Sunday, November 30, 2014

Book Review: River Spirits by Marilyn Meredith

Tempe...is...back! In this exciting new installment of the Tempe Crabtree Mystery Series, an actor is murdered during filming at the Bear Creek Indian Reservation. Tempe is sent in to uncover the culprit. Meanwhile, her son, Blair, arrives home with some big news.

This series keeps getting better and better. Familiar faces from Bear Creek (Hutch, Miqui Sherwood, Nick Two John, and Claudia) are joined by a film crew shooting a movie at the reservation. When an actor is found murdered at the Painted Rock shelter, Tempe discovers numerous people could have wanted this man dead. In a style that readers have come to expect from Meredith, Tempe's personal and professional lives collide as she works to uncover a murderer. The Native American elements of the series continue to play a vital role in the plot--including the legend of the Hairy Man.


A perfect stand-alone novel, River Spirits will draw you in from the very first page and have you longing for more Tempe once you're done.

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Mundania Press LLC (September 30, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1606594117
ISBN-13: 978-1606594117
Also available in Kindle format

Contest: The winner will be the person who comments on the most blog posts during the tour.
He or she can either have a character in my next book named after them, or choose an earlier book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series—either a paper book or e-book.

I received an electronic ARC from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Interview with William Leibowitz, Author of Miracle Man

William R. Leibowitz has been practicing entertainment/media law in New York City for a number of years.  He has represented numerous renowned recording artists, songwriters, producers and many of the leading record companies, talent managers, merchandisers and other notable entertainment businesses.  At one point, he was the Chief Operating Officer/General Counsel for the Sanctuary Group of Companies, a U.K. public company that was the largest ‘indie’ music company in the world (prior to its acquisition by the Universal Music Group). 

William has a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and a law degree from Columbia University.  He lives in the village of Quogue, New York with his wife, Alexandria, and dog, George. 

William wrote Miracle Man because of its humanistic and spiritual messages and because he feels that in our current times – when meritless celebrity has eclipsed accomplishment and the only heroes are those based on comic books, the world needs a real hero –and that, of course, is Robert James Austin, the protagonist in Miracle ManMiracle Man won Best Thriller in the National Pacific Book Awards.

For More Information

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? 

I’m a lawyer in the entertainment/media business who practices in New York City.  I’ve been privileged over the years to have represented many highly talented performers and some of the major intellectual property companies, both domestically and internationally.  On a personal level, I love gardening, skiing, raising koi, and spending time with my family.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the Bronx, New York.

When did you begin writing?

Miracle Man is my first real effort at creative writing.  I finished writing it a bit over a year ago.  With the great critical reception that this novel has received, I guess you would call it “beginner’s luck.” 

What is this book about?

Miracle Man tells the story of Robert James Austin, the greatest genius in human history (we’re talking 10X Einstein’s brain power), from the time of his birth and tragic childhood through his extraordinary accomplishments in curing diseases.  The book is a psychological thriller with a fast paced twisting plot that’s full of surprises and drama, as Austin battles abandonment and betrayal and the myriad powerful forces, external and internal, including Big Pharma and its political cronies that seek to destroy him.


What inspired you to write it?                                             

I wrote Miracle Man for a few reasons. One was that I wanted to create a believable modern day ‘super hero’ who is an ‘anti-celebrity’ and isn’t a comic book character. I thought that such a person could be inspirational when contrasted with the meritless celebrities that dominate media today (e.g., the reality TV stars who are famous for being famous, but have no real talent). I think that the cult of the egotistical “non-entity celebrity” has undermined our social fabric and set a terrible role-model for kids. I also wanted Miracle Man to be the vehicle within which I could convey, in an entertainment context, certain spiritual and humanistic messages that are important to me.

In particular, one of the underlying themes in Miracle Man is the sanctity of each and every human life. As the story of the protagonist unfolds, I think the reader will come to appreciate that one can never predict the ramifications of one person’s death. Robert James Austin should have died as a new born, but he was saved in the most unlikely of manners; he then went on to change the world in extraordinary ways. We all are bombarded every day by statistics of death –how many people died in the latest war, or from famine, or epidemic or other manmade or natural cataclysm. People’s lives are jumbled together by the media as meaningless numbers. But what I want the reader of Miracle Man to think about ---is the individual. That’s why Miracle Man begins with the quotation from Scriptures – “To destroy one life is to destroy an entire world, and to save one life is to save an entire world.”

In writing Miracle Man, I also wanted to get readers thinking about a real-life problem that affects us all. One of the powerful forces fighting Bobby Austin is “Big Pharma” which views him as their enemy since he cures diseases and thereby makes many of their “cash-cow” drugs obsolete. In short, Austin is bad for their business. Like Austin, I find it incomprehensible that virtually no major disease has been cured in over 50 years. How can that be the case when so much money has been spent over the decades on research? Simply put, there’s a lot more money in treating symptoms than there is in curing diseases. Austin realized that Big Pharma has no interest in curing diseases. It just wants to keep on selling expensive symptom treatments –and as we know, many people are on expensive ‘medication maintenance programs’ for years, sometimes for life. Austin wanted to change that. I think people need to start questioning Big Pharma on many fronts –from the price of drugs -- to why there aren’t more cures.

---So what I tried to do in Miracle Man is first and foremost to write an entertaining book that engages readers and keeps them turning the pages. But within that entertainment context I wanted to get my readers thinking. From the reviews I’ve received—I’m extremely gratified that this has happened.

Who is your favorite author?
                                                
It’s too hard to limit down to one but among my favorites are James Hilton, Oscar Wilde and Daniel DaSilva.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Miracle Man can be purchased in paperback or Kindle on Amazon, and from Nook and ibooks.

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers can find out more?

Yes—the website is miraclemanbook.com; it has a video, many reviews, author interviews and press. 

Do you have a video trailer to promote your book?  If yes, where can readers find it?

Yes—the best place to find it is on the website:  miraclemanbook.com, but it’s also on youtube.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere?

Be very demanding on yourself and set high standards.  Your finished work must represent the absolute best that you can do and you have to be proud of it.   So make it as good as you possibly can.  Seek the criticism of others as you write and re-write.  Be patient with yourself.  It’s better for your work to be great than for it to be ‘quick.’

What is up next for you?

I’m delighted that readers have been calling on me to write a sequel to Miracle Man and the ending of the book does hint at one. I’ve begun to sketch out the plot line. The sequel will definitely have lots of surprises as the saga of Robert James Austin continues.

Book Spotlight: The Book of Zev by Marilyn Horowitz


Title: The Book of Zev
Author: Marilyn Horowitz
Publisher: Koehler Publishing
Genre:  Thriller
Format: Paperback
Pre-order The Book of Zev to be released December 1, 2014 at Amazon paperback
Pre-order The Book of Zev to be released December 1, 2014 at Barnes & Noble

The Book of Zev is a political thriller that tells the story of two gentle people who change the course of history. Zev Bronfman, a strapping 32-year old-virgin, angry atheist, refugee from a religious Jewish life, and former engineer for the U.S. Patent Office in Alexandria, Virginia, drives a cab and sleeps around in New York City. After a bitter divorce, Sarah Hirshbaum, a beautiful, redheaded, depressed, God-hating kosher chef, seesaws between yoga and too much red wine. Independently, the two consult the same psychic who inadvertently sends Sarah Zev’s session tape. When Sarah contacts Zev to pick up the recording, a series of events forces them to connect with a powerful terrorist in order to thwart his plans to destroy the UN and Israel.

Click here to read an Excerpt of The Book of Zev


Marilyn Horowitz is a Manhattan based writing teacher and award winning professor at New York University, author, and producer, as well as a judge for the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship Program for film and media. Marilyn has also lectured and served on panels at many groups and conferences including: Writers Guild of America East, Philadelphia Writer’s Conference, Great American Pitchfest, Screenwriting Expo and Author101. She is featured in Now Write! Screenwriting anthology published by Tarcher/Penguin edited by Sherry Ellis. She has written several feature-length screenplays. Her production credits include the feature films And Then Came Love (2007), starring Vanessa Williams and distributed by Warner Bros., Caleb’s Door (2009), distributed by Around the Scenes, Found in Time (2011), Nocturnal Agony (2011), and The One (2011).

Visit Marilyn’s website,
Tweet with Marilyn @marilynhorowitz
Discuss at Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Club on  Goodreads

Thursday, November 20, 2014

What Might be Next for Deputy Tempe Crabtree by Marilyn Meredith

While filming a movie on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation, the film crew trespasses on sacred ground, threats are made against the female stars, a missing woman is found by the Hairy Man, an actor is murdered and Deputy Tempe Crabtree has no idea who is guilty. Once again, the elusive and legendary Hairy Man plays an important role in this newest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

From the publisher, all formats:
For Kindle:
Amazon paperback:
For Nook


What Might be Next for Deputy Tempe Crabtree

When you read the latest in the series, River Spirits, you’ll know that there is a big life event coming for one of the members of Tempe’s family—one that I’ll address in the next book.

As for what else might happen, frankly at this point I don’t know. I’m too busy promoting the book that’s done.

For those of you who know that I write two series, which means two books a year, I’m still in the process of writing and editing the next book in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series.

I have been toying with the idea of having Tempe become involved with a murder in a different city, if I can figure out a way to work that out. But at this point, it is merely an idea.

Because I’ve kind of lost track of the fiction time, and since Tempe’s son is all grown up and has a life of his own, perhaps she might be thinking about retirement. Hutch might think that’s a great idea—to keep her out of the danger that sometimes confronts her when she’s on the job. If she were no longer a deputy confronted with crime, would that mean she also wouldn’t dabble in the supernatural?

If I went that route, maybe the series would be over. Every series has to end sometime.

However, at this point I’m not even considering it, but who knows.

Anyone have any bright ideas for me?

Marilyn


Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest River Spirits from Mundania Press. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/


Contest: The winner will be the person who comments on the most blog posts during the tour.
He or she can either have a character in my next book named after them, or choose an earlier book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series—either a paper book or e-book.

Next you’ll find me with Evelyn Cullet and you can read an excerpt from River Spirits.
http://evelyncullet.com/blog/

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Kindle Freebie: American Warrior by James Snyder


The year is 1961. America has a new president, named John F. Kennedy, and a new era the newspapers are calling the Dawn of Camelot. But for ten-year-old Paul Brett, dealing with an abusive father and the immigrant gangs roaming his slum neighborhood of China Slough, America is only a small, dead-end place he is struggling to survive.

That is, until the night a mysterious stranger comes out of the darkness to his rescue, and initiates a journey—an unforgettable odyssey—beyond his wildest imagination.

From his unlikely beginnings in a brutal California migrant camp, into the darkest underbelly of a distant and unpopular war, to his final and, perhaps, most deadly struggle for survival inside the bowels of a near-medieval military prison, AMERICAN WARRIOR follows one young man’s breathtaking and mesmerizing journey into hell.

File Size: 3280 KB
Print Length: 356 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Bandera Publishing Company (December 21, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00ENL8C6G

Purchase here!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Book Spotlight: The Unholy by Paul DeBlassie III


"A young curandera, a medicine woman, intent on uncovering the secrets of her past is forced into a life-and-death battle against an evil Archbishop. Set in the mystic land of Aztlan, the Unholy is a novel of destiny as healer and slayer. native lore of dreams and visions, shape changing, and natural magic work to spin a neo-gothic web in which sadness and mystery lure the unsuspecting into a twilight realm of discovery and decision."



BOOK EXCERPT

“Hush now, child,” said a voice she recognized as that of her mother’s closest friend. “The man cannot harm you, mijita, as long as you are with us. We will make him think you are dead. But you must be very quiet. “Ya no llores,” the woman warned, raising a finger to her lips.

The woman then carried her into a dark cave illuminated by the light of a single candle. The cave was frightening, with shadows of what appeared to be goblins and demons dancing on the red sandstone walls. “I will return for you soon. You will be safe here,” the woman said. The girl watched the woman walk away, shivering as a breeze blew through the cave’s narrow passages.

Closing her eyes, she rocked back and forth—imagining herself safe in her mother’s arms—then opened her eyes to the light of the full moon shining through the mouth of the cave. The shadows on the walls were just shadows now, no longer goblins and demons. As she slipped into a trance, images flickered in her mind. She saw the woman who had brought her to this place scattering pieces of raw meat around the open mesa where her mother had struggled, helped by two other women the girl could not identify.

Suddenly, the scene shifted to a stone ledge jutting over the mesa, and she heard the pounding footsteps of a man running toward the women. The girl felt her heart race and her breathing quicken, afraid that the bad man would spot them and kill them. Then the image shifted again, and she now saw on the mesa three gray wolves circling the raw meat and the man walking away from the granite ledge. As he left, she heard his thought: The child is dead.







PAUL DeBLASSIE III, PhD, is a psychologist and writer living in his native New Mexico. A member of the Depth Psychology Alliance, the Transpersonal Psychology Association, and the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, he has for over thirty years treated survivors of the dark side of religion.

Visit the author online at http://www.pauldeblassieiii.com/

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Veterans Day Picks


College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same.

Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory.

Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?

Purchase here!


Cassie is one of the few female drone pilots in the Air Force. She has honed her skills flying thousands of missions over the skies of Afghanistan and Iraq, and is responsible for terminating numerous high-value terrorist targets.

She’s killed a faceless enemy from a seat thousands of miles away.

One night when she can’t sleep, she stumbles into a room and discovers what she's not supposed to see. She finds names… faces… and the backstory behind innocent civilian deaths from missions she thought were successful.

Enraged by her findings, Cassie leaves a military she used to love, and begins to piece together a new life in Washington, D.C.

Is it paranoia and stress, or is someone following her on her morning runs?

Is she even safe? And how will she ever find redemption?

A short story of 7,000 words

Purchase here!


A US Special Forces operator and veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Richard Daniels is weary of serving government officials.

Ensconced deep in the Florida Everglades, Daniels flies out of his own base of operations, rescuing wealthy refugees from dangerous situations then using the funds to extract unfortunates facing the same dangers.

When two shadowy government-types attempt to hire Daniels and his team, Daniels flatly refuses. Then his seaplane is impounded, a federal warrant is issued for his arrest, and Deeno, an honorary team member with Downs Syndrome, is detained on federal charges.

Daniels's mind is changed. His new mission: In exchange for Deeno's freedom, hunt down and return "Bio", a genetically enhanced soldier gone rogue. Simple enough; Bio is already a proven killer.

But when Daniels finds the diary of the last man Bio killed... plans change.

Kindle freebie--purchase here!


The village of Frog End may be peaceful, but that doesn't mean that the Colonel’s life there is quiet – not with his friendly but nosy neighbour Naomi, desperate to know what he’s keeping in his new shed; the curious Miss Butler, who tracks his every move with her German U-boat captain’s binoculars; and the attentions of the local vicar, who’s keen to involve him in church affairs. That’s not forgetting the demands of the aloof, imperious cat Thursday, who seems to have adopted the Colonel.So the Colonel is pleased when his old friend Geoffrey Cheetham invites him up to the village of Buckby for the weekend, to coincide with a RAF reunion event. After depositing an outraged Thursday at the Cat Heaven cattery, he drives up, and meets his fellow guests at the Cheethams’ B&B: including a Lancaster bomber crew, reunited for the first time. But everything is not as it seems, and the Colonel finds himself taking on the reluctant role of sleuth once more when tragedy strikes . . .

Purchase here!

Friday, November 7, 2014

Kindle Freebie: Deadly Lode by Randall Reneau


Geologist Trace Brandon's serendipitous discovery of the long forgotten Sullivan Mine comes with more than high grade uranium and gold ore. When ex-con and penny mining stock promoter, Cyrus"The Virus" McSweeny, finds out about Brandon's new mining claims, he formulates an underhanded plan to gain an interest in the mine. To further complicate matters, one of Brandon's shareholders, Richard Rosenburg, is into a New Orleans crime family for a cool million. And they want Rosy's shares in Brandon's new company; Montana Creek Mining. As Brandon begins to drill out the rich orebody, his shareholders start dying. And not from natural causes. The exotic nature of the murders catches the attention of FBI Special Agent Beau Monroe. But it's the world class uranium grades that catch Hong Kong based Lei Chang's eye. Chang wants the uranium reserves for his Chinese backed mining company. And he doesn't care how he gets them. Brandon is forced to forge some rather unorthodox alliances to maintain control of the Sullivan Mine, and to stay alive.

File Size: 818 KB
Print Length: 306 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1479131792
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B009VMGGXS


Purchase here!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Kindle Freebie: Cruel Justice by M.A. Comley


The headless body of a wealthy widow is discovered decomposing in Chelling Forest. Then a second victim is found. Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins and her partner, DS Pete Childs are assigned the case.

Before they can discover the identity of the killer they must make a connection between the two victims.

After a third murder, Lorne receives a grisly surprise. Clearly, a vicious serial killer is on a rampage...and Lorne has become the killer's fixation.

Lorne can't allow her failing marriage or her new boss--a man with whom she shares a sensuous secret--keep her from focusing on her job. She must catch the macabre murderer, or risk becoming the next victim.

The Justice series in order are:
Blind Justice - introduction novella to the series.
Cruel Justice #1 in Police Procedurals and 1# Women Sleuths.
Impeding Justice #1 in Police Procedurals
Final justice #1 Action and Adventure
Foul Justice #1 Hard-Boiled Mysteries
Guaranteed Justice #1 Women Sleuths
Ultimate Justice - #2 Women Sleuths
Virtual Justice - #1 Hard Boiled/#2 Psychological Thrillers
Hostile Justice - #1 Police Procedural
Tortured Justice - New release.

File Size: 2831 KB
Print Length: 364 pages
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B005QOY4FM

Purchase here!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Kindle Freebie: Time & Again by Deborah Heal


Book 1 in the “History Mystery” Series

Abby Thomas is spending the summer in a run-down old house with a bratty pre-teen named Merrideth she is supposed to tutor. Not a dream job. But it does come with perks.

There’s John Roberts, a devastatingly attractive neighbor who is almost too wonderful to be real.

And there’s the new computer program Beautiful Houses—also too amazing to be real. No one knows how it works, but with it she can rewind and fast-forward the lives of all the people who ever lived in the house, including Charlotte Miles.

In 1858, the house is a train stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. And Charlotte is stuck there serving meals to the passengers, wondering if she’ll ever get to have any fun. And then she meets two travelers who change her life forever.

There’s James McGuire with whom she falls in love. And there’s his boss, a young Springfield lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. His debate with political opponent Stephen Douglas catapults him onto the national stage. And it inspires Charlotte to take up the cause of abolition.

The House

A stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. A stop on the Underground Railroad.

Watching the house’s history unfold, Abby and Merrideth gain a new perspective on their own lives as time and again they see God’s loving hand in the lives of its inhabitants.

File Size: 1077 KB
Print Length: 264 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00BMUQAR4

Purchase here!