composite of some of my childhood Christmases.
All four are loosely based on my childhood in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
After my musician/singer/songwriter brother Jim passed away last year
from cancer I felt the intense need to revive these old stories and
memories and put them out there for all to read as a tribute to him and
my family. These are my stories, my childhood and some of my fondest
memories.
ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH
I’ve been a writer for over 48 years now and have had 28
novels and 12 short stories published since 1984. I write horror/romantic
time-travel, suspense, romance, thrillers and murder mysteries. My horror novel
The Last Vampire and my thriller Dinosaur Lake (395 Reviews; 4.1 star average)
were both EPIC EBOOK AWARDS *Finalists* in 2012 & 2014. Kathryn Meyer
Griffith rdgriff@htc.net
* Books here:
http://tinyurl.com/ld4jlow
*Audio: http://tinyurl.com/oz7c4or
Novels
Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart of the Rose, Blood Forged,
Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS*Finalist* Horror),
Witches, Witches II: Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The
Nameless One erotic horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (1st Spookie
Town Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (2nd Spookie Town Murder Mystery),
Ghosts Beneath Us (3rd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us (4th
Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (5th Spookie Town
Murder Mystery), Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice Bridge, Don’t Look
Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman in Crimson, Human No
Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection, Forever and Always Romantic
Novella, Night Carnival Short Story, Dinosaur Lake (2014 EPIC EBOOK
AWARDS*Finalist* Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs
Arising, Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars,
Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Memories of My Childhood and Christmas Magic 1959.
I would like to send out my thanks to Anita Dickason for the opportunity to read Not Dead. I fell in love with the creepy cover and could hardly wait to find out what’s ‘between the covers’.
The creepy cover for Anita Dickason’s Not Dead drew me in. I love suspense and the supernatural, so this was a perfect fit for me.
There is a long list of characters, which Anita lists in the beginning of the book.
Mandy, a four year old girl, is missing. Meridian, Oklahoma, is a small town, so I am thinking it has to be someone who knows her. Strangers would be noticed.
Chief Chad Bishop is sitting at his desk, rounding up help and doing the basics, amber alert, reward….when in walks HER.
She is the niece of the missing girl and the new editor of the Tribune, Ashley Logan. She is a hotshot reporter from Baltimore, and knowing Chad had left the Atlanta Police Department abruptly to come to to Meridian, she investigates…HIM, while investigating Mandy’s disappearance. Why did he leave such a great position to come to the small town of Meridian. Of course, we could ask the same of her. We will find out all the details.
Ashley thinks she can pump the secretary for details, but she is mistaken.
Anita Dickason’s descriptions of the characters make them easy to picture in my mind.
At the end of Chapter Three there is an eerie moment that ramps up my anticipation for this new element. I wonder, will it be a good thing…or a bad thing.
The story keeps getting more interesting the more I read. It’s nice to see something good coming with the bad. I’m not sure what to share without spoiling things. There is so much more going on than just a missing child and the villains that are truly evil.
The fog…is all fog hiding evil? I didn’t anticipate where the story would go and that is a very good thing. I loved it.
It’s not hard to predict that Ashley will run straight into trouble. She’s persistent, dogged, and determined to find Mandy before her time runs out. She’s not going to leave it up to the coppers to do it.
We switch character’s points of view and I love hearing from the horses mouth, so to speak. It allows me to understand their motivations and feelings that lead them to do what they do.
I love the mix of child trafficking and the supernatural. I can overlook a problem or two that I had with Chad and Ashley working together. After all, it is fiction and I allow the author to take me where they will, as long as there is a good story to go along with it. Not dead did not blow me away, but I loved the mix of romance, suspense and the supernatural…AND THE DOLL.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A small-town Texas cop who is haunted by his past. A reporter who risks it all, even her life. A kidnapping that crosses into an unearthly realm.
Focused on the abduction of four-year-old Mandy Norton, Chad Bishop, Meridian’s Police Chief, ignores the twinges of foreboding triggered by an eerie fog that shrouds his town. What he can’t ignore is the editor of the Tribune.
When Ashley Logan becomes embroiled in the search, nothing stops the hard-hitting, investigative reporter, including Chad’s threats to throw her in jail. She’s Mandy’s aunt.
As the mystery of Mandy’s disappearance deepens, unnerving details emerge. Chad refuses to believe they’re connected to his past until the case turns deadly. He’s forced to face the terror that haunts him. It’s waiting in the shadowy depths of the unearthly fog.
This time, it could cost Chad more than his sanity.
ABOUT ANITA DICKASON
Code Name: Trackers: The elite of the elite. FBI agents, each with a secret, an extra edge, that defies reason and logic.
Characters with unexpected skills—that extra edge for overcoming danger and adversity—have always intrigued Anita. Adding an infatuation with ancient myths and legends of Native American Indians, and Scottish and Irish folklore creates the backdrop for her characters.
Anita is a retired Dallas Police Officer. During—what she refers to as an extraordinary career—Anita served as a patrol officer, undercover narcotics officer, advanced accident investigator, and SWAT entry/sniper.
Upon retirement, she became involved in a research project that dealt with the death of a witness to the Kennedy assassination. The research led to her first book, JFK Assassination Eyewitness: Rush to Conspiracy, that details the results of her reconstruction of a 1966 motor vehicle accident that killed Lee Bowers, Jr., a key witness to the assassination.
Once the Bowers book was written, Anita reached the same point many authors ultimately face: I’ve written it, now what do I do? Answering that question has become another career, one she has wholeheartedly embraced. The publishing field is in a constant state of flux, offering unlimited possibilities for an author, but also endless landmines.
Anita started a new company, Mystic Circle Books & Designs LLC, offering cover design and manuscript services. In addition to her works as an author, she enjoys helping other authors see their dream become a reality.
Book Title: MY BEAUTIFUL DETOUR: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful by Amy Oestreicher Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+) (529 pages) Genre: Memoir Publisher: Singing Tree Publishing Release date: November 2019 Tour dates: Nov 19 to Dec 17, 2019 Content Rating: PG-13
Book Description:
An
estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a
traumatic event at least once in their lives and up to 20 percent of
these people go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. An
estimated 5 percent of Americans—more than 13 million people—have PTSD
at any given time.
Amy Oestreicher was one of
them. So, what happens when an ordinary teenager has to turn into a
warrior just to survive? And can the journey through Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder really become an “adventure?”
Amy
had ambitious plans for college and a Broadway career, until her
stomach exploded the week before her senior prom. Months later, she
awoke from a coma to learn that she might never be able to eat or drink
again. After years on IV nutrition, her first bite of food awakened her
senses to life’s ordinary miracles but also brought back memories of
being sexually abused by a trusted mentor for months, just before the
unexpected rush to the emergency room that fateful Passover night. With
determination, imagination, relentless resilience, and an inner “hunger”
for life, Amy created a roadmap where none existed. Her journey through
life’s unthinkable detours is nothing short of miraculous, but the
creative path to healing she forged is accessible to anyone. As a
survivor—and “thriver”—of abuse and extensive medical trauma, Amy
discovered sources of resilience she didn’t know she had but it turns
out we all possess. In this book, she creates a tapestry made from each
of each thread of her journey, empowering others to find gratitude in
every setback and discover their own infinite inner strength. Amy’s
search for “home” proves to be the greatest test of cultivating
resilience after near-death, and reclaiming identity after both sexual
assault and medical trauma. Amy’s journey is ultimately a celebration of
ordinary and extraordinary challenges and miracles.
In
this coming of age story, Amy shares her struggles and discoveries
living with both visible and invisible illness, the tremendous gifts to
be reaped from trauma, its lessons which have illuminated her path, and
how these gifts can be discovered as a unique, yet universal way to
navigate any kind of uncertainty.
Interwoven through her remarkable story are insights on navigating any kind of uncertainty, including:
What is a “detourist”– and why is it important to take those detours?
The importance of detours for college students
How to transition from being a “survivor” to a “thriver”
Amy’s” Four Hardcore Skills” to resilience
Finding your own uniqueness not through what’s happened to you, but what you choose to do with it
The power of art to heal
Our innate ability to be artists, and why creativity is an essential mindset
How sharing your story becomes imperative to healing
How humor is a way through
Turn messes, mistakes and setbacks into creative detours
My
Beautiful Detour offers practical strategies for individuals and
unexpected tools for the families of trauma survivors, helping
communities build new, limitless futures. The book includes numerous
“trauma insights,” and is enriched with humor, art, poetry, and useful
takeaways for readers. Reading one woman’s heroic adventure through
trauma, recovery, and discovery of new directions in healing the body
and the mind is an empowering tale of not just getting through, but
thriving.
AMY
OESTREICHER is an international keynote speaker, Huffington Post
columnist, actor, artist, songwriter, playwright, Audie Award-nominated
PSTD peer-to-peer specialist, and author. A survivor of extensive
medical trauma, including 27 surgeries, and sexual assault, she shares
her life story and creative strategies with therapists, medical
professionals, patients, sexual abuse victims, and general audiences
nationwide. Creator of the #LoveMyDetour movement to inspire individuals
to thrive because of, rather than in spite of, obstacles, she has been
featured on the Today show, delivered three TEDx talks, and performed
her one-woman musical, Gutless & Grateful, in more than 200 venues
across the country. She is also a passionate voice in the ostomy
community and presents narrative medicine workshops.
Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let’s share
some songs we’ve been enjoying lately! If you would like to play, and
I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below.
Rules:
Every Monday share a few songs you’ve been enjoying lately. It
doesn’t have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites –
just something you’d like to share with others. If possible, share a
music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s),
artist(s), and/or music video(s).
If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post’s url HERE
Such a tragedy…the lost of this amazing talent.
These are some of my favorites but I wanted to be sure and leave you on a high note.
I’m writing this on the fly, because I am out of town, but I don’t want you to think that Willow Rose has not done her job in this series. I love Eva Rae and it is a good thing that Matt is a very patient man. Not weak, just believing in Eva and her deepest need – to save people. She’s not arrogant. She’s not looking for attention. She quietly goes about the business at hand, saving innocents.
Let Me Go, for me, feels different from a lot of her stories. It is not your typical serial killer visiting havoc on others.
The climate of fear and the expectation of violence accelerates the serious risk of overreaction and excessive use of force.
I can understand that quote. I can empathize with law enforcement, but when an innocent is involved, we need to question what’s happening and look for some solutions.
I loved it when seven year old Alex said, ” Matt. We need to talk.” Out of the mouth of babes.
This is a frightening eye opener of the possibilities for mayhem and madness to run riot from a chair at a computer. Swatting. Ever heard of it? I’m not sure I have, but the thought is terrifying. To know by one phone call, a life can be forfeit.
Let Me Go is a truly frightening look at a realistic plan, because of one man’s need for revenge. This may also be a wake up call for parents to keep an eye on what your kids are doing on the computer.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Let Me Go by Willow Rose.
5 Stars
The #1 Bestselling Mystery Series on Amazon continues!
What if a stranger told you that she believed your child is about to be killed? What if that woman was an ex-FBI profiler with a disputable reputation?
Would you believe her?
Eva Rae Thomas is chasing down a vicious killer, but no one will believe he even exists. If there are no unexplained dead bodies or missing persons, then how can there be a killer on the loose?
What they don’t understand is that the perfect murder is the one that doesn’t look like murder.
Can Eva Rae convince local law enforcement to help her with this case before the killer strikes once more? Or will she have to take matters into her own hands – again?
LET ME GO is the fifth book in the Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Series and can be read as a standalone.
The Queen of Scream aka Willow Rose is a #1 Amazon Best-selling Author and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 60 novels.
She writes Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy.
Willow’s books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners with twists you won’t see coming. Several of her books have reached the Kindle top 10 of ALL books in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than three million books.
Willow lives on Florida’s Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
The cover for Paradise Road by Kat De Fall is nothing special, but anything with trees always gets my attention. I got this as an Amazon freebie back on 10.1.16.
Paradise Road is real. so it makes me even more curious, though I know what’s coming, Kat De Fall still manages to surprise me in a fantastic way and I smile at the gruesome ending…which, I strongly suggest you heed the warning and don’t get out of your car…better yet, don’t even slow down.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Paradise Road is long
known to be a haunted stretch of forest near Jefferson in Wisconsin. But
when Nicky asks Tracey to accompany her out to the desolate stretch of
road to find their lost friend, they both get more than they bargained
for.
