“From the swamps of the Florida panhandle, once again emerges private investigator Jack Ludefance, in a murder/mystery/thriller novel by award winning author Behcet Kaya, titled “Appellate Judge.” A key element in this case, in which readers are orbited into with a very subtle path of reasoning, revolves around a violin. Not just any ordinary violin, but a Stradivarius, worth many millions of dollars. What’s more, it seems this particular Strad, which was gifted to the judge years back by a Swiss aristocrat, was actually at one time owned by the most famous violin virtuoso who ever lived, Niccolò Paganini; adding even more to its value.
The uncovering of details about this violin makes for a very sophisticated history into the world of classical instruments. With suspense, action, seduction and attitude, worthy of the Jack Ludefance series, “Appellate Judge” ranks high in the best-of-class within this genre. It stands on its own for readers just entering the series, albeit those who have read his two prior novels, “Treacherous Estate” and “Body in the Woods” would appreciate the continued character development and maturity Kaya brings to his latest in the series. “The Appellate Judge” is not one to miss!” Gary Sorkin
Review by JoJo Maxson: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Another fierce novel that will keep you glued to the pages. Appellate Judge by Behcet Kaya is the third Jack Ludefance novel, and this private investigator gets better with each book. Jack is taking a break from his cases and goes on a cruise with his sister, Margaux, and their late father’s companion, Deloris. In the middle of his vacation, he gets a call that his next challenging case is waiting for him when he is back in the states. A year has passed since the Honorable Judge Russell Hasting died. His daughter is not convinced it was a heart attack, especially since there were marks clearly across his neck. Can Jack work his magic again to find the clue that will give him a break?
Behcet Kaya is an amazing author that continues to build off his intriguing character, PI Jack Ludefance. Appellate Judge keeps the readers hanging on to every work as the story unfolds into another suspenseful thriller. I love how the author keeps his novels fast, fierce, and full of action without extra filler. I am looking forward to the next novel in this series and the new turn in his life.
Bechet Kaya’s book four in the Jack Ludefance series, Murder in Buckhead, follows PI Jack’s all-action mysteries proceedings, resonates with the author’s knotty narrative, sparkling characters, and the ever-still place of realism as to the basic human aspirations.
Buckhead, a district within Atlanta that boasts many high-end residences and businesses, is the scene of the discovery of a body. As the meticulous detective Shamir Turner assesses the circumstances of the alleged suicide of Casey Ray Olmsted, the son of the influential US Senator Bartholomew Jeremie Olmsted, he is certain of foul play (all shreds of evidence are contrary to the suicide claim). In the wake of Senator Olmsted’s request not to proceed with the investigation of his son’s death (since it’s a suicide), Turner has no choice but to do nothing (well, just officially…). Meanwhile, in his mid-40s, private investigator Jack Ludefance from Florida receives a phone call from Scarlet Olmsted asking him to look into the ‘real’ deed behind his son Casey’s death. Blaire Olmsted, Casey’s widower, issues a second exhortation, pleading with Ludefance to probe the senator (her father-in-law) who is after her life.
Amidst the seemingly well-heeled proceedings of the murder-mystery investigation, Ludefance makes some unexpected discoveries about the case that goes against his reasoning. Blaire puzzles him with her switch between slyly seductive innuendos and her innocent persona, genuinely concerned about the senator and the threats he makes (a devious diva or an innocent suspect?). Additionally, not only has Blaire become a thorn in the motive of concealing the true story behind Casey’s death, but Jack has also become part of the follow-ups and death threats. In a bind, Ludefance must deal with two situations that both get in the way of the corrupt and wicked Senator, who believes in getting rid of any weeds that might stand in the way of his objectives. With Rudy, the young expert hacker, Turner, the ever-ardent detective, and many incidental characters on board, the plot follows Jack’s adventure to unravel the mysterious death of Casey – suicide or murder, or is there an entirely different angle to the case?
Through the luxury settings of Atlanta, the criminal underworld, and (not to overlook) the various eateries and human basic appetites for delicacies and meals, the author weaves an interesting tale that goes beyond a mere murder mystery riddle. All of the characters reveal their true selves in their own sexuality, backgrounds, and social positions, whether expressing natural human passion, appetite, or wrestling with their inner conflicts. Despite being a minor force behind the propagation of the murder mystery, the plot’s plethora of characters, including Rudy with his subtle fatherly relationship with Jack, Cindy, Jack’s sexual interest, as well as Turner and County Sheriff Lawson (aka Hiker), the ideal professionals and boon companions, provide enrichment to the plot with their unique presence and personalities.
Award-winning author Behcet Kaya has once again brought his PI protagonist Jack Ludefance to life in a novel of suspense and mystery, filled with indelible characters, and laced with threads of credible circumstances, in his latest book titled Body in the Woods.
Set in the hills in Malibu, California, Jack is asked by his friend, a wealthy businessman in the military defense industry, to come to his aid to help solve a murder; because it seems his business partner’s body has turned up murdered and the police have pegged him as the prime suspect. Although not yet formally charged, he needs Jack’s help to find the real killer and thus secure his freedom, while solving the crime of who actually killed his partner. Jack obliges and travels from his home in Florida to Los Angeles to pick up the case. What begins as a step-by-step private investigation into the evidence surrounding the death of the notoriously cunning, smart and cleverly manipulating business partner of Jack’s client, turns into an international quagmire of intrigue, scientific secrets, and vast amounts of money. People with power, influence and fortunes are all jockeying for a once–in-a-lifetime business deal, while death surrounds the periphery of their involvement.
Body in the Woods stands on its own merits as there is enough background to appease the fans of Kaya’s books without bogging down the plot with historical events. This book is impossible to put down; at first due to the character development, then again when readers hit the critical mass plot point. It will surprise the savviest of readers with its twists and turns of logic, morality, integrity, and honesty. Gary Sorkin
Review by Hessen: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Great action-packed investigation story! The body of a Caucasian man has been found in the middle of the woods in Wild Oaks. The corpse belongs to the German Engineer Heinrich Hines, who made plans to sell to the highest bidder some military technology capable of tilting the balance very strongly in favor of its buyer.
Santa Rosaria, Miami-based private investigator Jack Ludefance is urgently called by his friend Vance McGruder from Santa Monica, California, as he has been pointed as a suspect in the Hines homicide. Ludefance must investigate in the least thought of places to find the true killer of the man in the woods and secure McGruder’s freedom, while he unravels the shady multi-million-dollar deals that surrounds the case.
In his fifth novel, Turkish author B. Kaya takes private investigator Jack Ludefance, known for the recent media coverage of his most recent case, in which he managed to capture a famous criminal, to an international investigation of a crime encircled by intrigue, betrayal, cutting-edge technology, dangerous attractions and lots of action. The pace of the story is dizzying, with discoveries around every corner, an agile prose, highly effective characters, a good dose of suspense and a fairly interesting plot.
I recommend this book to you if you love private investigation, tangled crimes, and those active, brash, cunning detectives with the best traits of classic Mr. Bond, but with a personality, appeal, and touch all of their own.
While enjoying his usual Friday night after dinner beer at a local restaurant, Jacques (Jack) Ludefance’s evening is suddenly shattered when a beautiful young woman sits down next to him, whispers, “Mister, can you help me?” then falls dead.
After her death is ruled ‘natural causes,’ Jack digs in to unravel the reasons she came to him desperately asking for his help and to investigate her mysterious death. To complicate matters further, her husband is a prominent, highly respected local business man. As Jack begins to unravel the pieces to the unsolved puzzle, the more heinous the crimes of the dead woman’s husband become and Jack finds his own life is in danger.
Review by JoJo Maxson: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Love the unique twists within the story. Treacherous Estate by Behcet Kaya is a crime story that will have you digging deeper into the death of Lillian Holler, while Jacques (Jack) Ledefance investigates. Lillian gives Jack an envelope of mysterious items just moments before she dies. As a Private Investigator, Jack feels compelled to uncover the mystery Lillian was hiring him to solve. Lillian’s husband would have been the obvious suspect, but they considered her death an accident. Can Jack uncover the real reason Lillian wanted to hire him, without him or his assistant, Katy, getting hurt or worse, killed?
I love the unique details Behcet Kaya sews within the pages of Treacherous Estate. He keeps the plot fresh with a twist of something unusual. I admired the integrity of PI Jack, but I had a hard time connecting to him. His strengths and weaknesses make him appear real, but less like a hero which is needed to stomach the nasty businesses Lillian’s husband runs.
Murder on the Naval Base begins with a blurry account of a cold-blooded shooting of a couple, singled out while having dinner at an Officer’s Club. The prime suspect is apprehended hours later while apparently attempting to flee the state. With over a dozen eye-witnesses collaborating the incident, little was left in the puzzle for the military investigators to piece together; especially once it was determined the two victims were in fact the perpetrator’s wife and the man, she was having an on-going affair with.
Transporting the reader into the supersonic fighter jet world of Naval Aviation, with aircraft carrier scenes, the novel brings the reader close to the egos and confidence of those commanders that fly our warplanes. Combined with a steamy undercurrent of lust, love, sexual fulfillment, jealousy and primordial desires of the protagonist, the human condition of married life versus the structure and demands of military careers are juxtaposed against the strength and will of personal upbringing and ethical behavior of the characters. Offering the reader, a page-turner of excitement, legal intrigue, psychologically thrilling moments, steamy sex and military honor – complete with a surprise that is foreshadowed so brilliantly, even the most seasoned reader will raise an eyebrow at the end with humble acknowledgement of the literary mastery contained herein.
Review by Jane Jones: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Murder on the Naval Base-Thriller, mystery & romance! Murder on the Naval Base offers mystery and one of the best uses of flashbacks to tell the story of Lieutenant Anderson Garrett Belguzar, his wife Bevin O’Hara Belguzar and Lieutenant Charles McPherson III up to the murders. Throughout the story, Lieutenant Anderson Belguzar sets goals and works to overcome his background and reach his goals as a Naval Aviator, yet he is charged with the murders of his ex-friend, Charles and his wife, Bevin at the Officer’s Club on base.
Elizabeth, who becomes McPherson’s wife, has outward beauty but displays character flaws that point to her evil hidden agenda. Charles’s mother’s concern for her social position and charity work, leads her to demand her son sacrifice his happiness for social position with Elizabeth as his wife. Admiral Charles McPherson II brings a twist to the story towards the end by making public his private life, which was an unexpected twist.
I do not have knowledge of the technical information presented as to the flight school and flights of the different jets but it really didn’t matter as the way it was written was exciting and held my interest. The procedures of the Naval Court had obviously been researched and the testimony built the suspense to the dramatic ending in court. The author, Behcet Kaya told a complex story with great style, lots of action and drama along with great romance so I can’t wait to read his next manuscript.
Voice of Conscience is a tightly-spun tale of redemption and human nature vividly depicted in the story of one man’s manic journey to fulfill his debt and reclaim his past at whatever cost.
Voice of Conscience begins in a small village in eastern Turkey, where Ramzi Ozcomert Jr. is catapulted into a fearsome adult world after the brutal death of his parents and sister. Shattered by grief and fear, Ramzi begins his flight from threats both real and imagined that take him from Istanbul to London, engendering in him a deep need for revenge. His plans are interrupted when he discovers love in the most unexpected of times, allowing himself to fall for an American and start over in California.
Despite his subsequent success in America, he cannot overcome the horrifying images of his murdered family members that plague his every moment. Ramzi’s obsession will take him to the very heart of his past as he travels back to Turkey, culminating in an ending that will confound all expectations. Voice of Conscience articulates a collision of opposites – of Turkish customs and Western values, loss and new life, love and hate – in a compulsively readable book essential for our times.
Review by books492: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Voice of Conscience by Behcet Kaya. Revenge is defined as “the act of taking vengeance for injuries or wrongs; retaliation.” We all know that revenge, if we let it, will keep gnawing away at one until it almost destroys a life. Keep this in mind as you read this book.
This novel takes place in Atamkoy which is located in northeastern Turkey. The reader is introduced to the Ozocomert Family. They have a son, Ramzi, and a beautiful daughter, Erin. As is the tradition in this culture, families normally arrange marriages for their children. The Korucu family wants to make arrangements for their son to marry Erin. However, she wants to marry the man she really loves. The Ozocomert Family denies their request.
Ramzi is now old enough to go with his father on a logging trip. Ramzi was looking forward to this trip as he wanted to prove himself to his father. When a tree almost fell on his father, Ramzi jumped on top of him. Ramzi’s father often wondered what would happen if he were no longer around. After this trip, he now had no doubt in his mind that Ramzi, Jr. would be able to handle everything that might come his way.
Then something terrible happened. Ramzi Sr., his wife and their daughter, Erin were murdered. As mourners gathered for prayers, an old man stated “Of all human weaknesses, none is more destructive, or unprofitable as intikam, vengeance.” He continued by saying “vengeance offers nothing and takes everything.” Ramzi, Jr. knew he had to leave or he would be the next one to be killed. The way Ramzi, Jr. was brought up will play a major role in his will to survive. After all, it was a tradition to “teach young boys the tricks of hide and seek”.
Ramzi boarded a train and began his journey to start a new life. While on the train he met many travelers who were seated in his compartment. Among them were a brother and sister who carried on a conversation that got a little heated at times. A merchant who was also there got involved in the conversation and made the remarks “Animals are instinctively driven, while man has conscience and respect for the law of the land.” This statement really brought out many emotions in Ramzi as he thought about the terrible tragedy that happened to his family. Ramzi did not know what was happening to him. He now realized that all of his customs, traditions and everything dealing with his family have now turned to dust. He finally got control over his emotions and knew he had to forget the fears and think about the future.
While on the train, a pickpocket stole Ramzi’s wallet. With the help of a Colonel who was a passenger on the train, the thief was caught. The colonel held the thief while Ramzi punched away at him. Ramzi realized that for the first time in his life he felt really good. This was the feeling of revenge.
Upon his arrival, Ramzi’s plan was to go to the home of Safki Ozturk, a distant relative of his mother. His wife, Nazmiye, was a distant relative of Ramzi’s father. Nazmiye warmly greeted Ramzi but Safki told him he was not running a hotel. Through Nazmiye’s coaching, Safki decided to let Ramzi stay.
During the next several years, Ramzi became Safki’s assistant. The business was growing. In his spare time, he finished his schooling and took English lessons.
Ramzi became quite concerned when he heard an ambulance and saw a large crowd gathered. One of the men he worked with, Husnu, was being placed into the ambulance. Now he wondered. Was this a case of mistaken identity? Was he the one who should be in the ambulance? After all, he felt he and Husnu did look somewhat alike. Did his enemies find him?
In order to help pay for his schooling, Ramzi worked at the Texas Pancake House. A beautiful woman came in and caught the eye of many of the male waiters. It almost became a contest to see which one would be able to get a date with Megan. After several failed attempts by the other waiters, it was now Ramzi’s turn to wait on her. He did manage to get her to agree to go on a date with him. It took no time for them to fall in love. Megan could not get over how Ramzi reminded her of her father.
Ramzi and Megan got married and had children. He worked for Megan’s father and they lived in his house. Ramzi did not like this arrangement because he always felt he was being scrutinized by Megan’s father. One day he decided it was time to start his own business. With Megan’s father’s approval, he did just that and became quite successful.
Ramzi, now in his forties, had a successful business, a beautiful wife, and lovely children. However, something was not right. Ramzi wondered what was wrong with him. He kept having nightmares about the way his parents and sister died. His “thoughts of revenge filled his soul, the voice of conscience constantly reminding him”. He did not want any more time to slip away before he was too old to do something about this terrible tragedy. He decided on a course of action.
What did Ramzi decide to do and what was the end result?
The author does an excellent job with his descriptive writing. He not only describes his characters in great detail but also creates a picture for the reader about everything from what the family is eating to what traditions they might be following at that very moment. Behcet Kaya has created a protagonist that is so filled with feelings of revenge that life could not be normal even though he had everything one could want. I have read many books but have never experienced the great detailed writing that this author provides.
Voice of Conscience is a story that is rich with traditions and customs. Readers will be awed by the insights the author provides especially when the family is preparing for Erin’s wedding and how everyone in the town is involved. He really brings everything to life and makes it seem so real for the reader. This story brings out all the emotions one can have including everything from love to hate.
Behcet Kaya is a great storyteller. Readers will be engrossed as they read this well-written book. The author has the special ability to tell the readers just enough to keep them interested and at the same time keep them captivated by not giving too much away. Be prepared for a surprise ending.
This novel is a Shakespearean Tragedy done at its best. I can imagine this story as a big screen movie. Voice of Conscience is a story the reader will not forget.
Review by JamesGadd: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Different beliefs and attitudes. The story kept your attention all the time to the end. How people respond to things depends on their background and what they were taught. Ramzi came from a family and a region that would be confusing to other countries and people.
Erin Ozcomert, a beautiful, graduate student at UCLA, has always felt compelled to learn more about the little-known stories of her father; stories that have been hidden from her since his death several years before. Leaving modern day Los Angeles, Erin is swept into the ancient customs and traditions of her father’s village in northeastern Turkey.
What she learns there is not at all what she had expected to find. As she is enfolded into the loving arms of her Aunt Fatma Ozkoy, Erin discovers a place where tradition prevails in social ceremonies and family feuds are still kindling hatred and murder, torn by some never forgotten malice performed by past generations. Trying to integrate these discoveries, Erin is given the gift of her grandmother’s journal. Reading the handwritten treasure, her emotions are stripped raw as she uncovers her heritage and the answers to her questions.
Forced to leave the village before she is ready, Erin returns to Istanbul only to discover more secrets from her father’s past.
Review by Nikhil Gopalakrishnan: 4.0 out of 5 Stars. A beautiful page turner. I had no idea this book was a sequel to his previous work, Voice of conscience because it doesn’t affect you at all. The pieces fit in properly and book stands independent irrespective of being a sequel. Behcet tells you a story of finding one’s own roots and feeling at home about it too, through Erin. Erin, the protagonist, is of Turkish American origin who ventures on a journey to Istanbul and then Siran to find the truth about her father’s past. Something unfortunate befalls the family and she is forced to find it out sooner than she had planned. And the road to Siran is soon to engrave in her life the fondest of memories and maybe even get her to meet `The one in her life’.
Behcet has written a marvelous book that gives you a general idea on Turkish history, without making it sound boring or preachy. But the most wonderful thing the book does to you is that it makes you take a peek into your own roots. The book centers on the discovery of one’s roots and the barrel of joy and happiness that follows it. There was a certain point when you could feel bouts of nostalgia rising up. The book is well-written in a way that it totally absorbs you into its milieu and you stand right there witnessing all that Erin experiences. Erin had to know why her father did what he had done and why he toiled under his yoke when he knew that vengeance was justified. He was entrapped in a misbegotten past all his life and his thoughts crystallized it until the tragedy occurred.
The book is thrilling in itself and did not depend on its prequel in any way. It shows you that roots do not vanish in a couple of years, nor does the past. You cannot run away from them. Hang on to them because they define who you are. That is a great tip off coming from a book of barely 200 pages!
About The Author: Author Behcet Kaya was born in northeastern Turkey. Growing up in a small village with long held traditions, his rebellious and creative nature emerged at an early age. Leaving home at fourteen, he travelled first to Istanbul and then on to London. His dream was to complete his high school education and then a college degree in engineering. While at Hatfield Polytechnic, Kaya made his first visit to the U.S. as an exchange student with the BUNC. He made the move to the U.S. in 1976 and became a U.S. citizen in 1985. While living in Atlanta, Georgia, he followed his creative yearnings, attending the Alliance Theater School and studying at the SAG Conservatory of Georgia. Kaya and his wife moved to Los Angeles, where he continued his studies at the Roby Theater Company and the Shakespeare, A Noise Within Theater Workshop. In May 2017 Behcet Kaya graduated from California State University Channel Island majoring BA Political Science.
Along with acting, writing became a natural outlet for his creative yearnings. He has published seven novels, “Voice of Conscience, Murder on the Naval Base, Road to Siran-Erin’s story (Sequel To Voice of Conscience), Treacherous Estate (crime story), Body in the Woods, Appellate Judge (Part of The Jack Ludefance PI Series), Murder In Buckhead (The Jack Ludefance PI Series), as well as several short stories.
History tells us that William Shakespeare died in April of 1616.
Or did he?
What if the “William Kemp” who set sail from England for the New World in April of 1619 was actually the bard in disguise?
How would he adjust to life in the Virginia Colony? How would he interact with the Powhatans?
And what if he was forced to do battle with a monster out of legend?
This is the story of Shakespeare’s second life.
Review by C.T. Top Contributor: Star Trek. 5.0 out of 5 Stars. William Shakespeare, frontiersman.
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2022-Verified Purchase
THIS THING OF DARKNESS by Allan Batchelder is a high concept novel if I’ve ever heard one: What if William Shakespeare faked his death and tried to make a new life in Jamestown? It’s an interesting promise that I am arguably spoiling a bit of a reveal but is the chief reason to pick up this fascinating novel. Its title and events certainly give this the appearance of a horror novel but it also works very well as a character study. I am happy to recommend it without further bringing any elements of its plot in on the basis of its research and authenticity of human feeling. Which is not something I normally say about a monster stalking a bunch of English settlers.
The premise, as quirky as it may be, is something that is grounded by “William Kemp” whose true identity is something that the story eases into but leaves plenty of clues to from the beginning. William has his reasons for wanting to fake his death and flee England that we gradually discover through the judicious use of flashbacks but the point is that he is not someone who easily fits into the ranks of the new colony.
Partially due to the reasons that he fled, partially due to his high intellect, his irreligiosity (mostly expressed in a lack of interest in regular churchgoing–a horrible offense then), and his fear of being discovered, he lives at the edge of the community. He makes association with other outcasts, though, and forms his own little community that leaves him content for a time.
There is something out there in the woods, though, and William’s imagination draws parallels between Grendel and his own Caliban, especially when signs that it’s a kind of cannibalistic monster. Is it a werewolf, 16th century serial killer, troll, or something wholly new? The locals, as you can imagine, are quick to blame the local Powhatan. Even William is skeptical of his own mind at work when he notes that a perhaps more likely explanation is some of the released criminals at work in the colony combined with the victims’ bodies being feasted on by animals’ postmortem.
If I were to make an odd comparison, this reminds me a bit of the John Cussack Edgar Allan Poe movie, The Raven, except much better. That movie suffered from making its titular celebrity the center of the murders as well as forced into their investigation. Here William is a reluctant detective and doesn’t have any skill at it but is moved by the fact it personally threatens him as well as those people he cares about. I appreciate all the effort Allan Batchelder takes to humanizing the Bard with his regrets over his failed marriage, relationship with a prostitute named Luca, and the jokes of plagiarism made about him.
This is the rare book I state is just extremely good from start to finish and is one that benefits extremely from its prose. While not William Shakespeare himself, he manages to create a believable enough man that could theoretically come up with England’s greatest plays. A somewhat roguish man but never so much as to be unbelievable for the time period. A somewhat darker and more morose version of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE’s take on the Bard perhaps. The supporting cast is solid too and I cared enough about them to want to see whether they became monster chow.
TARMUN VYKERS: His awestruck opponents call him The Reaper, an iron-willed man with no memory of his past, a ruthless champion who has risen to the level of death incarnate.
But The Reaper has collected a legion of enemies as he cut a bloody swath through the greatest of heroes and villains. And these dogs have finally had their day, exacting a revenge both cruel and creative.
Wandering lost, horribly disfigured and unable to fight, Vykers stumbles across the bones of a half-buried skeleton that can transform his ruined body in an inconceivable way. But first he must make a devil’s pact with…
ARUNE: A secretive, ghostly sorceress with ambitions of her own. If Vykers wants to wield a sword again, he must surrender to Arune that which he holds most dear. But can he trust this ethereal enchantress to hold up her end of their dangerous bargain?
Vykers has few good choices, and he must make them quickly, for an impossibly talented and savage wizard has arisen to threaten all of humanity…
THE END OF ALL THINGS: Once an autistic boy hardly able to speak, The End has evolved into a supernatural terror bent on extinguishing all life. A fearsome and unequaled tactician, The End is the only person who doesn’t fear “The Reaper.”
To have any hope of defeating this bloodthirsty mage, Vykers must gather the strangest, most dangerous cohort of killers ever assembled. Then he must seek out the only weapon that can defeat this terrible adversary…
THE EPIC BATTLE: Behold the greatest clash of men, monsters, and Fey that the kingdom has ever known. Vykers, at the head of his outnumbered contingent, launches a desperate attack against The End, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
But The End is a creature worthy of his name. He has forged a secret weapon, a wicked and terrible instrument that will break through Vykers’ defenses and exact a devastating toll.
Only one thing is certain, this extraordinary battle will end in a way that no one could have predicted!
Are you a fan of: Grimdark, Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series, Steven Erikson’s The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Glen Cook’s Chronicles of the Black Company, or Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle? If so, grab your copy of Steel, Blood & Fire now!
5 Stars: This book has a very well thought out plot engaging the reader in unexpected twists and turns including love stories and epic battle scenes involving twenty-four well developed characters.
Steel, Blood & Fires opens with unspeakable violence as Tarmun Vykers, A.K.A, “the Reaper” a legendary warrior is in the stocks (in bonds, under guard). One must be warned that this is a work of dark fantasy, horror and mythology with adult language and graphic violence.
Author Allan Batchelder has done very well laying out this book with easy to follow headings (much like the way a play production might be laid out). The story pivots back and forth from what is happening with his main characters: the legendary warrior named Tarmun Vykers, Aoife Cestroenyn (An A’Shea or “Mender,” sister of Anders), D’Kem (a washed up Burner), Janks & Company, Long, A.K.A, Long Pete, Spirk Nessno (An idiot and friend to Long), Anders Cestroenyn (the self-proclaimed “End-of-All-Things) and Arune (A spectral Burner who shares Vykers’ body).
I would like to share a quote from this book that will help draw you in without spoiling the story. This quote come from one of the chapter four headings titled ‘The End, On the March’.
…“After seeing his general off, Anders climbed a small hillock and surveyed his host. What they lacked in training and skill, they more than made up for in numbers and ferocity. Either his magic had worked especially well upon his unwilling draftees, or humans were all more savage than they cared to admit. Looking out upon them, he saw them huddled in large, teeming masses around myriad bonfires. They were always ravenous for food, of course, but also for sex and violence. The End-of-All-Things would be happy to destroy them all, once they had served their purpose.
…Pivoting to his left, he held out his arms and a slave laid the infant into them. It was a funny looking thing, this child. And would get funnier still, by the time Anders was through with it. He had decided, after some thought, that it was time he created something for a change. He would be the end of all things presently in existence, but this child would be the first of his new race, beings made specially to serve and obey him. Worship would not be required, as he felt he would probably kill large numbers of them whenever he got bored. Perhaps he should also create a competing race and pit them against one another!”
A must read for those who want to remain on the edge of your seat.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details: Paperback: 438 Pages Publication Date: December 15, 2018 Publisher: Mystique Press Language: English Fantasy (Epic “Grimdark”) Fantasy (Dark)
Three years have passed since Tarmun Vykers’ victory over the mad sorcerer who called himself the End-of-All-Things. But they’ve been three long years, confined to a sick bed with a grievous wound that will not heal, cannot be healed by any means known to man. And then something unthinkable happens, and Vykers is summoned once again to save the kingdom.
This same mysterious event ensnares Long Pete and his companions, reuniting them for a mission whose consequences none can anticipate and not all will survive. Will Vykers master his wound, or will it finally end him? Can Long Pete serve both his Queen and his family? And what of the A’Shea, Aoife, who finds herself torn between her faith and her powerful attraction to the Reaper? In a world in which the gods play with the fates of men as mischievous boys torture insects, nothing but strife is certain.
Product Details: Print Length: 553 Pages Publication Date: December 15, 2018 Publisher: Crossroad Press Language: English Fantasy (Epic “Grimdark”) Fantasy (Dark)
Betrayed by his closest friend, someone who has also stolen his most precious possession, Tarmun Vykers wants revenge.
Kittins wants revenge, too, against the all-powerful Queen, who’s been manipulating and dictating his every move for far too long, to devastating effect.
Long Pete wants revenge against the slavers who murdered his wife and even now hold his only child captive.
And many others too numerous to count want revenge as well, for slights both real and imagined.
One thing is certain: punishment is coming. Follow the Reaper again, as he fights through the worst winter in ages to deal out revenge that leaves his victims corpse cold.
Product Details: Print Length: 392 Pages Publication Date: December 15, 2018 Publisher: Crossroad Press Language: English Fantasy (Epic “Grimdark”) Fantasy (Dark)
Vykers once killed some of the Emperor’s soldiers; now, the Emperor has crossed the sea with all his legions to exact a revenge that will impact not only the Reaper, but Kittins, Spirk, Eoman, and even the Virgin Queen herself.
Meanwhile, pieces to the puzzle of Vykers’ origins begin to fall into place, revealing people and purposes both unexpected and heretofore unimaginable. And then there is the long-suffering Long Pete, who must now contend with an utterly reshaped reality that threatens his very existence.
Product Details: Print Length: 403 Pages Publication Date: December 15, 2018 Publisher: Crossroad Press Language: English Fantasy (Epic “Grimdark”) Fantasy (Dark)
Tarmun Vykers, the Reaper, has battled his way across time and two continents, toppling kingdoms and empires alike and killing untold thousands in the process. And he has never really known why.
But he’s about to find out.
And with this new knowledge must come a reckoning—with the Queen, who has manipulated Vykers every step of the way, with the Emperor, who would take what is rightfully the Reaper’s, and even with the gods themselves.
It is time for the Reaper to do what he does best.
Product Details: Print Length: 457 Pages Publication Date: October 30, 2019 Publisher: Crossroad Press Language: English Fantasy (Epic “Grimdark”) Fantasy (Dark)
About
Author Allan Batchelder: Allan
is a professional actor, educator and former stand-up comedian. In addition to
Steel, Blood & Fire, As Flies to Wanton Boys and Corpse Cold, he’s also
written plays, screenplays, online articles, dialogue for computer games,
greeting card sentiments and more.
Steel,
Blood & Fire has been praised by Kirkus, Midwest Book Review and
Fantascize.com. Allan holds a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the National
Theatre Conservatory and a Master’s in Teaching from Seattle Pacific
University. He is a huge fan of Shakespeare, Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie,
Glen Cook, George R.R. Martin, Tad Williams, and R. Scott Bakker.
Allan lives in Seattle with his wife and son, where he enjoys walks on the beach, reading in the garden and puttering around on his computer. Oh, and naps. He LOVES naps. In fact, he’s probably taking one right now.
Cynthia Woolf Is The USA Today Bestselling And Award-Winning Author! She Has Published Seventy Eight Historical and Contemporary Western Romance Novels (Some Are Available In German). Along With These Books She Has Also Published One Contemporary Novella, Eight Boxed Sets Of Her Books And Two Short Stories. All Her Books Can Be Found At Amazon.
Her Work Is Too Large To Share Them All On Her Author’s Page. Below Are Parts Of Her Work:
The Prescott Brides Series.
A Bride for Brodie by Cynthia Woolf.
A sweet, mail order bride, historical western romance novel in The Prescott Brides Series.
Book 5 of 5: The Prescott Brides.
The Prescott Brides. A thrilling new series by USA Today Bestselling Author Cynthia Woolf!
Five outlaw brides. Five brothers. They take a chance and each find love.
She might be forging a new life as a bride for Brodie, but Lottie has a past. She dreams of having children and a marriage. Becoming a mail order bride where she hopes to find a love she could only dream about.
Her new groom is all she imagined. Fiercely protective and bold, yet kind and gentle, too. But Brodie’s done things that have left him in trouble.
When his past becomes their present, will they have the courage to do the unthinkable to prove their love is the strongest bond of all.
Product Details: Paperback: 186 Pages Publisher: Firehouse Publishing (March 25, 2023) Language: English Westerns Western Romances Military Romance
After inheriting her grandmother’s Victorian mansion outside Twin Bluffs, Montana, Shavon Montgomery decides to turn it into a bed and breakfast. It is the perfect solution for her after the tragedy of losing her sister and taking custody of her sister’s baby, and the perfect place to hide in plain sight. Guilt rides her hard, along with a deep and abiding hatred for secrets and the people who keep them. If it hadn’t been for secrets, she could have helped her sister before she died; secrets that destroyed her relationship with the man she wanted to marry. Even now someone wants her dead, and she finds herself falling for the new carpenter’s easy smile and cowboy charm. He’s almost too good to be true, but what could the cowboy be hiding?
Brody James is thrilled when he wins a bid to remodel and renovate the old Victorian mansion into a bed and breakfast. Former bronc rider turned carpenter and father; Brody has a secret. He’s rich. As in billionaire rich. It is a secret he has kept since moving to Twin Bluffs. He likes to work with his hands, really help people, not just write checks. He’s established himself as a hard-working cowboy, carpenter, and hopefully a good father. When he meets the new owner of the bed and breakfast, their chemistry is through the roof. Brody wants to be honest with her about who he really is. He wants a chance at forever. But how can he tell her the truth when she makes it clear how much she despises secrets, even good ones?
Hiding the truth may destroy their relationship. Will their love be able to survive the danger, lies, and secrets they keep? Read Her Secret Cowboy Billionaire to find out!
Her Mysterious Cowboy Billionaire by Cynthia Woolf.
Book 2 of 4: Montana Billionaires.
Reclusive billionaire Jack Saunders has gone into hiding as a Montana rancher to protect his son. The boy is the only witness to his mother’s murder but he hasn’t spoken since that day.
Gabby Cooper is a kindergarten teacher in Twin Bluffs, Montana. One of her students doesn’t speak and refuses to play with the other children. Out of concern for the child, Gabby arranges for a meeting with the boy’s father, Jack Saunders.
When Jack and Gabby meet, the air sizzles. Their attraction is instant and all consuming. What will happen when the man who murdered Jack’s wife finds them again and goes after Gabby? Can Jack keep her and his son safe?
A suspense filled, sweet, contemporary western romance novel in the Montana Billionaires series.
Book 3 of 4: Montana Billionaires.
The Montana Billionaires. A thrilling new series by USA Today Bestselling Author Cynthia Woolf!
They take a chance and each find love.
She might be the best horse trainer in Twin Bluffs, some say in Montana, but first she’s a single mother of a precocious six-year-old daughter. Still, she hopes to find a love she could only dream about.
He is all she imagined. Bold, kind and fiercely protective. But he’s been hurt too and fiercely guards his heart and his identity.
When the worst happens, he will do the unthinkable to prove their love is the strongest bond of all.
Caitlyn Larrabee was a modern woman before she died. Now she’s an angel in waiting. Offered a chance to have a happy life back on Earth if she can answer a deserving man’s Heart Wish, she agrees to travel back in time to meet the man who needs her as much as she needs him. Of course, there are rules. She has just seven days to get Lucas Ramsey, a bonafide cowboy, to fall in love with her. And she can’t tell anyone, especially her new husband, that she’s an angel. On top of all that, she must avoid, at all costs, the Angel Hunters that will be stalking her — or risk losing not only her angel powers, but Lucas.
Breaking horses for the Army and running cattle on a ranch doesn’t keep the darkness at bay for Lucas Ramsey. He’s ready to start over. Try again after losing his wife and children to influenza six years ago. So, he sends for a mail-order bride. When Lucas meets Caitlyn, he knows she’s special but he can’t put his finger on why. She’s beautiful, yes, but it’s more than that. Little does he know that her time is limited. When he realizes her very life is in danger, he will do whatever it takes to save her. They may find true love and their happily ever after, but not without sacrifice. Courage. And a love so powerful even a Heart of Stone will beat again.
Review by Linda Tonis (Member Of The Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team): 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A new take on mail order brides loved it.
I love Ms. Woolf’s mail-order bride series but now I have a whole new take on them. I have often reviewed her books and stated that I loved visiting the old West but would never want to live then and now we have a story of a modern woman from 2020 waiting in Purgatory for her wings but being sent back to 1880 Golden, Colorado to become a mail-order bride.
Caitlyn Larrabee was not happy to return to Earth, a place where she suffered pain at the hands of her husband who eventually beat her to death, sending her to Purgatory. Now she is told that she has one week to get Lucas Ramsey a rancher to love her without revealing who she really is. If successful she will remain on Earth with her new husband and if she fails will remain in Purgatory forever. In addition to having to be a bride with fear that she will face the same pain she did with her ex she has to evade Angel Hunters whose sole purpose is stealing an angel’s powers.
It has been six long years since Lucas Ramsey lost his wife and two small sons to influenza. After years of burying himself in a bottle he pulled himself out bringing the ranch back to a success and finally deciding he wanted a wife and a family. Gabriel heard his heart wish and sent Caitlyn a woman without a clue of surviving without modern conveniences, no cell phone, no bathroom with running water growing up without these perks is not a problem since you don’t know any difference but having known all these things and suddenly having to milk a cow when you never saw one up close and in person is scary.
It only took Caitlyn one day to realize that she loved Lucas; he was everything she could have hoped for but as much as he seemed to care for her, he never uttered the magic words “I love you” and time was running out. It didn’t take long before an Angel Hunter appeared and she knew it not by looks but by the extreme head pain she suffered when one was near and one was very close. Protecting Lucas and the others at the ranch was her primary concern and she would use the one power Gabriel gave her to destroy those that threatened all that she held dear.
I loved this book just as much as all the others I have read and watching as Caitlyn tried to adjust to 1880 was quite a kick and I don’t know if I would have handled it quite as well. What happens I will not reveal, if Caitlyn gets to remain on Earth with the man she loves, if the Angel Hunters win in the end and if Purgatory is where she will spend eternity, I leave for you to discover. This was a book I read in one sitting and I look forward to more Heavenly mail order brides.
New York Governess Victoria Coleman survives an attack but finds herself in a family way. When her employer finds out, the kind man tells her she is safe there. But his wife has other ideas.
Believing her husband is the child’s father, she threatens Victoria. Needing to escape, Victoria becomes a mail-order bride as far away as possible—Golden City in the Colorado Territory.
Andrew Mayfield is consumed with guilt over the death of his wife and infant son in childbirth six months ago but knows that his two-year-old daughter needs a mother and he needs to marry to provide her one. He contracts for a mail-order bride. But vengeance is a dish best served cold and the woman determined to see Victoria’s baby dead and therefore Victoria herself, is an iceberg.
Refusing to believe her husband or Victoria, Mildred Thomas follows Victoria to Golden City. Will she be able to exact her revenge for a perceived wrong? Or will Andrew be able to protect the woman who might be working her way into his heart?
Cordelia Jameson is left alone after her brother’s death. He left her with $5000 which she knows won’t last forever and she doesn’t want to be alone. She wants a husband and children. She decides to become a mail-order bride and goes to Brides for the West to sign up.
David Thomas survived his sociopath wife’s machinations. She was hung for attempted murder and kidnapping, though he would have divorced her in any case. He’d do anything to protect his four-year-old daughter Margie. But now that he’s moved out west, he realizes he needs someone to care for Margie and he needs a wife for himself since he wants more children, too. He’s vowed he won’t allow his emotions to get involved, not after what he went through with his first wife.
While Cordelia is living at the boarding house, waiting for her mail-order groom, her brother’s former partner, Richard Lynch, finds her. He demands the money that her brother left her. She refuses and he backhands her sending her to the floor. If not for the interference of another of the brides, he might have beat her to death.
When Cordelia leaves to marry David, she believes she’s left Richard behind her. But like a bad penny, he shows up in her new town making the same demands only this time he threatens Margie.
Cordelia knows he won’t go away and even if she does give him the money, when he finds out that David is rich, he’ll be back again and again, blackmailing them. He has to be stopped. Now. But how?
Douglas Latimer lost his wife and his best friend under suspicious circumstances in a gold mine explosion. Left with a new baby and a broken heart, Douglas sends away for a mail-order bride. Adeline Brady’s arrival unsettles him in ways he didn’t expect. She cares for his infant daughter as if the child were her own, and looks at him with soft blue eyes, expecting something from him he knows he cannot give her after his previous wife’s betrayal, his trust…and his love.
Adeline Brady traveled to 1871 Colorado from a Carson City saloon where her gambler father frequently bet her virginity on a hand of cards. He was a cheat and a liar, so she never had to pay his debt, but she needed a new life, a new start with a man who would honor and value her as his wife, not a piece of property to be gambled away. At first glance, Douglas is everything she had hoped for. Handsome. Established. Protective. But he vows to her from day one that he will never give her his heart.
When an unexpected death tears the community apart, can Douglas and Adeline conquer their fears and find happiness, or will their distrust of each other drive Adeline into the arms of another man, a rival miner who has made no secret of the fact that he will own Douglas’s mine and his wife? Little do they realize he is willing to kill to claim both for his own.
Desperate times
call for desperate measures, so when Hannah Granger’s little sister takes off
for Oregon with a group of mail-order brides to meet her new husband, Hannah
has no choice but to follow. She expects her sister to find trouble, and she
does. But what Hannah doesn’t expect is to fall for the hired gun traveling
with the wagon train as they make their way along the treacherous Oregon Trail.
The bounty hunter is tall, dark and dangerous, everything she’s avoided her
entire life. But when she begins to suspect criminals are riding just four
wagons back, she’ll do just about anything to convince him to listen…and to
protect her fragile younger sister from the truth about what this trip is
costing them both.
The
only thing bounty hunter Joe Stanton wants is to avoid trouble. He’s tagging
along on this trip to the Oregon Territory to put a little extra cash in his
pocket and take a break from the hunt. The only woman he ever loved broke his
heart and his last bounty cost an innocent man his life. Joe’s had enough
blood, death and betrayal to last a lifetime. So why, then, does he make
Hannah’s secrets his own? Why does he lie to protect her? And why does the
stubborn woman’s dogged attempts to help him track down criminals drive him
insane with worry.
Maybe
because he’s falling for the red-headed beauty. Maybe because if he doesn’t
keep her close, they’ll both end up dead.
Lydia Granger thought she left a life of struggle and poverty behind. As a mail-order bride on her way to Oregon City, a secure future is assured. But when the wagon train arrives in Oregon City, she discovers her fiancé is dead and her dream of a safe future is shattered.
Moments after her dream is stolen from her, a gift arrives. Her wealthy fiancé left her everything he had. Life for Lydia should be easy, but the truth is much darker and more terrifying than she could imagine, for her fiancé’s death was no accident, and the man who took his life wants everything, all the dead man’s riches.
Detective Max Caldwell lost his wife to a brutal killer, a man who will stop at nothing to take what he wants from the world. He killed in Chicago. He killed in Oregon. It’s only a matter of time before he strikes again. Max seeks not only justice, but vengeance for his wife’s death and has no qualms about asking the innocent Lydia to help him hunt for her fiancé’s murderer. Because Lydia, and her inheritance, are the bait Max will use to lure evil into the light. Too late he realizes Lydia, with her soft heart, beautiful smile, and collection of rescued animals is not only powerful enough to take down a killer, but she just might melt the ice around his heart.
A Marshal. A Beautiful Thief. An enemy she can’t outrun. “Fantastic romantic adventure…”
5 Stars ANOTHER FANTASTIC STORY IN THIS SERIES…Verified Purchase, 5 stars
What
an intriguing story with adventure, danger, and romantic suspense…
5
Stars Bella Devereaux dreamed of being a restaurateur, not a thief. But life
had other plans. Forced to compromise her principles to survive, Bella always
gives half of her ill-gotten gains to the French émigrés in New Orleans and
saves the other half to fulfill her lifelong goal of opening her own French
café. A priceless cache of jewels was supposed to be her last job, but the
police are on to her, and so is another criminal—Jack Pasquin.
He’s
more than a thief, he’s a murderer, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to
force Bella’s hand—including kill her. Taking the jewels and fleeing to Oregon
City as a mail-order bride seems to be her only hope.
Marshal
Robert McCauley never forgave himself for being on the job when his first wife
passed away. Guilt has kept him from falling in love again, but a mail-order
bride seems to be the perfect answer. When Bella arrives, not only is she
beautiful and intelligent, but her mysterious ways intrigue him more than he
cares to admit. Neither of them wants to admit they have fallen in love, but
when Bella’s past catches up to them, Robert will have to choose—once
more—between the woman he loves and the duty he serves.
Can
Bella save the husband she’d fallen in love with? Or will she become a widow
before she becomes a real wife?
Avoiding love and entanglements has been easy for Hank Barringer since losing his wife and young son to influenza.
An
outrider on the wagon train, his only job is to keep the mail order brides and
passengers safe until they reach their destination. Then he meets Eliza Tanner.
She’s different than other women. Seemingly fearless—her feisty manner disrupts
his well-ordered idea of how a woman should behave. He doesn’t approve, so why
can’t he stop thinking about her?
Eliza
has secrets and a past that could destroy any chance she has of building a new
life. When an opportunity arises to join a wagon train full of mail-order
brides headed to Oregon City, she flees from her old life.
Little
does she know that danger from her past stalks her, or that a killer’s
obsession will be strong enough to follow her to the other side of the country.
When
Eliza’s past catches up with her, she’ll need a real hero…a man who can accept
the truth, and love her despite the circumstances of her past.
Rebecca Taylor traveled the Oregon Trail for one reason, to provide for and protect her younger siblings.
Having
lost her mother years ago, the care and raising of the younger children fell to
her and her brother. Oregon was supposed to be a new beginning, a fresh start.
But the house they acquire needs more work than it’s worth, and a wealthy and
powerful man has taken more than a passing interest in having Rebecca for his
wife.
Add
to her confusion a simmering attraction to Ian Stanford, the carpenter hired to
repair their home, and Rebecca is in way over her head. After losing his
wife–in a still unsolved murder–Ian Stanford has been raising his twin boys
alone.
Work
fixing up the Taylor’s old home is exactly what he and his boys need, but the
enchanting young woman in charge of the household is driving him to
distraction. His two boys want a new mother, but the only thing Ian is
interested in is catching his dead wife’s killer.
When
a new discovery leads him to a startling truth, everyone is in danger…his boys,
the family he’s grown to care too much about, and the beautiful Rebecca, who
had can’t stop thinking about.
When
the truth about his wife’s killer is revealed, he’s shocked to discover his
first need is not vengeance but to protect his new family. But the stubborn
Rebecca isn’t the type to sit idly by when her family is in danger. Ian has no
choice but to work with Rebecca to lure the killer into a trap.
The
real trap, he soon discovers, is the one Rebecca placed around his heart.
Travis MacGregor came to Oregon City to start over. Determined to put his past behind him, he believes a proper wife is all that’s missing from the proper life he’s always wanted. He has worked hard to establish his formal reputation as an upstanding and no-nonsense lawyer. However, the moment he meets Charlotte Taylor, he can’t fight his attraction despite her unconventional, hell-raising ways.
Charlotte
“Charlie” Taylor has been dressing like a man and wearing guns since
her father kicked her out of the house when she was seventeen. She is perfectly
happy with her life until she meets the insufferable Travis MacGregor. He
claims to desire her, but how can she trust the new lawyer in town when he makes
it no secret that he needs a proper wife to make his dreams come true. Charlie
isn’t the “proper” anything, but that doesn’t stop her wayward heart
from feeling things she never imagined possible.
But
can he accept her as she is, or does he want her to change? To adapt? To become
the proper, dress-wearing hostess of his dreams? And when the villain stalking
Charlie comes to town, will the danger bring them together or tear them apart
forever?
Amanda Winters is traveling from Independence, MO by wagon train to her mail-order groom. Though she is warned that he is a mean and brutal man with a quick temper but she is determined to live up to her promise. She was engaged and left at the altar and she will not treat anyone else like that.
When
she meets her fiancé, she tells him she wants to wait to get married until they
know each other better. The suggestion does not go over well with her mail
order fiancé.
Jamie
Kilbride traveled to Independence from Oregon City to collect his mail-order
bride. As luck would have it, she’d fallen in love with someone else and broke
her contract with Jamie. This bothers him not at all since, as they travel the
Oregon Trail together, he falls in love with Amanda.
Jamie
insists he doesn’t care what people say, but she does. She will not marry him
and bring his name down into the muck and mud with hers.
But her former fiancé has plans of his own that don’t include her safety.
When her mother is killed by the crossfire in a gun battle in the city, Emma Rose Murphy has no choice but to accompany her aunt and uncle on their journey to Oregon. The trail is hard and full of hard people, but Emma Rose knows two things for sure. One, she’s never going to fall in love and two, she will never be able to trust a man who carries a gun.
When the handsome Noah Parker saves her from an unknown attacker in the dead of night, Emma Rose doesn’t know whether to kiss him or run for her life. Former Marshal Noah Parker knows all about evil. First a Pinkerton agent, then a deputy marshal, he is on his way to Oregon to start over, to forget the mistakes of his past.
When the innocent Emma Rose needs help, he steps in. But his interest leads to scandal and he does what any honorable man would do…he marries her, hoping her acceptance will mend his shattered soul. With a serial killer fixated on Noah’s new bride, will the gun-toting former deputy marshal be able to convince Emma Rose to trust him before it’s too late? And even if he earns her trust, will her love be strong enough to heal the wounds he carries on his battered heart?
Wed one of her father’s lecherous old cronies or flee. Those are the only options for Nora Jones. Refusing to be a pawn, she escapes in the night, running for her life. Her freedom.
Ben Taylor is no stranger to a fight. An honorable man, he’s still a rough, tough cowboy who gets into plenty of trouble. When caught in a compromising situation, albeit an innocent one, Ben does the first thing that comes to mind – marry the lady in distress.
Sparks fly in 1855 in the Willamette Valley in the Oregon Territory as Nora and Ben fall unexpectedly in love, but no one can outrun their past forever. When danger comes calling, will Ben be able to protect Nora, or will they all go down in flames?
***NOTE. THIS BOOK FEATURES REBECCA’S BROTHER BEN AS THE HERO. SOME OF THE SET UP OF THE BOOK IS SIMILAR TO REBECCA, BOOK 5 OF THE SERIES.
Opal McGinty is a mail-order bride and she has a secret. If her prospective husband finds out he won’t marry her and she must marry.
Arthur “Red” Redmond wants a wife. Someone to share his life with but he has conditions he hasn’t told his mail-order bride. Will she still want to marry him if she finds them out?
Can these two lonely people come together and find happiness despite their fears?
U.S. Marshal Joshua Egan has a vengeance on his mind when he orders a mail order bride to care for his motherless children. A gang of outlaws murdered his dear wife during a stagecoach robbery gone wrong and Joshua’s only need now is for justice. When Rachel Maitland arrives with her innocent eyes and kind smile, she breaks the shield around his heart to pieces, like water flowing through a canyon. He can’t keep her out, no matter how hard he tries, and no matter the risk.
Rachel Maitland was only sixteen when she entered into an arranged marriage lacking in just about every way. Now that her elderly husband has passed, she finds the courage to hope for a new and better life as a mail order bride. Her needs are simple, she wants to be loved. She wants a family. She wants a man who will not just provide for her survival, but shelter her lonely heart.
Joshua Egan might be that man. And he might not. There’s not a lot of room for love in a heart burned by vengeance. And this time, when the outlaws come looking for the money from the robbery…it’s personal. There can be only one victor when the battle for a man’s heart is fought between revenge…and love.
If Jared Winslow didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any. Forced to leave his home in Chicago or face the hangman’s noose, he’s supposed to lay low and stay out of trouble. He’s not supposed to become a U.S. Marshall in The Nevada Territory. And he’s not supposed to order himself a mail-order-bride. But Jared wants a real life. A home. A family. And he’s not going to allow Lady Luck, or false allegations against him stop him from living his life.
When Angelica Riley arrives, he’s smitten. She’s kind, beautiful and generous. She wants what he does, a family, stability. A home. But he isn’t the only one who finds her allure impossible to resist. A local troublemaker has decided that Angelica will be his. Her loyalty to Jared–and the promise she made him to become his wife–only angers a man who is used to taking anything he wants.
Obsession turns deadly and a woman with an uncanny resemblance to Angelica is violently murdered. Jared knows his enemy will stop at nothing to take his new bride. The question now is can Jared stop him or will his past–and Lady Luck–take everything from him this time, not only his life, but the woman he has grown to love.
Eve Coleman was a gambler in a red dress, looking to lie low. Cameron Neal was a marshal looking to please his dying godfather. She answered the ad for a mail-order bride. He went to send her away but she pulled at him like no other. She knew his godfather’s illness was a sham but she married the marshal anyway. Was she making a mistake? She could put on her red dress and do what she was good at or stay and work harder at something than she ever had in her life. Marriage. For their own reasons they were together…“until death do you part”.
Vivien Fitzhugh gave up her Pinkerton badge to track her best friend’s murderer. His last known location is Eureka City, Nevada. In order to blend in with the population of ninety-nine percent men, she needs to be married. Being a mail-order bride for the marshal fits the bill perfectly.
Marshal Reese Kelly wants to fit in with the town fathers and needs a wife. At least that’s the excuse he gives for ordering a mail-order bride. What he really wants is what his parents had, kids and a happy home. Though he doesn’t hold much hope for a love match.
Vivien and Reese are thrown together, each with their own agenda. Will finding a love worth fighting for be enough to change their minds?
5 Star Review by Linda Tonis: Member Of The Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Vvien Fitzhugh was a Pinkerton National Detective but her pursuit of justice for her best friend Jane left her with no other option but to resign. Vivien received word that Oliver Darnell, Jane’s husband and the man who killed her has been seen in Eureka City, Nevada so at long last her search could finally be coming to an end and she will have avenged Jane’s death.
Vivien is well aware that if she wants to work undercover, she has to be married, single women are fair game with most of the population in Eureka being male. Vivien signed up to be a mail-order bride and was surprised when she met her intended, Marshall Reese Kelly. Reese and Vivien were pleasantly surprised when they met, he because she was beautiful and she because what were the chances that she would be marrying a lawman.
Vivien decided to come clean with Reese and explain exactly why she was in Eureka and why she married him but that didn’t deter him in the least, he was married and he was staying married, no divorce and no annulment and surprisingly Vivien was not disappointed. What did disappoint her was the fact that she wanted to find Oliver and bring him to justice and Reese wanted her to stay home like a good little wife something she had no intention of doing.
Vivien puts herself in danger if she finds Oliver, he has already killed and won’t hesitate to do so again but he is not the only one who wants her dead. Danger is coming at her from two different people and for totally different reasons, reasons you will have to discover for yourself.
Another book about the past, a place I enjoy visiting but would definitely not have enjoyed living in. Vivien is a beautiful, stubborn woman and Reese is a handsome, stubborn man so is there a chance for the two to find a common ground and find a HEA. Romance, surprises and suspense and another book in a series I absolutely love and highly recommend.
Adele Jensen gave her heart to the wrong man. After ten years as mistress to a power-hungry and vengeful man, she realizes her mistake and leaves New York behind to start a new life in Montana as a Mail Order Bride. Afraid her new husband won’t approve of her past, she creates a new identity for herself and hopes with all her heart that her new husband will be the loving husband and father she’s always dreamed of.
Edward Wharton doesn’t trust women. In fact, the only female he wants to take care of is his seven-year-old daughter whose mother left him for a gambler and a fifth of whiskey and life in the saloon. When a stagecoach accident took her life, he couldn’t find it in his heart to mourn her death, nor to forgive her treachery. But his little girl needs a mother, and Edward is tired of battling life alone. A mail order bride seems to be the perfect solution to his dilemma, he needs a woman in his life, but not in his bed. Definitely not in his heart.
Richard Douglas keeps what’s his, and as far as he’s concerned, that includes his runaway mistress, Adele. She defied him. Ran from him. Made demands she had no right to make. And he will have her back, no matter the cost.
Angel Creek, Montana is a wild frontier where only the strong survive. Richard’s arrival will test Edward’s resolve not to love again. Will Adele find the courage to conquer her past and Edward’s untamed heart?
U.S. Marshal Ben Carleton is new to the job. He had no plans to hunt killers and thieves, but his life took an abrupt turn when his wife was murdered and he was left caring for his infant son. Alone. Ben knows nothing about caring for children, but he does know one thing…tracking a killer. And that’s what he’s determined to do when he arrives at the Monroe’s Colorado ranch, the family that took him in when he was a boy. His intention is to leave his son in their capable hands until he does what needs to be done. Until he eliminates the evil man who killed his innocent wife.
Lanie Monroe hasn’t seen Ben since she was a child chasing frogs in the creek and seeing him again is a shock to her system. The teenage boy she idolized has grown into a hardened, and heartless man. Not much else has changed. Her parents are older, but she still chases frogs, and cattle, shoots snakes and runs the ranch like it’s her own. Trouble is, a woman isn’t allowed to inherit, and her father is determined to see her married. Ben’s arrival is her father’s answer to all of life’s problems. He wants Lanie to take off her pants and spurs and settle down into domestic bliss with a Marshal who is still grieving his dead wife, hunting a killer, and has so much pain in his eyes she can barely stand to look at him. But fate has never been on Lanie’s side. To save the ranch she loves, marriage is the only option. Even as she says, ‘I do’, she wonders if the gorgeous cowboy vowing to love her forever will do nothing but break her heart.
Olivia Hayes wasn’t born a liar or a cheat, but circumstances have forced her to play a role she never wanted or imagined for herself. The letters she sends to a well-to-do rancher in Colorado promising to be his mail-order bride are lies, all the same. Desperate for money to care for her ill mother, Olivia had no intention of following through with the contract she signed with Matchmaker & Company. That is, until her mother passes away unexpectedly, she’s left penniless and homeless and the owner of the matchmaking company gives her a choice; go to Colorado and be the bride she promised she would be, or go to jail.
Determined to embrace her fate with an open mind, Olivia sets off to meet her new husband, the handsome rancher, Tyler Wainwright. However, life for Olivia is never easy and she is the lone witness to a brutal murder along the way. Forced to flee her new, powerful enemy, she runs straight into Tyler’s arms. Will the killer sent to silence her forever complete his mission? Will Olivia’s lies lead to her death or will love and truth be enough to give Olivia and Tyler a happily-ever-after?
About The Author: Cynthia Woolf is the USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author of eighty novels and novellas consisting of sixty-six historical western romances, six contemporary romances and six sci-fi, space opera romances, which she calls westerns in space. Along with these books she has also published two contemporary novella, nine boxed sets of her books and two short stories.
Cynthia loves writing and reading romance. Her first western romance, Tame A Wild Heart, was inspired by the story her mother told her of meeting Cynthia’s father on a ranch in Creede, Colorado. Although Tame A Wild Heart takes place in Creede that is the only similarity between the stories. Her father was a cowboy, not a bounty hunter, and her mother was a nursemaid (called a nanny now), not the ranch owner.
Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and her great critique partners for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her creativity.
TITLES AVAILABLE (English unless otherwise stated)
THE KLONDIKE BRIDES
The Gold Rush Bride (Available in German)
The Gold Mountain Bride (coming soon)
CHRISTMAS AT THE MISTLETOE INN
Cooking Up Christmas
THE PRESCOTT BRIDES (Also in German)
A Bride for Ross
A Bride for Frank
A Bride for Tucker
A Bride for Clay
A Bride for Brodie
BILLIONAIRE COWBOYS (Also in German)
Her Secret Cowboy Billionaire
Her Mysterious Cowboy Billionaire
Her Royal Cowboy Billionaire
Her Christmas Cowboy Billionaire
Her Bachelor Cowboy Billionaire
Her Wild Cowboy Billionaire
Her Elusive Cowboy Billionaire (coming soon)
THE HEART WISH MAIL ORDER BRIDES
Heart of Stone
Heart of Shadow
THE MARSHAL’S MAIL ORDER BRIDES
The Carson City Bride
The Virginia City Bride
The Silver City Bride
The Eureka City Bride
ANGEL CREEK CHRISTMAS BRIDES
Adele (Book 18)
CUPIDS & COWBOYS
Lanie (Book 2)
BRIDES OF GOLDEN CITY
A Husband for Victoria
A Husband for Cordelia
A Husband for Adeline
BRIDES OF THE OREGON TRAIL
Hannah (Available in German)
Lydia (Available in German)
Bella (Available in German)
Eliza (Available in German)
Rebecca (Available in German)
Charlotte (Available in German)
Amanda (Available in German)
Emma Rose (Available in German)
Nora (Available in German)
Opal
BACHELORS & BABIES
Carter (Book 3)
BRIDES OF SEATTLE (also available in German)
Mail Order Mystery
Mail Order Mayhem
Mail Order Mix-Up
Mail Order Moonlight
Mail Order Melody
CENTRAL CITY BRIDES (also available in German)
The Dancing Bride
The Sapphire Bride
The Irish Bride
The Pretender Bride
HOMESTEAD CANYON SERIES
Thorpe’s Mail-Order Bride
Kissed by a Stranger
A Family for Christmas
HOPE’S CROSSING
The Hunter Bride
The Replacement Bride
The Stolen Bride
The Unexpected Bride
AMERICAN MAIL-ORDER BRIDES
Genevieve, Bride of Nevada
THE SURPRISE BRIDES
Gideon
THE BRIDES OF SAN FRANCISCO (also available in German)
Nellie
Annie
Cora
Sophia
Amelia
Violet
THE BRIDES OF TOMBSTONE (also available in German)
Mail Order Outlaw
Mail Order Doctor
Mail Order Baron
DESTINY IN DEADWOOD (also available in German)
Jake
Liam
Zach
MATCHMAKER & CO (also available in German)
Capital Bride
Heiress Bride
Fiery Bride
Colorado Bride
Troubled Bride
TAME SERIES
Tame a Wild Heart (Available in German)
Tame a Wild Wind (Available in German)
Tame a Wild Bride (soon to be available in German)
Tame a Honeymoon Heart
BOXSETS
Destiny in Deadwood: The Complete Series
The Tame Series
The Surprise Brides
Matchmaker & Co.
The Marshals Mail Order Brides (Books 1-3)
Brides of the Oregon Trail, Collection One
Brides of the Oregon Trail, Collection Two
Brides of the Oregon Trail, Collection Three
SCI-FI ROMANCE
CENTAURI SERIES
Centauri Dawn
Centauri Twilight
Centauri Midnight
THE SWORDS OF GREGARA SERIES
Jenala
Riza
Honora
BOXSETS
Centauri: The Complete Series
Swords and Blasters (The Centauri Series and the Swords of Gregara series)
Bob Morgan, sometime rangeland detective and sometime bounty hunter is prepared for a quiet summer training and selling some of his horses. When that pleasant, relaxing time is attacked by a crime boss and his daughter, then complicate further by an ungrateful neighbor, he changes his plans to avoid exciting a temper that might be fatal for someone.
Call him a bounty hunter, a rangeland detective, an actor, a chameleon, a puzzle solver; whatever title you choose, Bob Morgan will find a way to reshape depravity, corruption and destruction into the manageable and acceptable. All that is necessary is to not expect too much, appreciate whatever improvement may be realized, and don’t look too closely at Morgan’s past.
People Of The West: A Short Story Timeline by David M. McGowan.
Nine short pieces of fiction constructed around 170 years of North American history and interspersed at intervals by fourteen poems.
The first story is a fictional accounting of the first European to reach the Pacific coast of Canada. Following are fictional pictures of the winners and losers who became builders of North America and thus, eventually, all winners and though they didn’t know it or want it, builders of what exists today.
Thomas Brash is trying to escape but knows he never will. No thinking person can escape from their past. Pursuing him is the memory of the family he lost to cholera. Perhaps he believes that traveling alone in a wild, dangerous land will end all his memories; there is no doubt he wishes to be alone. Whatever his intentions the appearance of Frank Clement and the circumstances of that meeting upset those plans. Brash views Clement as an uneducated child who requires fatherly protection and guidance. Clement views Brash as a tenderfoot and can not understand how anyone who knows so little could live so long. These two loners are joined by others and they all become partners. Having achieved relative sanctuary and surrounded by civilization their wilderness past comes back to haunt them.
Review by Lydia Efobi: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Wholesome read! Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023. Partners, a spellbinding read by Dave McGowan, is a book about Thomas Brash. The devastating loss of his family to cholera continues to haunt him. He yearns to escape his memories and seeks solace in the wild, dangerous land he traverses, hoping to find peace in solitude. However, his plans halt due to the unexpected arrival of Frank Clement, whom Thomas tags naïve and in need of guidance.
Despite their differences, circumstances cause these two men to form an unlikely partnership. Unfortunately, as they carve out a life for themselves and find relative safety among civilization, their past in the wilderness comes back to haunt them. The memories of their former lives are never far away, and they must confront the harsh realities of their past to find a way forward.
The book offers a unique perspective on the Canadian frontier in 1866. The author’s meticulous attention to detail had me drawing my shoulders up close to my ears as I sneaked through the bushes with Thomas. It goes to show you how Dave McGowan excellently wrote the book such that it brings your imaginary prowess to play.
Similarly, the story unfolded at a perfect pace. It was full of twists and turns, and the characters are likable for their unique qualities. The writing style in this book is captivating and engaging, with no dull moments throughout the story. The author’s knowledge of Indian customs is impressive, and I enjoyed learning about them as Thomas taught Frank how to interact with the new camp of Indians they encountered.
Inevitably, this book is a 5-star read, and I recommend this book to buffs of adventure, history, and stories of resilience.
Burton Review: “This is a story that flows easily between the concept of camaraderie and the intense events that the partners endure together; I enjoyed the story and think anyone interested in a colonial era type story will enjoy this one.
There is an incident about two-thirds of the way into the book where Brash uses a military tactic … A brilliant plot piece: loved it.”
Review by Barbara Martin (barbaramartin.blogspot.com): “Partners is a well told story that entertains and educates. It’s a long book too, providing a big read for your money”.
Review by Clayton Bye: “As I said when I reviewed Homesteader, if you enjoy westerns or historical yarns, Partners will offer a unique and refreshing read”.
Review by Anne Boling for Reader’s Favorite (5 stars of 5): “Partners” is quite an adventure. Dave McGowan is a talented author. Fans of westerns need to make note of his name for they will want to follow all of his works.
Review by Trudi LoPreto for Reader’s Favorite (3 stars of 5): “Partners” is a study in human character. David McGowan has written a story that is believable with a strong plot. If you are a fan of Western genre with a thrust in details, this is a book you will enjoy”.
Review by Alice DiNizo for Reader’s Favorite (5 stars of 5): “Partners” by David McGowan is a readable, enjoyable Western about two men distanced by upbringing and age. Good dialogue and short, succinct chapters make “Partner” a delightful read for history and western fans alike”.
From The Author: I was sitting in a restaurant having some lunch one day and heard two men behind me discussing how a young man and an old man could never get along because of their different experiences or lack of same that would be part of their make-up. I had witnessed, as has everyone who pays attention, the same clashing of characters but felt sure that a series of shared experiences could alter that difficulty. I therefore wrote a story about it.
My “old” character some may have difficulty with, particularly if they are somewhere between 40 and my age. Tom Brash is depicted as only being in his late thirties but remember, in the tough world of the late 1800s, without antibiotics, army trained “surgeons” who simply cut things off if there was some question about their viability … well, 40 was “gettin’ up there.”
My “young” character is also slightly older than many – boys and girls – who were thrust out into a world for which they were ill prepared. Due to the situations shortening their parent’s lives listed above many found themselves on their own while still in the early teens or even younger. However, I wanted my character to go through some trials and tribulations and decided Frank Clement should be old enough to live through those problems so he had time to become a partner to Tom and the two US Civil War veterans who join them.
Claiming your share of the so called “free” land in the rugged and wide Canadian frontier in the 1880s was a difficult, demanding task. When someone tries to run roughshod over the “nesters” increasing the workload and demands, its time to take a stand.
There is more than bad weather for Hank James to contend with as he rides in search of the land of his dreams and the woman of his heart. Portis Martin, manager of a large cattle company, has no use for the small homesteaders that have begun to pepper the area…and he isn’t afraid of using every dirty trick he knows to run them out.
And Portis had been doing a pretty good job of it until what he decides are two saddle tramps, Hank James and his partner, Harry Gilmore arrive in the area.
Hank James wants equality. Hank James wants a life-time partner.
And, damn it, he’s going to get both.
Review by David McGowan: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Facing down a bully. Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2016. Verified Purchase. Hank James and riding partner Harry Gilmore ride the rails east to look for the woman Hank thought would be his mate for life. They unload their horses and gear at Canmore and immediately make an enemy.
Riding on into Calgary they find Sharon but Hank is suddenly not sure if she is who he thought she was. He does decide to stay around long enough to see if she is or isn’t.
If they are staying around for a while anyway Hank and Harry become homesteaders. When they met Portis Martin east of Canmore, he did not think they showed him proper respect but as homesteaders they became threatening enemies.
Hank and Harry’s new enemy is manager of a very big cattle ranch. He has the money, the livestock, and the manpower. He does not have time for saddle tramps. He also doesn’t have a conscience that will interfere with getting them out of the way by any means possible – including attacking this woman that seems to interest them.
From the same vault that holds the work of William Johnstone, Matt Braun, Max Brand, and Louis L’Amour.
Review by R. A. Quinn: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A must read for any Western fan! Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2013. Homesteader, Finding Sharon is as unique a western that I have ever read. It takes place in 1886, in Canada. Friends Hank and Harry set out to homestead near Calgary and learn firsthand how ruthless the ones who control the cattle could be. Hank James is different than the average homesteader and stands his ground.
I drove through that area this past summer and this book took me back to some of the most beautiful country Canada has to offer. This is not only a well written story but it seems to be a history lesson as well. The cattle industry was not limited to the open ranges in the U.S., nor was the fight for that range. You will not be disappointed in how author D.M. McGowan has spun this fine western novel. If you are a fan of westerns or well told stories; Homesteader, Finding Sharon will not disappoint at all.
Review by Marc H.: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Great reading! Reviewed in Canada on September 21, 2019. Verified Purchase. What a great book. This is my second by D.M. McGowan and I’ll be getting them all. Well written.
GET YOUR FREE AUDIO BOOK! Homesteader: Finding Sharon by Author Dave (D. M.) McGowan Once the laws are in place and enforced, are all the people safe? For your FREE copy. Well, free, yes, but a review would be nice! Use Promo Code 7P6RHNXZD67N8 https://www.audible.com
The Great Liquor War: A Western Adventure by D. M. McGowan.
The year is 1885. Hank James has been in Canada several months panning gold from a stream near Roswell, British Columbia. When he hears a prizefight will be held in town, he attends along with everyone for miles around. With a little help from the fight referee, he wins big betting on the fight. Having realized that the life of a miner isn’t nearly as romantic or rewarding as he expected, and with advice from the policeman who helped him win money on the fight, Hank goes to Farwell to haul freight with pack horses for contractors building the transcontinental railroad.
The railroad’s security, a detachment of North West Mounted Police, have maintained across the West that no liquor be allowed one mile on either side of the rail bed. Provincial authorities disagree. Hank James believes in honoring and repaying his debts, but that doesn’t mean he should be involved in a war between the BC Provincial Police and the North West Mounted.
He and his partners have trouble enough running their freight business, they don’t need to be caught between competing policemen. They are already stuck between Canada’s transcontinental railroad people and the contractors doing the actual construction. While the police are fighting one another, who is looking for criminals, particularly those stealing Hank’s horses? Despite a variety of jobs, D.M. McGowan now works as a commercial driver and lives near Mile “0” of the world-famous Alaska Highway.
His stories bring Canadian history to life. “I believe in seeing morality and societal responsibility rewarded. Too much of today’s fiction seems to lead into the dark instead of the light.”
5 Stars: US and Canadian History Combined With Legends From The 1800’s!
The Great Liquor War by D. M. McGowan is a western pioneering era saga that combines great story telling, true-to-life cowboy experience with US and Canadian history combined with legends from the 1800’s.
The main character Hank James was born in Canada and migrated south into the US with his family after the Civil War. Hank’s father headed towards Oregon in search of a farmstead while protecting his family from raids by outlaws and Indians. They made it as far as Kansas to find that the land was too dry to farm so pushed on to Oregon to find the land was too wet. With Mother Nature as their biggest obstacle and many mouths to feed young Hank James set out on his own. He settled down with his own gold mine claim near Rossland, British Columbia in 1984.
Hank wasn’t afraid of hard work, but he wanted more out of life than to eke out a living on his claim. With tenacity Hank took advantage of the Transcanada Railroad, found some partners and started his own freight business. Life should be good, but where there is industry, technology, commerce and economy, there are criminals.
Quote from page 37.
…“It didn’t take a detective to know that the horse thief had played a little joke on the Provincial Police. Constable Art Hubbard was over six feet tall and probably ten pounds lighter than the one eighty mentioned in the description. Not only was he a long way from round, he was also clean shaven.
…I gave Constable Hubbard my story, ending with the recovery of the bay gelding and the description I had from Miller. “An’ the fella called himself Art Hubbard,” I added.
…The Constable’s expression didn’t change. He worked his chew around into one cheek and sent a stream of tobacco juice into the waste basket. “Feller with a sense o’ humor,” he noted, and then added. “It’ll be one ‘o Bulldog Kelley’s outfit. They work out o’ some of the illegal saloons t’ be found back in the bush. We catch one or two of ‘em every now an’ then, but we can’t get Kelley, an’ he’s the head o’ the snake. I can think of one or two that might fit your description, but not a one that had a full beard. An’ this fella’s probably shaved by now.”
…I wrote out my story, signed it, and returned to work.”
Between the horse thieves, authority over liquor sales and a war between the BC Provincial Police and the North West Mounted Hank is he in over his head? Only time will tell if he makes the right choices and will he win the heart and loyalty of Sharon Dalton?
Saddle up your horse, holster your gun and join a rugged western cast of characters that will take you back to the reality and the legends of the Wild West.
The Great Liquor War by D. M. McGowan shares nuggets of history told within a great story of human experience in the Wild West.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details: Print Length: 199 Pages Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency (September 29, 2015) Western Fiction (Crime Thriller) Western Fiction (Focus On Canada) Western Fiction (Historical) Western Fiction (Traditional) Westerns (Audio Book) Western (Historical Fiction Thrillers) Western (Action and Adventure)
The Making Of Jake McTavish: A Western Adventure by D. M. McGowan.
Synopsis: In the west of the 1890s, Jake’s wife is raped and murdered, an image from which he attempts to escape and hide. When two thieves try to take what little he has left, Jake realizes he must face the past and solve his wife’s murder to truly escape the images in his head. But to find the killer, he discovers even more surprises …
Jake McTavish left his home in central Canada when he was in his early teens. After working ships on the Great Lakes, fishing Lake Winnipeg, feeding cattle south of Fort Garry, and shooting wolves on the prairies, he starts his own cattle operation in the foothills of the western mountains. Then he meets his life-long partner, Anna.
Jake and Anna were married three years when it all came crashing down. He came home to find his beautiful wife raped and murdered.
In an attempt to escape the vision of his butchered wife and all that he lost, Jake runs deep into the mountains, where he spends three years trapping and panning gold. When two outlaws attempt to rob him and leave him for dead, Jake finally comes out of the stupor he has lived in and begins to fight back.
First, he deals with the two thugs. Next, he returns to his homestead to find his wife’s killer. Solving a murder after several years is no easy task, especially when it includes surprises he didn’t want to find..
5 Stars: 1800’s Western Pioneering Era Saga!
The Making of Jake McTavish by D. M. McGowan is an 1800’s western pioneering era saga that combines exceptional story telling with an historical tale told by Peace Country pioneer John Brown.
Well-developed characters and true to life settings with descriptive writing put the reader into the story. The main character Jake McTavish stands alone in his empty cabin with his thoughts that he voiced to his blue tick hound, “Maybe I’ll just have t’shoot somebody. That way the government will have t’ feed us ‘til they punch my ticket and bury me.”
Life had been especially hard since the murder of his wife. For the fourth year he must continue his Peace River trek in British Columbia (1898) to take the furs that he had collected by canoe down to Ft. St John. This is an important ritual as Jake trades bails of skins for cash to pay for supplies and to repair equipment heading into the new season. Times were hard enough without the ambush that knocked him out cold and took most of everything that he had in his camp.
Just 11 years ago “in the spring of 1887 Jake became a wealthy saddle tramp. He only had fourteen Canadian dollars, two U.S. dollars and eighty-six cents, but he was rich in other goods. He had four horses, a fine, double rigged saddle, a short barrelled Colt pistol, a Colt Navy .36 and a Winchester rifle. He also had a serviceable pack saddle, bed roll, enough food to last a month and the pack covered with two tarps.”
By 1889 Jake had spent two years with the Cambridge Cattle Company and had accumulated some money. With a deep yearning for something more and the passing of the Canadian Homestead Act, Jake chose three hundred and twenty isolated acres in the foothills north of the Rocky Mountains. In the fall of 1891 with 15 yearlings to sell he met Anna Porenski. When she married him, he no longer felt driven, because he had it all. Anna was raised on a farm, so ranch life came easy to her and she enjoyed gardening. The only thing missing are children for fate has refused to grant Jake and wife Anna a baby. To end such dreams Anna is murdered and the responding Mounted Policeman comes close to accusing Jake.”
Travel with Jake McTavish on a journey to find Anna’s killer or killers.
The Making of Jake McTavish by D. M. McGowan for the author’s incredible story telling of Jake McTavish. I invite you to also read: The Great Liquor War, Homesteader: Finding Sharon and Partners. D. M. McGowan tells us that Cattle Business is coming soon.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Review by Lydia Efobi: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. One of the best western tales I’ve read in a while!! Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2022. The Making of Jake McTavish, by D. M. McGowan, is one 1800s canard set in the west. It encompasses unique storytelling with a chronological tale. This western tale features well-developed characters that are wholesome make-believe. The book is set in such a manner that it is easy for readers to actualize the atmosphere. Without giving too much away, the book follows a young man, Jake, up to his marriage till his wife’s rape case and murder. Jake’s response to the varied challenges makes up a very intriguing plot. There’s a solid diffusion of ecstasy in this book. At first, I was a bit skeptical about the setting, but alas, I enjoyed every bit of the book. The language was easy to connect with, and comprehension was flawless. I would recommend this book to historical mystery buffs. Ultimately, this is a 5-star novel and deserves the broadest possible readership.
Review by JP Blickenstaff: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Great Story. Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2021. This is a good Western of 1890 Canada. That historical setting is almost worth the read. But the story keeps your turning the pages. It will not let you quit reading. The story follows a young man up to his marriage But his wife is murdered. The man’s reaction, running to escape the devastation, the mystery of the murder and solving the murder makes for a fascinating story. D. M. McGowan wrote a good book.
Review by Amazon Customer: 5.0 out of 5 Stars, McGowan Scores Again. Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2016. Another good western by D. M. McGowan. The author combines a plot full of twists and turns with a well-described setting mainly in the foothills and mountains of Alberta and BC. There are accurate references to historical events that took place in the area. Interesting titbits are inserted about how a man could survive in the wilderness if resourceful. The characters are believable. I especially liked Jake’s rather cutting wit. Paula, with her independent spirit and determination, is refreshing compared to the paper-thin development of the female in traditional westerns. I’m looking forward to Mr. McGowan’s next book – Cattle Business.
Review by Amazon Customer: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. I loved, loved, loved this book. Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2016. I loved, loved, loved this book. Ended up not getting much sleep that day because I couldn’t put it down and the ending was not at all what I expected to be the final result. This is a really great book. It is an easy read and a fascinating story. Very well done and definitely worth the money. Now just have to get the rest of his books.
Review by Dgardi: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Great Story telling! Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2016. Darn it all, I’m off my feed this morning. Had to finish the book far into the night. The Chapters were short and kept introducing interesting twists and turns. Great story-telling!
Product Details: Print Length: 242 Pages Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency (December 19, 2015) Western Fiction (Crime Thriller) Western Fiction (Focus On Canada) Western Fiction (Historical) Western Fiction (Traditional) Western (Historical Fiction Thrillers) Western (Action and Adventure)
Gunfighters, Thieves and Lawmen by David Milton McGowan.
Sully Wheeler doesn’t care why his cattle are disappearing. He doesn’t care why but it has to stop. Perhaps it’s the cost of hiding from his past, but who would steal from a one-time gunfighter?
The NW Mounted Policeman that Sully contacted appeared more intent on stopping vigilante action than in stopping theft. If that proves to be the case, Sully will recover his own property, even if it takes gunfire to do it.
Who is this Mountie, anyway? Is he a cop or something else entirely? Is he working to support the crown, leave the crown or actually do something for the settlers?
And while we’re talking about that Mountie, isn’t he spending too much time with that newspaper lady?
Product Details: Paperback: 414 PagesPublisher: Independently Published (July 27, 2020) Illustrator: Tracy WandlingWesterns Western (Historical Fiction Thrillers) Western (Action and Adventure) Western (Traditional) Western (Historical Fiction) Reading Age: 10 Through Adult
A Voice From Beyond: Anthology by David Milton McGowan.
Lucky: He is a former Confederate officer who has become far less than an “officer and a gentleman”. When he realizes what he has become he tries to see a new future and a new him.
#thief #enlightenment
Stealing Janet’s Cattle: A young mother and rancher discovers cattle missing. She is alone and, according to the tracks outnumbered, but she is armed and she and her family need those cattle. Is this young female rancher as tough as she thinks she is? Tough enough to defeat the more powerfull?
#woman #pioneer #planning
A Voice From Beyond: It’s the Great Depression and people will do almost anything to survive. Having been somewhat successful in his search for work, a hobo stops to thank those who helped him rise up from destruction. A simple “thank you” becomes something else entirely.
#humor #cemetery #grave robbers
Rhymes for Christmas
Just Feelin’ Good
The Reason For the Season
An Old Rancher’s Christmas
Product Details: Print Length: 81 Pages Publication Date: October 17, 2020 Western (Anthologies) Western Fiction (Crime Thriller) Western Fiction (Focus On Canada) Western Fiction (Historical) Western Fiction (Traditional) Western (Historical Fiction Thrillers) Western (Action and Adventure) Reading Age: 10 Through Adult
How do you save your family when they are faced with hate and racism on all sides? How do you avoid fear every minute of every day?
In the years following the North West Rebellion of 1885 many Métis “disappeared” as many went into hiding to avoid racism and mistreatment. Admittedly, some like Gabriel Dumont went south of the 49th parallel into the US. What happened to the rest?
Almost a century later Métis suddenly appeared as individuals and communities throughout the West. Perhaps “Into the Mountains”, fiction though it is, supplies some explanation.
Product Details: Print Length: 24 Pages Publisher: Daison Services, Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada (July 9, 2020) Illustrator: Tracy Wandling Western Fiction (Crime Thriller) Western Fiction (Focus On Canada) Western Fiction (Historical) Western Fiction (Traditional) Western (Historical Fiction Thrillers) Western (Action and Adventure) Reading Age: 10 Through Adult
Marker of Stone; A fictional recounting of the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean north of Mexico. Was his reception by the local population as he described it in his journal. Perhaps they put up with him hoping he would leave? Another possibility is that they controlled their desire to ensure the strange men left their land.
#communication #control #protection
Deacon; A young Canadian and several young American southerners, all fighter pilots and their experiences in 1940 during the Battle of Britain.
#WWII #fear #bombs #English pubs
Includes three rhymes about history, interaction with others and the molding of youth
Native Sons in World War I
Inclusion
Education
Product Details: Print Length: 27 Pages Publisher: Daison Services, Dawson Creek, BC, Canada V1G 4K8 (August 9, 2020 Western Fiction (Crime Thriller) Western Fiction (Focus On Canada) Western Fiction (Historical) Western Fiction (Traditional) Western (Historical Fiction Thrillers) Western (Action and Adventure) Reading Age: 10 Through Adult
Sometimes you might say something to a friend that you regret, however it seemed like a good idea at the time. Perhaps it was funny, true and had to be said, or just your effort to lighten the mood and explain that it wasn’t a life and death matter but could be if present efforts continue.
Yes, you regret it, but now it is your turn to relax and stop worrying about it. If this other person was a true friend, they should look back on it all, realize eventually the humour in the situation and laugh along with you.
Product Details: Print Length: 10 Pages Publisher: Daison Services, Dawson Creek, BC, Canada, V1G 4K8 (July 11, 2020) Western Fiction (Focus On Canada) Western (Humorous Fiction) Humor Reading Age: 10 Through Adult
They lived “off the grid” because in those days and in that area there was no “grid” to be on. They were homesteaders, farmers, and trappers who might find a dozen people within a day’s walk in any direction.
Suddenly they were surrounded by10, 000 strangers, almost all men and trading for goods they had not known existed.
It was 1942 and the Alaska Highway was being built through 1200 miles of wilderness.
Their system of life, the society they knew was gone with the arrival of one train in Dawson Creek. There were hundreds of more loaded freights scheduled to arrive in a town that might see half a dozen during the fall harvest.
What will happen to these people?
Product Details: Print Length: 39 Pages Publisher: Daison Services, Dawson Creek, BC (August 30, 2020) Western Fiction (Crime Thriller) Western Fiction (Focus On Canada) Western Fiction (Historical) Western Fiction (Traditional) Western (Historical Fiction Thrillers) Western (Action and Adventure) Reading Age: 10 Through Adult
About The Author: Author Dave McGowan has been a cowboy, forest fire fighter, heavy equipment operator, farmhand, gardener, road musician and businessman. He now writes, and works as a commercial driver, in Northern British Columbia.
The forgoing is the bio from the back of my novels and one might conclude from this information that I was a poor employee … either lazy or didn’t know what I was doing … and was kicked off a lot of jobs. You would be partially correct, at least in surmising that I don’t know what I am doing. As for my being a poor employee, you would have to ask my bosses … although I think I’ve managed to trick the one I have now.
Of course, when I had my own business, my boss thought I was marvelous.
Truthfully, I’ve managed over the years to find employment regardless of my location or the problems that might exist with the economy. I enjoyed much of that experience at the time and am glad that I attained it.
I’ve also visited a good portion of North America and lived in several areas of Canada where I met some great people and enjoyed some wonderful country.
Speaking of great people, Karen and I are parents to four great people who have supplied eight grandchildren who show that improvements can be possible in each generation. One of those has added a great-grand daughter to the line.
4 New Parody Paradise Series by Jay Dubya (John Wiessner)!
Parody Paradise by Jay Dubya.
Parody Paradise is a compilation of twenty-nine rewritten satirical short stories and plays from famous authors, featuring adult language and situations. Author Jay Dubya equally sideswipes (parity/parody) popular and classic stories authored by Edgar Allan Poe, Jack London, O. Henry, Mark Twain, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Other author’s works that are lambasted and thoroughly corrupted are James Thurber, Washington Irving, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Miguel Cervantes, and also several William Shakespeare plays are brutalized and lampooned.
Parody Paradise is Jay Dubya’s 64th published hardcover/paperback book. Besides Adult Satire, the author writes in seven other separate genres: Action/Adventure Novels, Non-Fiction Books, Mythology, Science-Fiction, Detective Stories, Paranormal Short Stories, and Young Adult Fantasy Novels.
Parody Paradise, Part II is a compilation of thirty-one rewritten satirical short stories and plays from famous authors, featuring adult language and situations. Author Jay Dubya equally sideswipes (parity/parody) popular and classic stories authored by Edgar Allan Poe, Jack London, O. Henry, Mark Twain, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Other author’s works that are lambasted and thoroughly corrupted are James Thurber, Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens, H.G Wells, and also several William Shakespeare plays are also brutalized and lampooned.
Parody Paradise, Part II is Jay Dubya’s 65th published hardcover/paperback book. Besides Adult Satire, the author writes in seven other separate genres: Action/Adventure Novels, Non-Fiction Books, Mythology, Science-Fiction, Detective Stories, Paranormal Short Stories, and Young Adult Fantasy Novels.
Parody Paradise, Part III is a compilation of thirty rewritten satirical short stories and plays from famous authors, featuring adult language and situations. Author Jay Dubya equally sideswipes (parity/parody) and lampoons popular and classic stories authored by Edgar Allan Poe, Jack London, O. Henry, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Homer. Other authors’ works that are lambasted and thoroughly corrupted are Hans Christian Andersen, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, Herman Melville, and also, several William Shakespeare plays are savagely brutalized.
Parody Paradise, Part III is Jay Dubya’s 66th published book. Besides Adult Satire, the prolific author writes in seven other separate genres: Action/Adventure Novels, Non-Fiction Books, Mythology, Science-Fiction, Detective Stories, Paranormal Short Stories, and Young Adult Fantasy Novels.
Parody Paradise, Part IV is a compilation of thirty-three rewritten satirical short stories and plays from famous authors, featuring adult language and situations. Author Jay Dubya equally sideswipes (parity/parody) and lampoons popular and classic stories authored by Edgar Allan Poe, Jack London, O. Henry, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Homer. Other authors’ works that are lambasted and thoroughly corrupted are Hans Christian Andersen, H.G. Wells, Miguel Cervantes, and Charles Dickens, along with several famous William Shakespeare plays, which are all savagely brutalized.
Parody Paradise, Part IV is Jay Dubya’s 67th published book. Besides Adult Satire, the prolific author writes in seven other separate genres: Action/Adventure Novels, Non-Fiction Books, Mythology, Science-Fiction, Detective Stories, Paranormal Short Stories, and Young Adult Fantasy Novels.
The poet/bard Homer, reputed to have been blind, is credited with organizing the Odyssey, the epic tale of the Greek hero Odysseus, who was punished by Poseidon (Neptune, the sea god) for ten-long-years after the Trojan War. Homer had lived around the time when alphabets and writing were developed (around 1,000 BC), so the bard’s epic poem was later recorded by educated scribes and exists today in its present form.
In 1184 BC, King Odysseus was returning home from the Trojan War to Ithaca, his native island off the coast of Greece. The Greek hero had an armada of twelve ships upon leaving Troy, and his famous confrontation with the contemptible Cyclops (son of Poseidon, whom Odysseus had blinded) was one major episode in a ten-year mis-adventure after leaving Troy. King Agamemnon of Mycenae, and his brother, King Menelaus of Sparta, had led the great expedition of a thousand Greek ships and 50,000 warriors against the Asia Minor city of Troy. The Trojan War had taken ten-long-years to fight, and the lengthy conflict was finally won by Odysseus, a brilliant schemer, who had designed the famous Trojan Horse. The cunning Greek warriors situated the structure outside the main gates of Troy, which was strategically located at the Hellespont Channel located between Greece and Asia Minor (now Turkey).
Odysseus had been away from Ithaca for 20 years; ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and another ten years being tormented in a series of mis-adventures caused by Poseidon, for the returning Ithacan King blinding the sea-god’s son, the one-eyed Cyclops. Homer’s epic poem the Iliad is the story of the Trojan War, and the Odyssey recounts the fantastic challenges endured by the hero Odysseus, who survived an incredible ten-year journey home to be reunited with his faithful wife, Queen Penelope.
HOMER’S ILL ILIAD is adult satirical literature featuring adult language and humorous adult situations. The poet/bard Homer, reputed to have been blind, is credited with orally describing the Iliad (the story of the end of the ten-year Trojan War), and the Odyssey, the epic tale of the Greek hero Odysseus, who had been punished by Poseidon (Neptune, the sea god) for ten-long-years after the Trojan War. Homer had lived during the time when alphabets and writing were being developed (around 1,000 BC), so his two epic poems were later recorded by educated scribes and both stories exist today in their present forms.
Around 1184 BC, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, and his brother, King Menelaus of Sparta, had led the great expedition of a thousand Greek ships and 50,000 warriors against the Asia Minor city of Troy. The kings of the Greek city states were notorious pirates and marauders, but to glamorize their siege upon Troy, a mythological story involving Helen of Sparta, wife of King Menelaus, claimed that she had been wooed by Prince Paris of Troy to elope to Asia Minor. Thus, Helen of Sparta soon became Helen of Troy, and her abduction became the principal cause of the Trojan War.
The Trojan War, fought during the late Bronze Age, had taken almost ten-long-years, and the lengthy conflict was finally won when Odysseus, a brilliant schemer and ball-breaker, had a magnificent Wooden Trojan Horse built, and then had the Greek warriors situate the structure outside the main gates of Troy. The city was strategically located at the Hellespont Channel between Greece and Persia (now Turkey). Greek heroes were hidden inside the stomach of the colossal horse, and during the night, the warriors stealthily climbed-down a rope, opened the gates to Troy, and allowed thousands of Greek warriors to enter, rampage, sack and plunder.
Product Details: Paperback: 212 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (3 August 2022) Language: English Folklore Satirical Literature
The Invisible Man is adult satirical literature featuring adult language and adult situations. The setting is England in the late 1890s, just before the turn of a new century, and also, occurring right during the exciting advances evolving in modern science and technology, where new wonderful conveniences were dominant in the minds of people throughout the Western World whose lives were improving and changing almost on a daily basis.
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was born in England, and by the turn of the twentieth century, became one of the Founding Fathers of science fiction. Wells’ most famous novels are The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, and The Invisible Man, which were written and published between 1895 and 1905.
H.G. Wells was a great student of history, and the author loved thinking about mankind’s ultimate destiny. In his classic stories, Wells often tells through his characters what he believes is wrong with civilization, so that’s why the author never ran out of characters for his popular novels.
By mentally taking his readers into the future, or by analyzing society in the present, Herbert George Wells skillfully demonstrated exactly where the human race would be evolving unless science, culture, and emotional growth would change their present courses. Herein lies a new adult-oriented satirical version of H.G. Wells’ famous novel, The Invisible Man.
Product Details: Print Length: 285 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (14 May 2023) Al Margolis (Cover Art) Language: English
The Timeless Time Machine is adult satirical literature featuring adult language and adult situations. The setting is London, England, 1899, at the turn of a new century, and the exciting advances of science and technology are dominant in the minds of people throughout the Western World.
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was born in England, and by the turn of the century, became one of the Founding Fathers of science fiction. Wells’ most famous novels are The Time Machine, War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, which were written and published between 1895 and 1905.
H.G. Wells was a great student of history, and loved thinking about mankind’s ultimate destiny. In his stories, H.G. Wells often tells through his characters what he believes is wrong with civilization, so that’s why the author never ran out of characters for his popular novels. By mentally taking his readers into the future, Herbert George Wells skillfully demonstrates exactly where the human race would be evolving unless science, culture and emotional growth change their present courses. The Timeless Time Machine is a new adult-oriented satirical version of H.G. Wells’ short classic novel, The Time Machine.
Product Details: Paperback: 162 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (16 August 2022) Language: English Satirical Literature
War of the Worlds is adult satirical literature featuring adult language and adult situations. The setting is Maybury Hill, a suburb of London, England, around 1894, just before the turn of a new century, and also, right during the exciting advances of modern science and technology, which were dominant in the minds of people throughout the Western World.
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was born in England, and by the turn of the twentieth century, became one of the Founding Fathers of science fiction. Wells’ most famous novels are The Time Machine, War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, which were written and published between 1895 and 1905.
H.G. Wells was a great student of history, and loved thinking about mankind’s ultimate destiny. In his classic stories, Wells often tells through his characters what he believes is wrong with civilization, so that’s why the author never ran out of characters for his popular novels.
By mentally taking his readers into the future, Herbert George Wells skillfully demonstrates exactly where the human race would be evolving unless science, culture, and emotional growth would change their present courses. Herein lies a new adult-oriented satirical version of H.G. Wells’ famous short novel, War of the Worlds.
Product Details: Paperback: 194 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (26 April 2023) Language: English Satirical Literature
The thirty-five novellas presented in Prime-Time Crime Time are works of pure fiction.
The stories’ themes deal with various types of crime and criminal motivation. Any character resemblance to anyone living on Planet Earth is positively coincidental. In addition, any fictional setting scenario is also coincidental.
Prime-Time Crime Time is author Jay Dubya’s 42nd published hardcover/paperback book. Other story collections by this prolific author are Snake Eyes and Boxcars, Snake Eyes and Boxcars, Part II, Suite 16, One Baker’s Dozen, Two Baker’s Dozen, RAM: Random Articles and Manuscripts, Pieces of Eight, Pieces of Eight, Part II, Pieces of Eight, Part III, Pieces of Eight, Part IV, Nine New Novellas, Nine New Novellas, Part II, Nine New Novellas, Part III and Nine New Novellas, Part IV.
5 Stars: Enjoyable Crime Theme Novellas.
If you enjoy the wonderful pace of short story collections, this should be your next purchase. These thirty-five ‘Prime-Time Crime Time’ novellas are works of pure fiction. Author John Wiessner writes interesting stories dealing with various types of crime and criminal motivation. This is not the first collection of novellas that I have read, and it certainly won’t be the last. This is a perfect collection of short stores to take anywhere and enjoy.
Here are my favorite short tag lines from 10 of these 35 very enjoyable novellas.
The Bounty Hunter: “Trevor Crawford’s fertile-but-sinister imagination had always fantasized devising and committing “the perfect crime.”
A Small World: “Eugene held huge personal grudges against twelve people from his academic past who he believed had excessively offended and grieved him.”
Missions Accomplished: “Only if we’re able to first solve this abominable series of horrendous church bombings,” Chief Giralo bluntly answered.
The Duck Pond: “The sly Sicilian culprit and his burly bodyguard lieutenants had never been convicted of engaging in criminal activity, even though “the Duke” was constantly under intense police scrutiny.”
The Trespassers: “Farmin’ is such a big gamble with the unpredictable weather that we’re all sick and tired of gamblin’ when the harvest season’s finally over.”
Too Much Monkey Business: “Are you inherently psychic or clairvoyant; a true crime-solving wizard, or what?”
Double Trouble: Little honor exists between ignominious human beings, and this graphic story confirms that very valid social/ethical axiom.
Swarming Killer Bees: Of all the baffling crime scenarios that have both challenged and intrigued FBI Inspector Joe Giralo, none has ever been more mysterious and bewildering than the difficult case of the “Swarming Killer Bees”.
What Goes Around Comes Around: “I’d rather commit hara-kiri than put myself through the nasty torture of again teaching kindergarten,” Carol admitted.
City Councilmen: A major obstacle stood in Clint’s political path: his Atlantis Coastal Hotel landlord Thomas Theodore Wallace was already a prominent member of the city council.
I highly recommend you pick up all of Jay Dubya’s books. His books are entertaining and educational. His books are easy to read and make marvelous gifts for teens through adults.
Jay Dubya is author John Wiessner’s pen name. John is a retired New Jersey public school English teacher and he had taught the subject for thirty-four years. After retiring from teaching in 1999, John Wiessner became the author of 55+ books in the genre Action/Adventure Novels, Sci-Fi/Paranormal Story Collections, Adult Satire, Young Adult Fantasy Novels and Non-Fiction Books. His books exist in hardcover, in paperback and in popular Kindle and Nook e-book formats.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details: Paperback: 600 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (May 1, 2013) Language: English First Person Short Stories
‘So Ya’ Wanna’ Be A Teacher!’ by Jay Dubya Is Now Available In This New Revised Edition.
So Ya’ Wanna’ Be A Teacher tells the whole amazing true story of what really goes on in the typical American public school. The author was an English teacher for thirty-four years in a middle, junior-high and high school and knows all about the problem student, problem classes, crazy’ problem parents, student fighting, cheating, the Educational Aristocracy, nutty field trips, administrivia and bizarre assembly programs. The teacher in his career had taught over four thousand students, broken up over two-hundred and fifty fist fights, participated in over seven hundred fire drills and listened to loud school bells ring over a hundred and fifty thousand times.
5 Stars:Insider Information!
Introduction: Author Jay Dubya and middle grade school teacher for thirty-four years is providing insider information of what typically goes on in an American public school system.Each chapter shines a light on the US Educational System. Reading one of Author Jay Dubya’s books is an exercise in self-enlightenment and ‘So Ya’ Wanna’ Be A Teacher!’ is no exception. This book is filled with life experiences, historical analogies, truthful insights and enviable conclusions. My goal is to show you a synopsis of 19 of the chapters. Author Jay Dubya has presentenced with the perfect tool for understanding our educational system. The rest is up to you!
Chapter 1- “Generally Speaking”: This literary endeavor will identify and elaborate upon the factors that prevent teachers from reaching the designation “professionals.”
Chapter 2- “The Teacher as a Vital Non-Entity”: Teachers are the glue that holds the system together, but the Administration equals power. Teaching equals obedience and subservience to arbitrary, bureaucratic authority.
Chapter 3- “Role Reinforcement”: Role reinforcement is one way that administrators and supervisors establish who they are in the pecking order and who teachers are in the pecking order beneath them.
Chapter 4- “The Concept of Office”: Students believe that “the office” is the ultimate authority in the school. The office represents power, a power that transcends teacher authority.
Chapter 5- “Little Things Add’ Up”: Let’s examine some reasons why dedicated teachers lose their enthusiasm (and become cynical) but stay in the profession.
Chapter 17- “Educational Socialism”: Democratic education (as interpreted by educational psychology) has led to a very dangerous notion that “students should be equal.” Student differences are minimized in today’s public schools regardless of individual ability. Excellence is sacrificed and mediocrity results when both ends of the educational spectrum (A and F students) are forced to gravitate toward a sociological median.
Chapter 21- “The Need for Competition”: Everyone involved in education has to get back to the idea that competition is a worthwhile pursuit that is consistent with our great free enterprise system of economics.
Chapter 22- “The Problem Child”: During the 1970-’71 school year, I had an incredible nightmarish one-hundred- and-eighty-day adventure with a certain immature deputy of destruction. I shall codename him Joe Dodge, a student that could expand any teacher’s ulcer, shatter any nerve cluster or harden the heartiest artery.
Chapter 27- “The Problem Class”: The second period 8-6 “holy terror” class was at its finest moment, organized chaos. ‘Thank heaven I don’t have this asylum eighth period!’ I often gratefully acknowledged. ‘I wouldn’t wish this class on Lucifer!’
Chapter 32- “Why Jimmy Brown Doesn’t Write”: Two things are now quite evident: why good teachers leave the profession or evolve into guidance, college-professoring or administration and why little Jimmy Brown only wrote eight compositions in his general eighth grade English class.
Chapter 35- “Minor Duties”: The Teachers Handbook is over several hundred pages thick and it is the Koran that outlines the district’s rules for instructors and it also contains duty rosters for Office Detention, In-School Suspension, cafeteria duty, bus duty, chaperone duty, hall duty, lavatory duty and study hall duty. It was and is each teacher’s duty to perform all those “Howdy duties” in addition to diligently engaging in both the art and the science of teaching students.
Chapter 36- “Degrading Grading”: The infallible Teachers Handbook decreed, “Homework should be carefully planned to meet the ability levels and resources of the students.”
Chapter 39- “The Overprotective Parent”: As I begin this chapter, my wife (a third-grade teacher in another district) is having difficulty with a distrustful “too involved parent” that happens to be on her district’s board of education. I told my wife that school board members should only be school board members in the boardroom and not act as a school board member/parent of a child in regard to a teacher’s class. I said to my spouse, “He’s only another parent and nothing more.”
Chapter 40- “Democracy and Education”: Can a highly complicated function like American education be entrusted to the expertise of amateur school board members based on the presumption that the general will’ of the community should prevail? Should education be tailored after politics in an age where government teems with corruption, coercion, payoffs, kickbacks, pork barrel contracts, endorsements and political subterfuge?
Chapter 41- “Crazy Things Happen”: I was without an automobile for an entire week; all because I had been a conscientious dedicated teacher at work a full hour before I was supposed to be there. That’s when I acknowledged the great degree of wisdom in the statement, “In American education, sometimes doing less is best!”
Chapter 46- “Problem Students, Problem Parents”: Crazy students run rampant in public schools today because those crazy students usually have crazy parents or crazy guardians or crazy grandparents acting as crazy guardians. These crazy parents and crazy guardians are really crazy children that never grew up and that are now residing in adult bodies.
Chapter 48- “Fighting in Schools”: The sacred Teachers Handbook states in regard to student discipline: “Since the success of a democratic nation relies on the ability of its citizens to exercise self-discipline, it is the purpose of the school to teach boys and girls our main objective, which is the philosophy of self-control.” Everything looks good on paper where democratic education in the comprehensive school is concerned, but a tremendous Grand Canyon exists between educational theory and everyday public-school reality.
Chapter 50- “Multicultural Education”: There is no doubt in my mind that Multicultural Education is contributing to socialistically “dumbing-down” American public schools. Many of the obscure “authors” being presented to American students in the name of “cultural diversity” have produced works that have weak vocabulary, shallow plots, lackluster characters, non-intellectual subject matter and demonstrably unsophisticated writing skills.
Chapter 51- “The End of a Career”: I knew that the end of my teaching career was near when instructional methods gradually changed to promoting sociological activity-oriented classrooms as opposed to the traditional academic structured teacher-guided teacher-centered approach. Hostile parent conferences increased in frequency from around four a year to eight. I had taught over four thousand students in thirty-four years, and I began thinking that I should go out with dignity while I was still on top of my game and remarkably still had most of my marbles.
Addendum- “Darwin, Einstein and John Dewey”: On the average, Democracies usually last for up to two-hundred-and-fifty years (Republics last much longer). That historical pattern gives the United States of America around three more decades until we’re put on artificial life support, our systemic malady principally caused by moral decay, by legal and political corruption, by the cost of our U.S. military defending the entire free world, and by widespread economic (educational and welfare) inefficiency.
Other Chapter Titles In This Book To Explore:
…..Chapter 6- “A Teacher Mentor” …..Chapter 7- “The College Academic Experience” …..Chapter 8- “College Cheating” …..Chapter 9- “Becoming a Teacher” …..Chapter 10- “The Copernicus Play” …..Chapter 11- “Other Members of the Class” …..Chapter 12- “Bureaucracy, Teachers and Parents” …..Chapter 13- “A Mistake in Judgment” …..Chapter 14- “Summer Employment” …..Chapter 15- “High School Permanent Sub” …..Chapter 16- “Bill and I Get It Done” …..Chapter 18- “The High School Faculty” …..Chapter 19- “The MEATs” …..Chapter 20- “A Nightmare Vacation Trip” …..Chapter 23- “The Parent Conference” …..Chapter 24- “My Way” …..Chapter 25- “Joe Dodge Graduates” …..Chapter 26- “Homogeneous Grouping” …..Chapter 28- “Group Un-therapy” …..Chapter 29- “The Teacher’s Lowly Legacy” …..Chapter 30- “The Teacher in the Community” …..Chapter 31- “Proud Parents” …..Chapter 33- “School Assemblies” …..Chapter 34- “The Educational Aristocracy” …..Chapter 37- “The Williamsburg Field Trips” …..Chapter 38- “The Guidance Game” …..Chapter 42* “The Board of Education” …..Chapter 43- “A Tale of Four Professionals” …..Chapter 44- “Contract Negotiations” …..Chapter 45- “School Board Proposals” …..Chapter 47- “Inefficient Schools” …..Chapter 49- “Teachers and Administrators”
It is my sincere belief that college students, educators, administrators, parents, and all those who want our US Educational System to survive start with ‘So Ya’ Wanna’ Be A Teacher!’ by Author Jay Dubya. Mr. Dubya has taken the time to give us insider information. The challenge ahead of us is worth the time and mental energy to explore.
The Arcane Arcade by Leonard Streitfeld and Jay Dubya.
Introduction: The Arcane Arcade is a collection of sixteen short fiction stories. The general theme of the book is paranormal experience and the tales are presented as short stories, novellas and novelettes. The stories have been rewritten and edited many times until they have evolved into their finished form.
The characters and events depicted in The Arcane Arcade are strictly the products of the authors’ imaginations. Any resemblance to any real person or persons is absolutely coincidental, and it is the hope of the authors that readers will appreciate the pure fantasy identities, personalities and plots presented in the sixteen-fictional works.
5 Stars: It takes advanced and gifted writing skills to successfully write a short story collection that will capture the imagination of the readers and hold their interest to the end. Two authors skilled at their craft have teamed up to bring you ‘The Arcane Arcade’.
Dr. Leonard Streitfeld had been John Wiessner’s eye doctor for many years. Len Streitfeld and Jay Dubya have written and rewritten the stories “The Chess Set,” “The Cups,” “The Incense Burner,” “Reflections,” “Stained Glass” and “The Black Magic Pen” many times until all sixteen tales appearing in The Arcane Arcade have evolved into their present quality literature form.
The Arcane Arcade collection is book crafted in the paranormal experience and have evolved into this great example of short story literature.
Here are my short descriptions, of each story in ‘The Arcane Arcade’.
In “The Chess Set” the wealthy chess master is confronted by the Black Knight.
In “The Cups “a snow globe scene pales in comparison to this coffee mug collection.
In “A Christmas Doll “it is the gift of a ballerina doll that changes everything.
In “Reflections “we are reminded that charity begins in the heart.
In “The Dark Side “we witness “One perpetual nightmare that’s been moving in perpetual motion.”
In “Photographs “we are reminded that a picture is worth a thousand words.
In “Premonitions “is it a chance encounter, coincidence or something much more.
In “The Combat Mission That Never Was” we learn “Heaven Can Wait but Hell Cannot”.
In “The Skull “we read what happens to an unclaimed corpse that might surprise you.
In “Stained Glass “it is the mystery surrounding the broken heavenly stained-glass window.
In “The Image “conjures up the question is it “animal, vegetable, mineral, or strange thing”.
In “An Incense Burner “New Orleans Mardi Gras turns into a veritable nightmare.
In “The Dye Is Cast “as the song titled “16 men on a dead man’s chest, yo-ho, ho and a bottle of rum” pierces through the Bermuda Triangle fog.
In “The Talismans “we examine the actions of one persistent seeker of wisdom.
In “The Tattoo “finds Dennis in the throws of an inebriated ink nightmare.
In “The Black Magic Pen “a writer’s dream of literary perfection and international fame makes the tools of his trade a necessary phenomenon.
I would have to say that the short story titled “An Incense Burner” is my favorite out of this well written collection. Let me bring you into the story here:
…..At 11:55 p.m., the New Age black magic medium prepared the ‘spiritual laboratory operational card table’, the very essential incense burner, the vital red votive candles, and the male voodoo doll was then dressed in similar white shirt and black pants, just as Jason’s principal adversary had been wearing at the coin club meeting. Newman then spread Rosco Scola’s former note scraps over the male doll’s body. The obnoxious, loudmouthed Coin Organization President had never conceived or realized that he had made an immense blunder by inadvertently leaving behind the hand-shredded documentation with his indecipherable, crude handwriting scribbled upon it.
…..As the den’s grandfather clock pendulum signaled the stroke of midnight, Jason snickered as the black arts’ prestidigitator began performing his ‘other world methodology’. The devil’s new metaphysical priest then roughly thrust the red-hot pin into the doll’s throat and next, the hex practitioner meanly and spitefully twisted the pin back and forth several times to dramatically emphasize his great enmity for his avowed enemy. Four more pins were soon viciously inserted, a separate representative one shoved into each of the doll’s arms and legs.
…..The incense burner was then wildly smoking-out dense fumes and billows, and a moment later a ghost-like cloud rose and wafted, and then the dark gaseous mass hovered above the voodoo operating card table. The fog formation slowly drifted towards the targeted doll, and when the fumes encountered the lying figure’s throat, the thick, hazy mass mystically swished into the doll’s voice box, and then the visible gas phenomenon suddenly disappeared from visual existence.
…..The unearthly ceremony was over at precisely 1:00 a.m. and the vital items that had been used for the “spiritual retribution communication” were again stealthily placed and concealed inside their respective storage hiding compartments. However, the five malignant pins still remained implanted in the doll’s anatomy.
…..“Languish in your anguish,” laughed the contemporary warlock to the tiny representation of corpulent Rosco Scola. “Your pain is my gain!” Jason Newman humorously rhymed. “Let’s see what happens to your throat and to your four doomed appendages. Ha, ha, ha!”
Did this voodoo from this self-learned witch-doctor work? I will let you discover for yourself.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details: Paperback: 358 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (February 11, 2020) Language: English Short Story Collection
Thirteen Tantalizing Tales is author Jay Dubya’s twenty-third story collection.
5 Stars: Author Jay Dubya has a unique way of telling his short stories with psychological twists that make this collection a must have in your library of short stories. I am from the ‘Twilight Zone’ generation, so I love Jay’s short tales.
Let me share a quick thought from each story.
In the “Holiday Hooligans” Chief FBI Inspector Joe Giralo and his men are confronted with some really bizarre holiday masqueraders. What will their mystery unfold?
In “The Piano and The Organ” this story brings energy implanting to a whole new level; mystery of the haunted piano and phantom concert.
In “Contemporary Illuminati” an heir’s lost inheritance turns-out to be an amazing surprise.
In “Realty Reality” we see if the sins of the forefathers (or mothers) carry forward into the next generations.
In “Doing Bristol” we go on a journey back to the character’s hometown in Hammonton. In this story time and space are altered as memories flood to the surface.
In “A Photo’ Finish” here is a case that might be the trial of the century, or perhaps eternity.
In “Sleep Paralysis” we get a glimpse into the mind’s reaction to sleep paralysis. Worse than a nightmare, a daymare, or even Transcendentalism.
In “Rich Man, Poor Soul” the story presents an interesting concept; if you received a decree from heaven’s archangel allowing you to go all the way back to your childhood and start over, to correct the wrongs of your life, would you?
In “Lost Identity” the predicament is compelling. Was the memory loss due to a violent crime or something else?
In “Family Resentment” the tale reminds us that family ties don’t always bind.
In “Growing Young” we learn that nature’s secrets can be held among many; now even including you.
In “Corporal Teleportation” we learn about a personal time/space travel experience, now referred to as ‘Corporal Teleportation’ as opposed to ‘Time Travel’.
In “A Ride Through the Wharton Forest” the question comes to mind. What if Mr. Wharton’s scheme had become reality?
I would have to say that out of the thirteen stories, The Piano and The Organ story was my favorite. Let me share just a little.
…..“I must admonish myself for being a snobbish elitist and a hypocritical religious anarchist for the past forty years of my morally-prejudiced life. From relevant circumstances that would evolve upon Joanne returning from choir practice on the following Thursday night, my defective soul would miraculously undergo a marvelous transformation that could best be described as a cathartic, spiritual Renaissance. As a result of my interactions with the living room piano, I now passionately espouse the rigid mandates of St. Peter and his edict-oriented papal descendants. I eagerly attend Catholic Mass each and every Sunday and have absolutely astounded my wife by voluntarily joining the St. Joseph church choir as an inspired baritone. Without further digression, here is how my whole unbelievable ‘soul metamorphosis’ synthesized with my heart switching from sin to grace.
…..On Thursday night, April 23rd, I was waiting for Joanne to arrive home from her standard choral routine. My wife parked her Ford Fairlane inside the two-car garage, and soon I heard the right-side electronic door descend to the cement floor. After entering the house through the laundry room portal, Ginger appeared exceedingly exhausted, and my beloved spouse presented herself to me in a heightened, upset and agitated state of mind.
…..“What’s the matter? Did one of your choir members pass away?” I bonded with my spouse in a low, respectful, reverent tone of voice. “Clearly something bad has happened.”
…..“I have a very important matter to tell you about that I’ve been withholding for several months,” Joanne uttered, almost crying. “John, I’m actually scared to death.”
…..“Okay, I’m a good listener. Take ten deep breaths and then say what’s bothering you,” I wisely advised. “That’s what I always do when a hostile, antagonistic client screams and yells at me on the phone over a major stock market loss.”
…..Joanne heeded my recommendation and went on to inform me that the organ in the larger elevated den was the principle source of her becoming overly distraught. According to Ginger’s account, one Tuesday in March when I had been at Joe’s Maplewood for a weekly Rotary Club meeting, the organ commenced playing the radio ballad “Devil or Angel” without skipping a note.
I hope that I have intrigued you enough to pick up a copy of this book, so you can find out what is going on with this organ.
“Jay Dubya is author John Wiessner’s pen name and also his initials (J.W.) John is a retired New Jersey public school English teacher and he had taught the subject for thirty-four years. John lives in southern New Jersey with wife Joanne and the couple has three grown sons. John is the creator of fifty-two books.”
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details: Paperback: 192 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (November 26, 2019) Language: English Short Story Collection
5 Stars: The Psychic Dimension (Part One) are a group of very well written short stories that deal with fictional psychic and paranormal experiences.
Author John Dubya has divided this book into 26 novellas. Let me briefly describe five of them.
Corporate Sabotage: “Three government men were casually discussing the amusing theory that their boss Chief Inspector Joe Giralo was indeed one hundred percent psychic, or perhaps one hundred percent “psycho.” But as the trio would soon discover, the astonishing case of “Corporate Sabotage” virtually confirmed their suspicions about their boss’s seemingly paranormal cerebrum.”
Music Psyche: “It has often been said that music soothes the soul, but Dr. Thaddeus Gilmore, eminent professor of Psychology/Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, recently found-out through a revolutionary research breakthrough
The Table Drawer: “Where did you get that weird table that’s now up in the computer room? It looks like it was obsolete decades before John Wilkes Booth had entered Fords Theater and evilly assassinated President Lincoln!”
A Day to Forget: “A Day to Forget: Ever since adolescence, Jack Cooper hated anything associated with frivolity and revelry. The shy man didn’t like football games because of boisterous crowds, deplored raucous celebrating, and despised rock and roll along with rap music, and the man vastly abhorred obnoxious, irritating behavior at New Year’s Eve parties. Anything noisy from Fourth of July and Halloween parades to carnival and circus atmospheres greatly disturbed Jack’s super-sensitive psyche and sent his volatile emotions completely out of kilter. The only things that the “mercurial man” really dearly loved were peace and quiet.”
Each story is independent from each other which makes this the perfect book to carry with you to read on the go. For the sake of this review, let me focus on two stories.
In the story of Triple Jeopardy, Inspector Joe Giralo and his wife Gina go on a senior citizen’s bus tour. Their first stop is at the Michigan Grand Hotel, where their vacation takes an unexpected turn. Let me quote:
…At nine-thirty a loud frantic rapping upon Room 132’s door rudely interrupted Joe Giralo’s peaceful coffee consumption. The FBI man opened the portal and the occupant was somewhat astonished to perceive the normally debonair suit-and-tie head hotel manager impatiently standing in the hallway.
…“Mr. Giralo,” the exasperated hotel executive exclaimed all out of breath. “I’m Giles Martin, the Grand Michigan’s chief operating officer. May I come in?”
…“Why of course!” the surprised Inspector replied, closing the door behind the unexpected visitor’s hasty entrance. “Is everything okay? You do appear to be more than a trifle alarmed!”
…“I understand that you’re an experienced inspector with the FBI. Our dependable desk records indicate that much, Inspector Giralo, and I’ve already verified that formerly confidential information through our local island police department, which incidentally also drastically needs your immediate assistance.”
…“Mr. Martin, in all due respect, exactly what is wrong?” the now thoroughly interested hotel guest asked. “What’s of so much paramount importance and concern?”
…“A most serious epidemic of colossal proportion has broken-out among the horse population here on Mackinac Island,” panic-stricken Giles Martin boisterously disclosed. “Just about all of our six hundred horses are terribly sick with colic and influenza symptoms, and our town veterinarians are going crazy attending to all of the afflicted animals. And besides that,” the agitated and worried hotel manager impulsively expounded, “the entire transportation system on the island has been shut-down. This is a colossal nightmare dilemma in progress Inspector Giralo; an unimaginable worst-case scenario and its basic origin, or should I say ‘its real cause,’ we certainly find exceptionally baffling. That’s why I’m here to both request and solicit your skilled expertise.”
Inspector Giralo’s experience and instincts are aroused and it looks like their vacation might be interrupted. To see what happens, pick up this book.
Now let me share a small portion of the short story Contemporary Illuminati.
…..Aunt Genevieve had revealed to my mother on several occasions that I had been her favorite nephew, and so I always believed that I was in competition for a massive inheritance with my adversarial cousins David and Stephen Wilson, who both perceptibly appeared to be artificially cordial towards me at venerable Aunt Jenny’s Baltimore wake and funeral that had been held in early May of 1992. A full month later, I received a legal letter from Otto Hernandez, Esquire, informing me that I was to attend a meeting for the purpose of the “Disposition of Mrs. Genevieve Curtis’s Will”, and the family conference was scheduled to occur in downtown Baltimore at 11 a.m. sharp on Wednesday, July 1st. Naturally, from previous conversations with my mother, I was quite excited about the prospect of being the principal heir to Aunt Genevieve’s rather lucrative estate.
…..Flash forward: The lawyer next opened the louvered brown door and removed a five-foot-high, antique-looking, standing lamp from inside the dark enclosure, which he then gracefully carried with both hands over to his huge mahogany desk. “This Sir is what your deceased Aunt Genevieve wishes for you to have,” the suave-but-encumbered estates’ lawyer quite diplomatically and almost-apologetically communicated. “Mrs. Curtis declares and directs in her last will and testament that you should amply admire and appreciate this marvelous, extraordinary lamp of Egyptian design, especially the unique brass head of Queen Nerfertiti that’s now conspicuously ornamenting the lamp’s exquisite canopy.” I momentarily glanced to my left and incidentally observed that my three cousin companions were alternately snickering and chuckling at my rather peculiar inheritance, and even Mr. Otto Hernandez seemed quite out-of-character being amused at my unexpected gift that I had traveled 110 miles from Hammonton, New Jersey to gratefully acquire.
…..Why did Aunt Genevieve leave John this ornate lamp? Was the gesture a cruel joke or was it something more? If you always wanted your long-lost great aunt to leave you something in her Last Will and Testimony, this story may or may not change your mind.
With each story comes an internal struggle where there are decisions to made and consequences. Each one of these stories could be their own book in their own rights. I hope you find these Novellas as interesting a read as I did.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details: Paperback: 564 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (January 10, 2013) Language: English First Person Short Stories
The thirty-four novellas presented in The Psychic Dimension; Part II are works of pure fiction.
The stories’ themes deal with various types of psychic and paranormal experiences. Any character resemblance to anyone living on Planet Earth is positively coincidental. In addition, any fictional setting scenario is also coincidental.
The Psychic Dimension, Part II is author Jay Dubya’s 45th published hardcover/paperback book. Other story collections by this prolific author are The Psychic Dimension; The FBI Inspector; First Person Stories; Modern Mythology; Prime-Time Crime Time; UFO: Utterly Fantastic Occurrences; Snake Eyes and Boxcars; Snake Eyes and Boxcars, Part II; Time Travel Tales; Suite 16; One Baker’s Dozen; Two Baker’s Dozen; RAM: Random Articles and Manuscripts; Pieces of Eight; Pieces of Eight, Part II; Pieces of Eight, Part III; Pieces of Eight, Part IV; Nine New Novellas; Nine New Novellas, Part II; Nine New Novellas, Part III; and Nine New Novellas, Part IV.
5 Stars: The Psychic Dimension (Part Two) is a group of very well written short stories that deal with fictional psychic and paranormal experiences.
Each story is independent from each other which makes this the perfect book to carry with you to read on the go. I find short story the hardest books to review because the content is broad.
I am going to attempt to share a tidbit from each story in order to show you the unique quality of each complex story lines. With each story comes an internal struggle where there are decisions to made and consequences. Each one of these stories could be their own book in their own rights.
The thirty-four novellas presented in The Psychic Dimension; Part II are works of pure fiction. The stories’ themes deal with paranormal and psychic experiences.
Let me share a synopsis of the novellas in this book. I enjoyed reading them all, but some of my favorites are: “The Attic Television”, “The Music Portal”, “The Rip Van Winkle Club”, “Like Clockwork” and “A Photo’ Finish”. Let the author know your favorite selections once you are finished reading.
Multiple Choice: Some quizzes are design to test one’s memory, others are of a competitor nature, while some have a hidden message. Intro to the short story: “As veteran Agents Salvatore Velardi, Arthur Orsi and Dan Blachford entered Philadelphia FBI headquarters at 600 Arch Street, the three black-suited government detectives had been casually discussing the amusing notion that their distinguished boss Chief Inspector Joe Giralo was indeed one hundred percent psychic. But as the chatty trio would soon discover, the astonishing and confounding “Multiple Choice Case” would become a perplexing development that would virtually confirm their speculative suspicions about their boss’s seemingly uncanny paranormal abilities.”
The Attic Television: Some antiques bring us joy, others bring back memories, but could an attic TV bring back history right before our eyes? Intro to the short story: “John P. Walker was a self-confirmed recluse. He shied away from having close friends, thinking that they Intro to the short story: would be more interested in his prolific Merrill Lynch Cash Management Account than in the distrustful man’s true companionship. There were hundreds of acquaintances in his computer e-mail address book, but his dependable friends could be counted twice on a thumb-less hand. ‘A secret is only a secret when it belongs to me,’ the slightly paranoid man reckoned. ‘As soon as it is shared with one other person it’s a secret in jeopardy.’”
The Timeless Sports Car: Sometimes we wish for frivolous things, other times we wish for extravagate things, and then there are times when we wish for the impossible. Intro to the short story: “Henry Johnson was very content with his station in life. The man was a successful lawyer in his hometown of Hammonton, New Jersey and was looking forward to early retirement. Johnson had married his high school sweetheart Lois and the couple had three grown sons, Howard, Harry and Hugh. ‘Howard is now ready to take over the family law firm,’ Henry Johnson thought as he stepped out onto the Bellevue Avenue/Horton Street pavement from his Attorney Office, ‘and Harry is a prominent doctor at Jefferson University Hospital in Philly. And young Hugh is a prominent real estate developer in Saddle Brook up in North Jersey. What more could a 59-year-old man wish for?’”
Parallel Developments: Twins typically have a unique psych super power that the rest of us with siblings didn’t inherit. Frank and Fred Davies will stretch the limits of parallel developments. Intro to the short story: “Twin brothers Frank and Fred Davies were 1981 graduates of Hammonton High School, North Liberty Street, Hammonton, New Jersey 08037. From their early youth the twins were complete opposites both in demeanor and in physical prowess. Fred Davies was always an extrovert and a competitive athlete while his twin facsimile Frank had a shy personality genuinely punctuated with humility and modesty.
In June of 1987 Fred graduated from Philadelphia’s Temple University with a law degree and Frank evolved out of New Brunswick’s Rutgers University with a master’s degree in biology research. In the fall of 1991 during a dual ceremony Frank and Fred ironically married twin sisters Lois and Eleanor Cataldi of Bridgeton, a large town situated twenty-four miles southwest of Hammonton.”
Window of Opportunity: They say that opportunity only knocks once, but I dare say it is more often if we live with an open mind to the possibilities. Intro to the short story: “The May Installation Meeting assigning new officers for the Hammonton, New Jersey Lions Club had just adjourned and afterwards, two recently appointed minor functionaries were discussing their basic roles with an elderly club member in the upstairs bar of Rocco’s Town House on North Third Street. The all-too-garrulous District 16-C Governor had already departed the premises and Liontamer Mitchell Spencer, Tailtwister Michael Giberson and feeble Past President Julius Stetson were standing at the tavern’s bar casually engaged in a genial conversation over their after-meeting cocktails.
“It’s good to see new blood coming into the club and accepting active roles,” eighty-two-year-old Julius Stetson praised the local Lions Club’s two new energized recruits. “I was a charter member of the club way back in 1963,” Julius informed his respectful listeners before sipping his cold Southern Comfort on the rocks, “and we had only a dozen members when John F. Kennedy was the country’s President, mostly businessmen owning stores and properties up on Route 30.”
The Music Portal: Ones occupation doesn’t always coincide with one’s aptitudes, abilities and creative side. Intro to the short story: “Up until four months ago I had regarded my very ordinary life as being a dismal failure. My mediocre occupation ever since I was fresh out of high school has been that of a dissatisfied shoe salesman at Brock Shoes Outlet in Berlin, New Jersey. For thirty-one miserable years I would loyally commute each working day from my French Street home in nearby Hammonton, a flourishing agricultural community located twelve miles east of Berlin and also conveniently situated midway between vacation destination Atlantic City and bustling Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the distances being thirty miles in either direction from my house to the East Coast gambling Mecca and to Benjamin Franklin’s City of Brotherly Love.
Soldier of Misfortune: Soldiers endure physical, emotional and mental fatigue on and off the battle field so the rest of us can enjoy the freedoms their service provides. Intro to the short story: “Dr. Angelo DeMarco had recently retired as the head psychiatrist at New Jersey’s Ancora State Hospital so that he could devote his full time to expanding his private practice, which was located inside a second-floor office suite at the southeast corner of 2nd Street and Bellevue Avenue, Hammonton, New Jersey. The psych’ physician was perusing a letter received from Noreen Pearson, the wife of a twenty-five-year-old Army Corporal, and the distraught enlisted soldier had been complaining to his spouse of severe migraine headaches, of terrible repetitious nightmares, and also the afflicted young serviceman was often heard uttering “indiscernible gibberish” during his erratic nightly sleeps.”
The Rip Van Winkle Club: Who ever said marriage is work, was not joking. Couples can live in denial, disillusionment and even delusion. It is important that we are careful for what we wish for. Intro to the short story: “William R. Stuyvesant unhappily lived with his domineering wife Gertrude in a magnificent Tarrytown, New York manor house situated on a palisade overlooking the majestic Hudson River. William often confidentially compared Gertrude (to male associates) to Dame Van Winkle, Rip Van Winkle’s shrew of a wife who lambasted, browbeat and belittled the poor lethargic farmer every day from dawn until midnight. That is where the comparison between Gertrude Stuyvesant and Dame Van Winkle ends. William R. Stuyvesant was filthy rich and neither he nor Gertrude had to work another day in their lives to maintain their expensive tastes, selfish hobbies and extravagant lifestyles.”
Fantasy Book Land: Vacation is a time of renewal and relaxation. Although some turn out better than others. Intro to the short story: “Frank and Betsy Lanier were glad that the busy and hectic summer season was over at their well-established sixty-year-old South Jersey family business going by the all-too-familiar trade name of Fantasy Book Land. Finally, it was time for the couple to enjoy a well- deserved and relaxing fall hiatus, a getaway Columbus Day weekend. In South Jersey, the deciduous tree leaves were resplendently beginning to transform into their autumnal hues and to the needed-to-be-rejuvenated Laniers, a much-anticipated tour bus trip up to New Hampshire’s White Mountains represented a most welcome departure from the continuous daily grind of adult responsibility.
“I’m glad we’re again going with Ralph’s Bus Tours up to New England,” Betsy said to Frank as the husband pulled his black Mercedes into the Cape May Senior Citizens’ Tour Bus Terminal parking lot. “The change in scenery will be most appreciated. We’ll be able to forget our identities and duties for the next four days and be just two ordinary anonymous vacationers seeking asylum from grueling drudgery and accountability.”
Superstitions: Superstitions can be used as a tool to guide, avoid pitfalls or just amuse us. Intro to the short story: “Real estate broker James Brewster was elated, not because he had just completed reading Dale Carnegie’s best-selling book How to Win Friends and Influence People for the fifth time, but because in March of 2009 the wheeler-dealer had shrewdly purchased a three-year-old beachfront three-story home (with an elevator servicing each suite) on the Boardwalk and 16th Street in Ocean City, New Jersey for the ridiculously-low sum of 1.5 million dollars, acquiring the residence as a vacation home but more importantly, owning and leveraging the dwelling principally as a seasonal investment-return rental property.
‘I didn’t even need Dale Carnegie’s sound advice to negotiate this handsome bargain!’ Brewster joyfully reasoned. Being a born-opportunist, the risk-taking entrepreneur wanted to take full advantage of the in-progress economic recession and then in three years, capitalize on the presumed 2.25-million-dollar value of the three-year-old beach home should the country’s money cash-flow scenario improve back to normal.”
Trestles, Overpasses & Blue Skies: A change of scenery may be good for the soul but it can come with its own peculiarities. Intro to the short story: “Inspector Ned Carson sat at his office desk on the third floor of Philadelphia’s Race Street “Round House,” casually watching vehicular traffic flowing in both directions across the Ben Franklin Bridge connecting Pennsylvania with New Jersey, the span being a mile-long distance across the historic Delaware River. Carson’s reverie was instantly broken when his office partner Detective Timothy Ransom entered the room carrying two fresh cups of coffee and then respectfully handed one of the steaming Styrofoam containers to his thirty-year-veteran colleague.
“Tim, every March right before spring arrives on the calendar, I get the strong urge to get out of the congested city and use a week of my treasured vacation time to go either hunting or fishing with you,” Inspector Ned Carson mused and said, “But I gotta’ confess that our good wives have been quite understanding in allowing us to participate in some valued male bonding at suburban bars, and Jenny trusts me when I’m away from town at a distant convention with you for a week or so.”
The Evil Force: Conventional wisdom regarding the forces of good and evil might not extend beyond our Galaxy. Intro to the short story: “I, Colonel Cliff Dawson am accurately recording this incredible account into my personal electronic journal and not into the official ship’s log for reasons that will obviously be self-explanatory later on in this narrative. Captain Jeremy Parker and I have been on a courageous ten-year space mission exploring outer space and methodically charting our landmark discoveries for the International World Coalition. Our well-publicized mission was described in the world’s media as “an awesome enterprise” and quite basically, I’ve always been attracted to the prospect of being one of the first ‘daring humans’ to find intelligent human-like life thriving elsewhere in the nearby Milky Way Galaxy.
Our lengthy expedition started out from Earth in the year 2534 A.D. and it is now, according to our ship’s reliable instrument panel May 5th of 2542. The Newton III is now ready to lift off and leave the planet that Captain Parker and I have labeled EL-741, which is an Earth-Like sphere rotating around a Sun-Like star that my cohort and I have named Mater Seven.”
Rapid Crystals: Technically from any age, is only as good as the inventor, installer and the user. Intro to the short story: “Harry DeLareto sat erect upon his black leather swivel chair behind his desk in his walnut-paneled Elwood, New Jersey insurance office. The broker was preoccupied making a ten percent depreciation adjustment to the ‘inflated claim’ submitted by the Nesco Volunteer Fire Department that had recently and ironically burned to the ground in a raging inferno.
On Harry’s desk were random additional claims from Mrs. Rhonda Leonetti of Atsion, who had just been involved in an automobile accident, Arthur Noto of Hamilton Township, who had recently collided his motorboat with a Mullica River marina dock and another one from Jennifer Friel, a Sweetwater resident who had experienced severe flooding into her house when the normally tranquil Mullica River had overflowed its banks during a torrential three-day downpour. As DeLareto was fumbling through the assorted bureaucratic paperwork that was frustrating his mental health, the gentleman’s very capable secretary Nancy Davenport suddenly buzzed his desk from the adjoining room.
“Harry, Mr. And Mrs. David DeLaurentis had to cancel this afternoon’s appointment because their son Alfred has crashed his motorbike into a barn on a blueberry farmer’s property over in Hammonton and they’re now at Atlantic Care Hospital in Pomona. The boy’s all right but that’ll definitely be another injury insurance claim appearing on your desk within the next few weeks,”
Dream-On: Night dreams inhabit our subconscious but their effects can bleed through into our daily lives. Intro to the short story: “Hammonton, New Jersey resident Samuel Charles Dexter was both depressed and despondent. His recent divorce from his ultra-dominant wife Sharon left the man’s mind in an emotional state of shambles. Sam’s friends at the Vineland, New Jersey plastics manufacturing company where Dexter was employed as an accountant suggested that the numbers guru should seek professional therapy counseling. One of his fellow co-workers had highly recommended Dr. Adam Neville, a reputable psychiatrist whose practice was at the corner of Landis Avenue and Third Street in downtown Vineland. Samuel Charles Dexter honored his June 7th, 2010 “get acquainted appointment” and was cheerfully escorted into Dr. Neville’s office by Miss Emily Jensen, the psychiatrist’s secretary and bookkeeper.
“Mr. Dexter, you say in your letter of introduction you’ve been having peculiar dreams lately that seem to be compounding your mercurial emotional instability,” Dr. Adam Neville diplomatically commenced his narrative.”
Ship of Fool: In some cultures, photography has always associated with the interruption of and thus mirror into our soul. Intro to the short story: “Philip Greco was born and raised in Hammonton, New Jersey but in the 1970s the elderly gentleman absolutely loved vacationing for a full week every August in sun-kissed Ocean City, Maryland. Phil Greco had memorized every commercial retail business in the inlet’s five-block section of the boardwalk starting from South First Street right up to North Division where the Route 50 Bridge over the bay channeled automobile traffic into town. Trimper’s Rides, the Red Apple Treats Stand, Dayton’s Chicken, Marty’s Playland Arcade, Sportland Arcade, Dumser’s Ice Cream, The Purple Moose Saloon, Thrashers French Fries, the Alaska Hot Dog Stand, Dollie’s Popcorn, Bull on the Beach Roast Beef Sandwiches, the Atlantic Hotel, the Glassblowers Shop, Fisher’s Caramel Popcorn, Lombardi’s Tower of Pizza, Dealers Choice Poker Game Arcade, the Candy Kitchen Shop, the Psychedelic Shop, The Sea Shell Emporium, The Dutch Bar, Telescope Beach Pictures and the Courtesy Gift Shop all held dear spots in the visiting South Jersey man’s heart. And during his annual week-long hiatus Greco loyally patronized all of the mentioned popular boardwalk establishments.”
Stairway to Heaven: I have often wondered if the details of heaven is in the eye of the beholder. Intro to the short story: “I had suddenly died in my home’s master bedroom’s bathroom while I had been staring into the vanity mirror after finishing shaving. A sudden pain spread from my left arm to my chest and the last thing I remembered as a human being was collapsing upon the brown-tiled floor. There is no doubt in my mind that my body had ceased functioning and that my awareness had slowly exited my form and then transferred into a strange energy-spirit state. I don’t remember any spectacular catharsis when my soul had been ejected from its human shell.
Next, I can remember, I was somehow cognizant of hovering over my lifeless corpse and a moment later my senses were aware of my wife’s delirious screams as she frightfully bent over to touch my neck feeling for a pulse. ‘So much for her being a veteran R.N.,’ my still intact consciousness sarcastically thought. ‘She does really love me after all!”
The Better of Two Lives: We all encounter crossroads in our lives where the choice we make enhance our lives or causes ripples of regret. Intro to the short story: “People make many crucial decisions from several years after exiting their mothers’ wombs right up to entering their cemetery tombs. Men and women usually encounter at least a dozen crossroad events in their lifetimes where important choices are made, some good, and perhaps some not so fortuitous as originally planned and hoped for. Major decisions about marriage, who to marry, career choice, real estate acquisitions and investments complement a person’s numerous minor preferences such as which high school sports to play, who to ask to the senior prom, which college to attend, and what kind of house should be purchased. Such a plethora of mental challenges affect millions of Americans daily and continue to reap rewards and consequences throughout their mortal lives.
Richard Henderson was no exception to the law of human choices. The jack-of-all-trades and master of none had always desired to become a successful businessman, be a renowned author, and finally, thrive as a loving husband to a devoted wife who fully believed in emotional reciprocity. Those very noble aspirations represented Henderson’s wishful goals and lofty ambitions, but quite often, obtained results seldom match the sincerity of initial intent. Richard Henderson’s youthful fantasy and excessive idealism rapidly deteriorated into shattered hopes and crushed dreams.”
Youth Revisited: As we age, we encounter youth all around us. Stark reminders of distance experiences and a shorter road before us. Intro to the short story. “One August 2001 Monday morning Frederick Richard Barker drove his sky-blue Buick LeSabre east on busy Route 30 to the Blueberry Crossing Shopping Center. The retired Hammonton, New Jersey brick and stone mason was a seventy-year-old health fanatic who was fighting a valiant battle against the onslaught of everyone’s eventual common nemesis, old age. Fred parked his recently washed automobile in a convenient space and then strolled from the asphalt onto the pavement and ambled into the Health Tree Nutrition Store to purchase a re-supply of Vitamin E and a new bottle of potent Multi-Vitamins and Minerals.
“Hi,” Fred politely addressed the preoccupied young girl standing behind the counter presently attending to the needs of a demanding customer. “Where’s Sharon? She usually takes good care of me.”
“Mrs. Bertino is in New York attending a health products trade show,” the conscientious girl answered before ringing-up the fastidious customer’s acquisitions on the cash register. “She’ll be back in town on Wednesday unless my boss begins that Pocono Mountains vacation she’s been talking about.”
The Hotel Delaware: Leap Year holds luck for the few and mystery for the masses. Intro to the short story. “Superstitious people believe and attest that strange incidents often occur on February 29 of every Leap Year. I had never placed too much credence in that unscientific claim until Tuesday, February 29, 2004, which unfortunately is a date I will certainly remember forever. Let me fully explain my accursed dilemma so that all will comprehend the true nature of my misery. The courtesy of another person’s sympathy and understanding will be greatly appreciated. I realize that my tale will seem both illogical and incredible to anyone interpreting it, yet I believe I must share its veracity.
A Leap Year has three hundred and sixty-six days on the annual calendar, one more twenty-four-hour interval than that which exists in a normal year. Greenwich, England scientists and concerned astronomers have adjusted the mechanics of the moon and months to interface with the Earth’s revolution around the sun because a quarter of a day is lost each normal year when coordinating those particular solar system relationships. To accurately adjust for the quarter-day time discrepancy in the Earth’s elliptical orbit around the sun, February 29 was created on the post medieval Gregorian Calendar (developed in the 1580s by Pope Gregory), which we still honor today after the old Julian Calendar (developed in 46 B.C. under the reign of Julius Caesar) had been discarded.”
The Bad Old Days: Farming takes knowledge, decision and hard work. Some work the fields, cranberry bogs and then there are those who provide the world with fresh blueberries. Intro to the short story. “Last September was very stressful for Hammonton, New Jersey peach and blueberry farmer Richard Jacobs. An irrigation pump caught on fire and the first responder to arrive on the scene was his brother-in-law, Charles Garrison. The fireman attempted entering the pit where the pump was situated but the mechanism exploded. Charles Garrison suffered massive burns all over his body and died at a local hospital hours later.
The dead man’s family hired an uncompromising high-profile lawyer who immediately sued Richard Jacobs for three million dollars. The plaintiffs easily won the legal case on the grounds that the irrigation pump should have been fenced in so that access to it by the now-deceased Charles Garrison could have been prevented. Richard Jacobs’ insurance covered only half of the exorbitant settlement and to make matters worse, the grower could no longer obtain insurance coverage because of his deteriorating credit and poor financial predicament. The result of the expensive litigation had caused additional friction to surface between the bad-luck farmer and his disconsolate wife.”
A Grave Undertaking: Missing person investigations sends shockwaves through any community that has the misfortune of mysterious disappearances. Intro to the short story. “The Hammonton Police Department and the New Jersey State Police were baffled by a wave of a dozen missing persons disappearing from the somnolent South Jersey agricultural community, a town noted for being “The Blueberry Capital of the World.” Chief-of-Police Michael Falcone had summoned Detective Fred Arico and Patrolman Samuel Galletta to his downstairs office in the newly constructed Hammonton Town Hall on the corner of Central Avenue and Vine Street. The recent “missing persons’ phenomenon” had become a popular topic reported and discussed on Philadelphia and Atlantic City television news broadcasts. Chief Falcone felt personally embarrassed at his department having to solicit outside professional help to engage in solving the complex case currently under investigation.”
The Steel Pier: Tourists still flock to the Atlantic City famous Steel Pier in New Jersey. Intro to the short story. “Atlantic City, New Jersey’s famous Steel Pier was the Queen of Resorts premier showplace for entertainment from its original construction in 1898 (as a Quaker repose) through its heyday during and after World War II, leading up to the fabulous “Golden Years” of rock and roll music. In fact, the unique extension into the Atlantic was a favorite destination for vacationers right through the era of popular variety shows that were prevalent during ‘50s and ‘60s pioneering television programming. The revered structure that jutted out over a quarter mile into the ocean had obtained its classic name from the “steel framework” upon which the Pier had been erected. Over the decades many big-name stars had performed live shows at the landmark building including the legendary John Philip Sousa, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Ed Sullivan, Bing Crosby, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin, Perry Como and comedian Eddie Cantor.”
Live Free or Die: Although the motto of New Hampshire, this story is not there but it is perhaps a story about a soul caught between heaven and hell. Intro to the short story. Frederick Allen Griffith shuffled into Dr. Augustus Pietropaolo’s office at 1237 Paradise Road, Hammonton, New Jersey feeling despondent, sluggish and quite lethargic. Mrs. Elysia Fields, the office receptionist, greeted the new patient and checked his name off her long list. Fred felt a tad insecure in that he was the only person sitting in the large waiting room. The fact that there were no magazines, newspapers or pamphlets on the end tables for him to scrutinize made Griffith feel even more uncomfortable.
“You’re a little early for your scheduled appointment,” Mrs. Fields stated with a forced smile. “Dr. Pietropaolo will be available to analyze your issues shortly. Nobody has problems any more. If I may use the euphemism, everyone who comes here has issues! Anyway, the Dr.’s presently reviewing the records of another eccentric client, or should I say ‘unique patient.’ Now Mr. Griffith,” Mrs. Fields added as she took a glimpse inside Frederick’s confidential folder, “you’re here to discuss your recent four-day bus trip up to New Hampshire, is that correct?”
Ignorance Is Bliss: The statement Ignorance is bliss is far removed from reality. Intro to the short story: “Ever since his wife Eleanor had died of Lou Gehrig’s Disease in March of 2006, James Jefferson Gillespie has been extremely despondent and has gone through the motions of everyday life as a pathetic loner. The twenty-eight-year-old chemist thought that a change of scenery would certainly diminish his great melancholy, so he visited his Hammonton, New Jersey Bellevue Avenue travel agent and booked a two-week autumn vacation to Athens, Greece. James felt that he needed some fresh stimuli to regenerate his sagging spirit. A stay at the luxurious Grande Bretagne Hotel, conveniently situated in central Athens, was sure to alleviate Gillespie’s recent chronic introverted disposition.
‘Eleanor’s been gone for nearly two whole years now,’ James sadly reflected on his tragic loss, ‘so perhaps it’s time for me to meet and date someone new! I haven’t had much luck doing that around Hammonton since everyone’ in town knows me or knows about me at the bowling alley, at the restaurants and at the all-too-false singles’ bars. Yes, October seems like a terrific month to be touring the sights of Athens,’ the self-pitying fellow reckoned. ‘Maybe my two-week hiatus in Greece will miraculously alter my lousy success at romance. And Room 610 at the Grande Bretagne Hotel seems to be a good luck omen. My three best bowling game scores added together equal that number!’”
The Cruisers: Ship Cruises tend to a tantalizing idea until reality sets in. Intro to the short story. “Frederick and Amy Pearl loved to travel internationally, especially enjoying leisurely sea cruises throughout the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. The residents of 227 Tilton Street, Hammonton, New Jersey preferred taking weeklong ocean and sea voyages to partaking of exotic winter vacations flying to tropical destinations. The medical doctor and his nurse wife believed in working hard and playing hard when not preoccupied with their demanding professions or being busy babysitting their four energetic pre-teen grandchildren, Dan, Karly, Sierra and Lindsey. On December 28th, 2008 the Pearls’ oldest son Joseph, a South Jersey insurance and real estate agent, drove the general practitioner and his devoted wife to Philadelphia International Airport.
After checking through Terminal C’s tight airport security without too much inconvenience, Fred and Amy boarded their American Airlines jet bound for sunny San Juan, Puerto Rico, where a seven-day cruise on the luxurious and well-appointed state-of-the-art liner The Winds of Fate had been booked in early May. Six hours later the delighted sea odyssey tourists were sipping delicious pina coladas aboard the ship’s top deck and partaking in the standard gala “bon voyage celebration.”
Ice Ages: Impressionable young minds are the engines that drive our future. Intro to the short story. “In early December of 1975 Jeremy Ingram had been an impressionable seventh grader at the Hammonton Middle School where he was greatly influenced by his effervescent social studies teacher Mr. Charles Galinas. The New Jersey history instructor had mentioned to his usually lethargic fifth period students the amazing story of Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), a German entrepreneur that had become exceptionally wealthy making lucrative business investments in Russia during the Crimean War.
Schliemann had accumulated sufficient expendable wealth to enable the industrious businessman to retire and then energetically pursue his greatest childhood ambition: to prove to the world once and for all that Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey had been actual historical events and not mere myths as had been widely believed throughout the Nineteenth Century civilized world. Soon his scientific archeological expeditions confirmed to cynics that Level VII-a in Asia Minor was “the Troy of Priam” (that he had against all odds) discovered.”
Like Clockwork: A skeptical heart along with a cynical attitude can close the door to the improbable. Intro to the short story. “My spirit has been petrified ever since I had experienced what my senses have perceived as a supernatural phenomenon! My consciousness has never been so paranoid in my entire life as it is right this very minute. After I regain a degree of confidence, I plan to seek professional counseling to help my desperate soul grapple with my current unbearable mental predicament. Let me explain the entire dilemma in detail. I promise to be completely thorough in rendering my accurate description of certain events that seemingly defy scientific explanation.
During my very smooth and comfortable United Airlines cross-country flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles International Airport, my alert mind could not stop thinking about the one-year anniversary of my twin brother Richard Sullivan’s unexpected cardiac arrest death on April 14th, 2008. Richard had been an extremely successful lawyer back in Hammonton, New Jersey and both his devoted wife Karen and myself greatly miss his companionship. Besides my wife Susan, Rich had been my trusted confidante, friend, loyal supporter and expert financial adviser. My only brother’s keen insight into evolving stock market trends was uncanny, and his shrewd decisions about often-speculative investments were accurate at least eighty percent of the times he had shared his terrific Wall Street recommendations with me.”
Chiropractic Dreaming: With the chaos behind, relaxation comes in the form of the invigorating therapeutic aqua-bed. Intro to the short story. “Every calendar year the time period of February to mid-April is very demanding and stressful for middle-aged Harold DeFelice of 763 Fairview Avenue, Hammonton, NJ. The very thorough and efficient Certified Public Accountant had just mailed the last of his clients’ 2008 Federal Income Tax returns at the Third Street Post Office on Wednesday morning, April 15th and now it was time to drive his brand new tuscan red Nissan Maxima to has scheduled appointment at Advanced Chiropractic, 425 White Horse Pike, Atco. Harold preferred patronizing Advanced Chiropractic over its Hammonton counterpart because the Atco office had the latest and most modern professional equipment, so in DeFelice’s sage estimation, the seven-mile west drive on four-lane Route 30 was indeed well-worth the additional time and effort.
‘Most of my five hundred customers really go crazy in the six weeks prior to the April 15th tax deadline,’ Harold thought as he passed a tractor-trailer while ascending the Route 30 Ancora Railroad Bridge. ‘They persistently call me about deduction trivialities and about every complicated minor change in the tax code as it specifically pertains to them. But now I can relax, get my back and hips adjusted and be pampered by some excellent electrical stimulation, be massaged by the very satisfying roller bed experience and of course babied by my favorite chiropractic indulgence, the invigorating therapeutic aqua-bed.’”
Animal Music: Music is all around us and influences in unusual ways. Intro to the short story: “Any fiction writer aptly knows that the absolute ultimate in creativity that the human mind can produce occurs when the dynamic subconscious engages in dreaming and in imagining totally surreal situations during dreadful nightmares. But when ambitious short story and novel authors attempt organizing eccentric tales (that are analogous to capturing fantastic dreams on paper), the writers’ manuscripts almost always fall pathetically short of the authors’ noble aspirations. Unfortunately, most dreams and nightmares are not fully recollected, but if they could be, then there would exist thousands of additional excellent “soul-inspired” works available for readers’ consumption in both World and American literature.”
Ten Options: Is the option worth the outcome? Intro to the short story. “Ever since first grade back in 1949 Ken Keller had aspired to be a Major League pitcher. His father Karl had instilled that unrealistic dream in Ken’s head. In 1973 Ken Keller had effectively passed-on the love of baseball in general and of pitching in particular to his son Kyle, who in turn in 2009 had effectively conveyed the “family infatuation with baseball” to his eleven-year-old son Keith. But the sixty-seven-year-old retired plumber Ken Keller had never told his son Kyle or his grandson Keith why he and his deceased dad Karl had a certain fondness for alliteration using the letter K.
In 1974 Ken Keller inherited his small King Lane Hammonton, New Jersey ranch home a month after his father Karl had passed away. In 1977 Ken’s second wife Katherine had also died, leaving the lonely man feeling very disconsolate. But the melancholy widower always kept his well-fertilized lawn properly maintained and Ken was especially proud of the many splendid ewe, rhododendron, rose and hydrangea bushes nestled around his home that were meticulously kept trimmed and looking healthy all summer long. Just the day before Ken had heard an envious neighbor bending the mailman’s ear, “Keller’s mulch right down to the last black bark chip always appears to be in the exact ideal spot where the little chunk had first been placed. That guy’s too much of a perfectionist to suit me!”
Landscapes and Photographs: One man’s masterpiece is another man’s craft. Intro to the short story. “On Monday morning September 21st, 2009, the last day of summer, George Rodio had been a bit lucky at Harrah’s Casino in Atlantic City. The Hammonton, New Jersey pharmacy owner had just gotten three sevens on a fifty-cent slot machine and had merrily won three thousand dollars cash. After leaving the gambling establishment’s high-rise parking garage, the perfectly contented slot machine player drove his dark blue Lexus south on Brigantine Boulevard heading towards Route 30, the White Horse Pike. The recipient of the ‘found money’ was thinking about how he was going to merrily dispose of his recent ‘good fortune bonanza.’
‘It’s a good thing I honored my hunch and drove to Harrah’s to try my luck,’ the happy fellow thought. ‘I’ll call my dependable manager Bill Dawkins after I get home and see if all my help came in to work this morning. But first I’ll stop at that new art gallery in Absecon that features impressive works by aspiring South Jersey artists,’ George instantly decided. ‘If I see a suitable painting that captures my fancy, I’ll purchase the Picasso and hang it above the upright piano in the den and then I’ll move the ancient collage of the nine family photos’ that’s now over the piano from the den to the upstairs computer room’s blank wall. I think that Barbara will be both surprised and thrilled with the new acquisition, if I ever decide to buy it.’”
The Pinelands Theatre: Theaters will be our time capsules. Intro to the short story. “Originally completed and opened in 1914, Hammonton, New Jersey’s Pinelands Theatre has had a very long and interesting history. At first the structure functioned as an entertainment venue presenting live vaudeville and variety acts to entertain the local public. Twenty years after its pre-WWI inception, out of sheer economic necessity the landmark Pinelands Theatre switched from showing silent films to innovative “talking movies” in 1930, but in later years competition from the much larger and more elegant Rivoli Theater (at the corner of Bellevue Avenue and Third Street) eventually put the town’s first movie house into extinction, forcing the out-of-date building to eventually close its doors in December of 1943, exactly two years after Pearl Harbor.
After the Golden Age of Hollywood had passed into posterity, the vacant Second and Vine edifice, located a block east of Bellevue (the town’s main thoroughfare), later became a residence in 1951, but then the structure was gutted and converted into a merchants’ warehouse in 1957, but in the early 1960s Kennedy-Johnson era, the aged in-need-of-repair skeleton became a convenient storage facility for a Bellevue Avenue department store. Things were looking rather bleak for the once-revered Pinelands Theatre building with the approach of the twenty-first century and its attendant technologies.”
A Second Chance: Youth feel invisible with lack of wisdom and self-control. Intro to the short story. “Ever since I became an acne-faced teenager back in the mid-1950s, I have always loved fast automobiles, especially ones with chrome-plated flat-head engines. When my family had lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania from 1953-‘59, my tough-guy friends and I would often hitchhike to the Langhorne Speedway on Route 1 just above Fairless Hills and pay the dollar grandstand admission we had been diligently saving-up for just to sit in the bleachers and watch exciting motorcycle and stock car races. Then my family moved to Hammonton, New Jersey where my addiction to excessive speed persisted right into my junior and senior high school years.
And when I was old enough to drive my father’s ‘55 green and white Chevy, I did surrender to temptation and drag race it on at least a dozen occasions, nearly smashing-up the old jalopy during four separate dangerous racing situations. Because of obstinate pride during those foolish escapades, I never fully comprehended that I had been recklessly putting my own life and the well-being of others in jeopardy.”
Wolverton Mountain: What the junior sleuths and seasoned pros might have in common. Intro to the short story. “Veteran Agents Salvatore Velardi, Arthur Orsi and Dan Blachford stepped into FBI Inspector Joe Giralo’s office, loftily situated on the eighth floor of 600 Arch Street, Philadelphia. Each of the conscientious trio was wondering exactly what new investigative matter was of such “urgent and strategic importance,” the precise terminology that their reputable Boss had dramatically characterized their very next challenging government assignment. As usual, “the Chief” was sitting behind his enormous Canadian oak desk and his brown eyes were carefully examining the front-page articles of the Philadelphia Inquirer appearing “above the fold”.
I’m glad that you three easily distracted-but-ambitious junior sleuths have gotten here on time for your scheduled noon appointment, and I’m personally delighted that you’re not now eating pizza or hoagies down at the crowded Reading Terminal Food Market,” the Boss gruffly greeted his loyal subordinates. “I’m also happy to note in my latest report to Matt Riley that you three remarkable gumshoes had easily solved the rather preposterous “Treasure Map Caper” that had been annoying various local police departments in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware tri-state area, which had warranted the indispensable services and intervention of the local FBI. Now Men,” Inspector Giralo rambled on, “DC headquarters has acknowledged your crucial participation in swiftly solving that particular regional dilemma.”
Poetic Justice: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn’t it?” Intro to the short story. “Every December 1st, FBI Inspector Joe Giralo proudly invites his three loyal agents Salvatore Velardi, Arthur Orsi and Daniel Blachford over to Orchard Street and into his cozy downtown Hammonton, New Jersey home to admire his extensive train display and accompanying elaborate village, all spectacularly exhibited on an enormous platform that virtually encompassed the man’s entire downstairs “second den.”
“I see that you’ve added several new buildings to complement your intricate Christmas hometown extravaganza,” Agent Velardi noted and expressed. “I don’t remember that dress shop and that yogurt and ice cream parlor on the corner ever being in the village last year. You’ve managed to re-create a miniature scale model of downtown Hammonton! Quite impressive indeed!”
“Thanks for the rather exaggerated kudos Salvatore!” Inspector Giralo genially replied. “Ever since I was a curious toddler, I’ve been infatuated with model trains. This entire project has taken me seven years to complete, and all of the stores and buildings along Bellevue Avenue, Central Avenue, Horton Street along with Second and Third Street I’ve diligently assembled with my own two hands. The tedious labor was done right here on the premises, with all the items being assiduously built down in my workshop basement.”
A Photo Finish: Family secrets divulged. Intro to the short story. “At 8 pm sharp a black 2018 Mercedes luxury S 560 sedan entered the secluded U-shaped asphalt driveway enveloping a well-manicured lawn on East First Road, Hammonton NJ. The recently constructed three-million-dollar brick and stone mansion belonged to local wealthy business mogul James Dante Carlino, who that evening was scheduled to meet with the arriving prestigious South-Jersey Central Bank President, Thomas Monastra. In response to recent phone exchanges, the visiting financial executive and the resident real estate guru were slated to discuss an imminent shopping center development project planned for erection just outside Somers Point, across the bay from scenic Ocean City, New Jersey.
“Hello Mr. Monastra,” James Carlino warmly greeted. “It’s too bad we couldn’t meet at the Blue Heron Country Club yesterday for a round of golf. But Mother Nature isn’t always cooperative with desired business consultations.”
“Very well put!” the bank official aptly answered. “Egg Harbor Township isn’t exactly located in Southern California where it seldom rains in the early summer. Living on the West Coast does have its climate advantages. I must admit Mr. Carlino, it’s quite a beautiful estate you’ve imaginatively built here, neatly tucked into the Jersey pines.”
The Psychic Dimension, Part II (34 sci-fi/paranormal novellas, 567 pages) is one of author Jay Dubya’s 56 published books existing in hardcover, in paperback and in Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook and Smashwords e-book formats. The Psychic Dimension, Part II is the companion book to The Psychic Dimension.
I have had the pleasure of reading The Psychic Dimension Book One and Book Two by Jay Dubya (John Wiessner). I highly recommend this book along with all this author’s books. Author Jay Dubya is a prolific writer with over 59 published works to his credit. He writes short story collections, trilogies, and novels in all the genres. The Psychic Dimension (Part One and Part Two) is a great way to get to know the author’s thought process.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details: Language: English Paperback: 580 Pages Publisher: Bookstand Publishing (June 23, 2014) First Person Short Stories
About The Author: Jay Dubya is author’ John Wiessner’s pen name. John is a retired New Jersey public school English teacher, having diligently taught the subject for thirty-four years. John lives in Hammonton, New Jersey with wife Joanne and the couple has three grown sons.
Counting London: Lashed, Lacerated, Lampooned and Lambasted, along with its companion books Twain: Tattered, Trounced, Tortured and Traumatized, Poe: Pelted, Pounded, Pummeled and Pulverized and O. Henry: Obscenely and Outrageously Obliterated, John has written and published thirty-seven total books. Pieces of Eight, Pieces of Eight, Part II, Pieces of Eight, Part III and Pieces of Eight, Part IV all contain short stories and novellas that feature science fiction and paranormal plots and themes. Nine New Novellas, Nine New Novellas, Part II, Nine New Novellas, Part III, Nine New Novellas, Part IV, One Baker’s Dozen, Two Baker’s Dozen, Snake Eyes and Boxcars and Snake Eyes and Boxcars, Part II are short story collections all written in the spirit of the Pieces of Eight series.
Other Jay Dubya adult-oriented fiction are the works Black Leather and Blue Denim, A ’50s Novel, and its exciting sequel, The Great Teen Fruit War, A 1960′ Novel. Frat Brats, A ’60s Novel completes the action/adventure trilogy. Jay Dubya also has produced two irreverent Biblical satires, The Wholly Book of Genesis and The Wholly Book of Exodus. A third satire Ron Coyote, Man of La Mangia is a parody on Miguel Cervantes’ classic novel, Don Quixote published in 1605. Thirteen Sick Tasteless Classics, TSTC, Part II, TSTC, Part III and TSTC, Part IV are satirical works that each corrupt thirteen classic stories from American and British literature and from Greek mythology. Fractured Frazzled Folk Fables and Fairy Farces and FFFF & FF, Part II satirize and corrupt famous children’s literature stories. Mauled Maimed Mangled Mutilated Mythology is an adult-oriented satirical/parody work that pokes fun at twenty-one famous classical myths. Finally, Shakespeare: Slammed, Smeared, Savaged and Slaughtered and Shakespeare: S, S, S and S. Part II lampoon the famous works of the great playwright.
The author has also penned a young adult fantasy trilogy: Pot of Gold, Enchanta and Space Bugs, Earth Invasion. The Eighteen Story Gingerbread House is a collection of eighteen new children’s stories. And last but not least, two Jay Dubya non-fiction works are So Ya’ Wanna’ Be A Teacher and Random Articles and Manuscripts.
Jay Dubya’s books are available in hardcover and paperback formats at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and Booksamillion.com. Kindle versions are available at Amazon.com. Jay Dubya’s e-books are available at Amazon Kindle and at Barnes and Noble Nook.
Jay Dubya (John Wiessner), author of 56 books, gives a biography of his life.
Born in Hammonton, NJ in 1942, John had attended St. Joseph School up to and including Grade 5. After his family moved from Hammonton to Levittown, Pa in 1954, John attended St. Mark School in Bristol, Pa. for Grade 6, St. Michael the Archangel School for Grades 7 and 8 and Immaculate Conception School, Levittown, Pa. for grade 9. Bishop Egan High School, Levittown Pa was John’s educational base for Grades 10 and 11, and later in 1960 he graduated from Edgewood Regional High, Tansboro, NJ. John then next attended Glassboro State College, where he was an announcer for the school’s baseball games and also read the news and sports over WGLS, GSC’s radio station.
John had been primarily an English teacher in the Hammonton Public School System for 34 years, specializing in the instruction of middle school language arts. Mr. Wiessner was quite active in the Hammonton Education Association, serving in the capacities of Vice-President, building representative and finally, teachers’ head negotiator for 7 years. During his lengthy teaching career, John had been nominated into “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” three times. He also was quite active giving professional workshops at schools around South Jersey on the subjects of creative writing and the use of movie videos to motivate students to organize their classroom theme compositions.
John Wiessner was very active in community service, being a past President of the Hammonton Lions Club, where he also functioned for many years as the club’s Tail-Twister, Vice-President and Liontamer. He had been named Hammonton Lion of the Year in 1979 and in 2009 received the prestigious Melvin Jones Fellow Award, the highest honor a Lion can receive from Lions International.
John also was a successful businessman, starting with being a Philadelphia Bulletin newspaper delivery boy for two years in the late 1950s in Levittown, Pennsylvania. After his family moved back to New Jersey in 1959, John worked at his grandparents and his parents’ farm markets, Square Deal Farm (now Ron’s Gardens in Hammonton) and Pete’s Farm Market in Elm, respectively. He later managed his wife’s parents’ farm market, White Horse Farms (Elm) for three summers.
Also, in a business capacity, for 16 summers starting in 1967 John Wiessner had co-owned Dealers Choice Amusement Arcade on the Ocean City, Maryland boardwalk and also co-owned the New Horizon Tee-Shirt Store for eight summers (1973-’81) on the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware boardwalk. In addition, he was a co-owner of Wheel and Deal Amusement Arcade, Missouri Avenue and Boardwalk, Atlantic City. And then, for 18 summers beginning in 1986, John had been the Field Manager in charge of crew-leaders for Atlantic Blueberry Company (the world’s largest cultivated blueberry company), both the Weymouth and Mays Landing Divisions.
After retiring from teaching in 1999, writing under the pen name Jay Dubya (his initials), John Wiessner became an author of 56 books in the genre Action/Adventure Novels, Sci-Fi/Paranormal Story Collections, Adult Satire, Young Adult Fantasy Novels and Non-Fiction Books. His books exist in hardcover, in paperback and in popular Kindle and Nook e-book formats.
The Viewing is based on a historical event. An ancient relic, kept in a Greek monastery for centuries, is to be transported to Russia for a public event called The Viewing. Popular blogger, Mark Donatello, learns that his twin brother, the resident archivist at the monastery, is part of the entourage heading to Russia. Concerned about his brother, Mark and his girlfriend, Kyler Holden, wade through facts and rumors about the relic, face a startling discovery from the past, and uncover a bizarre plot that may lead to a violent end of The Viewing. The Viewing is a fast-paced story about devious intentions, shady alliances, and how unplanned events sway one’s religious beliefs.
Review by Fran Bradley: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. “The Viewing” will keep you reading!! Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2023. Verified Purchase. “The Viewing” was excellent! Very captivating. Great character development and I loved the history and moving from Italy to Russia. It kept me intrigued and I finished it in 2 days. Can’t wait for the next one from author Glenn Satori!
This anthology of first-job stories is a showcase of experiences that span decades. While some of the entries into the workforce are still relevant today—others are from a bygone era The stories are thoughtful, nostalgic, and sprinkled with humor and may trigger your own memories. At your next social gather4ing, ask the question “What was your first job?” and you’ll find first-job experiences are an important stepping stone to… life!
Retired journalist Jennifer Sturgis never imagined one cold case would change the course of her life. That case—the mysterious disappearance of Crystal Scott—has been unsolved for fifty years.
The main persons of interest were the “Triplets,” three women never charged, but branded guilty by an entire town. Now in their eighties, the triplets, fascinated by Jennifer’s blustery entrance into their calm life, allow her an interview—with one bizarre condition.
Jennifer accepts. Soon she is mesmerized by the old women’s tale. Disturbed by possible connections to her family, she finds herself facing a vengeful gunman. But no matter the risks, she is determined to publish their story.
The Triplets’ Secret is a story of obsession, reinvention, and shocking revelations that compel Jennifer to question everything—even her own identity.
Review by Chris Flesor: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A fun, witty detective story laced with unpredictable twists. Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2019. Verified Purchase. I loved the whole premise of this book. It had that small town feeling where everyone knows more than they should about you, but never really know you at all beyond family lore. The triplets were stuck with those assumptions and yet chose to live in their town with strength and fortitude. They were such rich characters! The plot was strong, took lots of fun twists and surprises, along with the reveal of secrets. It was a fun book, a good mystery, and I hope to see more about the gutsy heroine in her growing career as detective. This is definitely one I recommend!
Review by Paul Slovacek: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Thanks for a Great Story. Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2019. Verified Purchase. A very well written story. Since I’m a Missourian I can relate to some of the places detailed in the telling of the story.
Review by Fran Bradley: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Keeps you Guessing. Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2019. Verified Purchase. Loved this book and it kept me guessing and agreeing with Jennifer and her feelings.
Review by James Rehg: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Sartori delivers another interesting plot. Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019. I love a mystery that keeps you guessing. The Triplets’ have more than one secret so the story has many twists and turns before Jennifer unravels Crystal’s story. A good read. Give it a try.
Private Investigator Jennifer Sturgis has had her share of odd cases. But when she receives a cryptic letter inquiring about the health of her father, she is stunned—her father has been dead for thirty-five years. That letter leads to a mysterious client who hires Jennifer to find her father.
Eager for answers, she soon flounders in a maze of contradictory stories—nothing makes sense. Then an apparently unrelated murder exposes shocking Sturgis family secrets and connections to a shadowy organization. What had Jennifer’s father done? Was her father alive?
Her Father’s Past is a story of lies, personal conflicts, and a painstaking search that leads to a dark-web chatroom—and eventually, the truth.
Review by James Rehg: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Another wonderful plot driven mystery with more twists and turns than a mountain road. Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2021. Once again, Jennifer is involved in a case where the evidence points too close to home. Is her father alive or dead, and if he is living, where is he? The author keeps the tension and suspense redlined until Jennifer answers that question in her classic investigative style. It’s a good quick read scattered with red herrings. Pack it for your next trip to the beach or business flight and enjoy a fun book.
With humor and charm, Glenn looks back on his workplace adventures and prehistoric technologies, with a dawning realization that he might now be a dinosaur!
Come laugh out loud with him and you might find yourself thinking that you may very well be a dinosaur too!
Review by Chris Flesor: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Breezy, fun and witty memoir of working in corporate America. Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2020. Verified Purchase. This is a slim book filed with Catch-22, Office Space style wit. While working as a key player as an electrical engineer during the years of the early space and missile industry, Glenn accumulated a huge amount of funny adventures, memories and insights. You will definitely laugh and relate to Glenn’s career twists and turns whether you are a “dinosaur” or a millennial working in corporate America! Well-written with clever self-editorials and lots of fun references, this memoir was a refreshing break of fun and wit, during the troubling time we currently find ourselves.
Review by Ed Lynch: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Enjoyable Reading. Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2020. Verified Purchase. As a follower of the authors books, Never Knew I was A Dinosaur was very entertaining and humorous. The book held my attention even though the author sometimes thought otherwise. As a fellow Dragon I also enjoyed the authors previous biographical books.
Review by Fran Bradley: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. We are all Dinosaurs… Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2020.Glenn’s books are all funny, clever and right on! I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read. Nostalgia and information that I never knew I needed until now. Read i and enjoy!
South City Mosaic: Life On Alaska by Glenn Sartori.
South City Mosaic Series Book One.
I grew up in the South City on a street called Alaska. The mosaic of my early years is like a collection of tiles in a multicolored mural. The tiles were pieced together by many hands —my loving and stable family, the tightknit neighborhood, my grade school friends, and the compassionate nuns at St. Cecilia’s School. Come back and visit those years with me. Perhaps my grade school adventures will make you smile…and possibly help you recall your own cherished childhood memories.
5 Stars: South City Mosaic: Life On Alaska Will Capture Your Heart and Mind!
Whether you are young or old, South City Mosaic: Life On Alaska will capture your heart and mind as endearing, heartfelt boyhood memories from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade are experienced in and around Glenn’s house and loving family home on 5226 Alaska Ave.
Twenty-two life packed chapters that truly begin on April 10, 1940 when Glenn was born. Read the well-placed words of Glenn’s vivid childhood memories that will take you back in time to the sights, sounds, smells and yes, tastes of a simpler, kinder and gentler life.
There are so many examples that I want to share with you, so choosing this one is difficult, but reflective of the mood and character of the stories. I quote: “In the 1940s and 50s, before electronic games and computers, collecting and trading baseball cards was a boyhood passion everywhere, and my grade school was no exception. The chance of getting a Mays, Mantle or Musial was thrilling, and to get the final card that completed your set of any baseball team, especially the St. Louis Cardinals, was a victory. Cards with pictures and stats of baseball players were the only type available, no hockey or football players. I bought mine at my neighborhood grocery store—a nickel for five cards packaged with a sheet of bubblegum. If I think about it, I can still smell the bubblegum aroma that wafted from the open package. Chomping down on the malleable pink sheet of gum filled my mouth with sugary juices. As vivid as the memory of chewing the gum is, I have no recall of blowing bubbles. Maybe I never acquired that skill set.
On many days after school, my friends and I would trade baseball cards, usually on someone’s front porch. It was always fun and a good way to complete a team. Shouts like “I’ll trade you a Duke Snider for an Alvin Dark. Or I’ll trade you a Yogi Berra for a Gil Hodges” were flying around the group. Sometimes we’d trade two for one, and occasionally three for one if someone really needed a particular player. We’d even coordinate trades between three or four kids. I loved those times. (I had a fine collection but not now. After I’d been gone from home for few years, I discovered that my dad had donated, among other things, the baseball cards to the St. Joseph’s Orphan Home for boys. Maybe they enjoyed them, traded them as I had.)”
Look at the 21 photos from those days and let your taste buds recall one or more of the included recipes that will draw you back in time. If you are young, you will learn valuable information about life for one young boy in the 40’s and 50s. If you are older, the memories written in this book will no doubt trigger some pleasant memories of your childhood.
Compare your childhood with Glenn’s, his first cigarette, first kiss and so many more firsts, which you will not want to miss. Like me you will be forced to wait for Glenn’s promised book two and three in his South City Mosaic Series.
South City Mosaic: Life On Alaska by Glenn Sartori is a childhood memoir worth reading. Read all Author Glenn Sartori’s books found at Amazon.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Review by Martha A. Cheves (VINE VOICE): 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Read the book to see what they were and how much fun they gave us all. Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2016. Verified Purchase. I was born in 1949 making me just a little younger than this author so when I saw that his book contains memories of his childhood, I had to read it. Through these memories he has not only restored my own memories but has also given me a few laughs along the way. If you’re anywhere within this age group, see how many of these items you too remember. If you’re not in this age group, read the book to see what they were and how much fun they gave us all.
Do you remember:
A 4 bladed push mower – no motor!
Two 2 x 2 wooden posts cemented in the ground (if you’re lucky) with a wire strung between them – yep, the clothes line!
Black pieces of coal – no not charcoal like used for BBQ. These went into the furnace, with a fire, and heated your home!
The cards that you sometimes clipped to your bike wheels to make noise – You got it, Baseball Cards that you would give your eye teeth to have now!
Penny candy – sometimes you could even get 2 pieces for a penny – those days are gone forever!
These are just a few of those memories many of us still cherish. There are many more that I had buried and were brought back to me by this author. Just a few are – the scouts, dinner at the table as a family, mom’s home remedies, and a real oldie – the 1st kiss.
As I said, if you aren’t a baby boomer that grew up in these times, you’ll still get a kick out of what your parents and grandparents did when they were kids. To the author I say “Thanks for the Memories.”
Review by Ellen B.: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A lovely memoir engagingly written. Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2016. Verified Purchase. The question, “Where did you go to high school?” is commonly asked in St. Louis; but, “What parish did you live in?” is certainly a close second. Glenn Sartori’s South City Mosaic: Life on Alaska is a charming and engagingly written memoir of his childhood on the city’s South Side, where he attended church and school at St. Cecelia’s Parish.
Glenn details his early years in a modest brick cottage on Alaska Street, introducing us to his family, his childhood friends and his teachers. Delightful vignettes paint life in a simpler time: trading baseball cards on a friend’s front porch; walking to the local theater for a Saturday movie; diagramming sentences under sister’s stern gaze; learning to be an altar boy; and, experiencing a first kiss–or two.
Glenn’s stories stirred wonderful memories for me since I was growing up a little farther south on Grand Avenue in a very similar house, also on a street lined with sycamore trees, but in St. Stephen’s Parish. The boys at St. Cecelia’s were more daring than the girls at St. Stephen’s, however, and I laughed out loud reading Glenn’s retelling of how the boys selected their confirmation names to form slightly sacrilegious acronyms with their initials. GAS (yes, Glenn chose St. Anthony) and ASS were highly rated.
I look forward to Life on South Grand, the second book in Glenn’s trilogy, which will recount his high school years at the all-boys’ St. Mary’s. I’m sure that once again my memory will be jogged. After all, while Glenn was at St. Mary’s, I was just a street-car ride away, attending the all-girls’ high school, St. Elizabeth Academy.
Review by Dori Coe (formerly Doris Singer): 5.0 out of 5 Stars. It was so much fun to reminisce. Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2017. Verified Purchase. Knowing Glenn in the 50s, 60s and 70s, it was so much fun to reminisce. I knew him from teen towns, from St. Mary’s (we were the competition at BISHOP DUBOURG), i knew him through college and when we both married. I always had great respect for him and his family. I was taken back in time. I so enjoyed all three books. I giggled, I cried. You cant read just one book—you have to read them all. Memories, memories, memories. Thanks Glenn.
Review by Ralph & Charleen Sartori: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. What a wonderful era in which to be born with a neighborhood … Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2016. Verified Purchase. Thanks, Glenn, for your book LIFE ON ALASKA. It rekindled fond memories of our childhood. What a wonderful era in which to be born with a neighborhood centered around church and school. A time that cannot be duplicated and will never return. Our generation enjoyed the simple pleasures; freedom to walk for blocks, day or night, without any fear, family picnics, climbing trees, playing bottle caps, singing songs of the 50’s and so much more. This way of life may be lost forever but your book will always keep our wonderful childhood memories alive!
Review by CLIFF J KIRCHMER: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A sensitive, humorous biography of childhood in South St. Louis during the 1940s and early 1950s. Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2017. Verified Purchase. This book is especially recommended for those who are interested in education in Catholic grade schools during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It is a biography of his childhood, with particular focus on his experiences at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Grade School in South St. Louis. His detailed memories of this period lead one to understand how much different childhood and educational experiences are from today. He treats these memories with respect, resulting in an accurate, sensitive, humorous description of his childhood.
Review by Grandma: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. I really enjoyed this book. Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2020. Verified Purchase. This is a great book to read if you grew up in South St Louis. All the memories will come back of your childhood days in the 50’s and 60’s. It is a feel-good book about a wonderful time and place to grow up.
Review by James Rehg: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Take a walk down memory lane with Glenn. I guarantee you will enjoy the trip. Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2015. Verified Purchase. This is a must read if you grew up in the 40s and 50s. Glenn’s memories will take you back to those early years and if you grew up Catholic you will be right there with him in the classroom living in fear of the nuns or insisting to your mom that you had to it because “sister said”. It is amazing that the book touches on so many of the experiences we all had regardless of where we lived. The memories it invokes will make you glad you read the book and lived through those fabulous years.
Review by Marilyn C. Hummel: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Memories. Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2021. Verified Purchase. Easy and enjoyable read.
South City Mosaic: Life On South Grand by Glenn Sartori.
South City Mosaic Series Book Two
It was a short walk, six city-blocks from my life on Alaska to my life on South Grand. The time was the mid-1950s. The high school was St. Mary’s, an all-boys Catholic institution, located on South Grand Avenue.
Besides receiving a good education and forging lifelong friendships, those four years were filled with classroom antics, pep rallies, football games, after-school and summer jobs, and of course, girls. So … find a comfortable spot and come back with me to those high school years and perhaps my adventures will make you smile … and possibly help you recall your own cherished memories.
Review by James Rehg: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Glenn helps the reader relive what many consider the best years of their lives “high school”. Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2016. Verified Purchase. Life on South Grand is Glenn’s second book in his memoir trilogy and no more than a short walk down the block from his first book, Life on Alaska. As in book one, he uses a humorous storytelling style and vivid details to paint clear images that carry the reader back to high school, a special time and place in life. In Life on South Grand he chronicles his life as a student in the mid-1950s at St. Mary’s, a Catholic all boys high school, on South Grand. However, students who attended any private or public high school in those years will find that Glenn’s stories conjure up similar memories as they look back around the corner of their lives at their high school years. He reminisces about classes taken and the instructors who taught them. While some classes and teachers reshaped his life, others were much less memorable. His stories include reflections on working at after school and summer jobs, playing high school sports, attending football pep rallies and games, and making friends that would stand the test of time. In general, Glenn helps the reader relive what many consider the best years of their lives “high school”. He invites the reader to enjoy again the excitement of finding their first steady girlfriend or boyfriend and attending school mixers, dances, and proms. Relive with Glenn the sometimes-painful experience of growing up—a challenging experience that four years of high school foists upon every student. Enjoy a good read—and let Glenn’s adventures make you smile and help you recall your own cherished memories.
Review by Grandma: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A step back in time to your youthful days. Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2020. Verified Purchase. Loved this book about growing up in South St Louis and the catholic schools. great memories for the 1950’s and 1960 age group I will recommend it to all my friends that I keep in contact with. Very enjoyable.
Review by Fran Bradley: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Great Read! Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2016. Verified Purchase. I loved this book! I grew up in St Louis and I could see and feel everything that was happening. Glenn has a way of making a story whimsical and entertaining. I loved knowing what teenage boys were thinking about and it made me reminiscent of that time in my life. I enjoyed the first book. “Life on Alaska” and “Life on South Grand” was just as entertaining. Can’t wait for the third book in this series.
Review by Roger Wildhaber: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Five Stars. Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2016. Verified Purchase. Good read.
South City Mosaic: Life On West Pine (1st Edition) by Glenn Sartori.
South City Mosaic Series Book Three.
This is it…
My final book in the South City Mosaic trilogy—life on the West Pine Campus of St. Louis University—takes a humorous look at my college years. Fraternity parties, intramural sports, and shared experiences built the groundwork for lifelong friendships. And yes, I did attend classes where I experienced bizarre professors and participated in juvenile pranks, and along the way managed to earn an electrical engineering degree.
Review by Carl Ehrlich: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. This book was wonderfully done, specifically for those readers who lived parts … Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2017. Verified Purchase. This book was wonderfully done, specifically for those readers who lived parts of the tale. Glenn completely understands what happened in the South part of St. Louis in the late 50s and early 60s to young people. He then chronicles these stories. South ST. Louis and our stories are gone and civilization as we knew it began its vicious downward spiral not long after those tales were playing out. It was so wonderful to go back and see again what life was like then thanks to “Life on West Pine”.
Review by Chris Flesor: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Icing on the Cake! Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017. This was my favorite of the trilogy, but I thought that about the first one… I enjoyed all three! I’m sad there are no further editions to come, but I guess you only grow up once. This was fun, so well-written, and I felt like I was right there with the “guys!” What talent to recall and research, in such colorful detail, the pathways of youth. What a great legacy for all! Congratulations, Glenn Sartori! Beautiful!
Review by Fran B.: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Love this Author’s writing and style. Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2017. This was the 3rd in a series and I loved everyone. Having grown up in St Louis I could picture and enjoy every memory that Glenn shared. It was funny, heartwarming and authentic!
The announcement of Union Miller’s death arrived with the Saturday mail. That notice pushed Travis Gibbs to return to Riverfield only to discover that his best friend, Union Miller, had been dead for two years.
It was an open and shut murder case—Union had stalked a woman, had killed her, and then had been killed by her husband. However, women had always pursued Union. Why stalk one? Why kill one?
The search for answers propels Travis on a deceit-filled journey that ends in a conclusion he can’t believe, until violence steps into his life.
Review by Chris Flesor: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. An old fashioned-detective story with a contemporary lightness. Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2015. Verified Purchase. Great characters after a little initial confusion with double names! I really loved the detailed descriptions of the characters (I hate when you have to wonder what a character looks like and even, at times, what someone is wearing! I felt connected to the main character, Travis, liked the fast pace of changing locations, backdrop: from small town in Missouri to Honduras. Just when I thought I had a few things figured out about the story, the author threw in more than one plot twist. I think I need to read it again to find those clues! I hope to see Travis in future books. It reminded me of the old-fashioned “film noir detectives,” but with a contemporary lightness. I recommend this book to mystery readers.
Review by Fran Bradley: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Union of Friends-Read it Today! Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2015. Verified Purchase. Great story! So vividly described that I felt like I was right there the whole time feeling everything that Travis was feeling. Friends and small towns all intimately intertwined. I great mystery. I loved it! I couldn’t wait to finish it to see what happened and now I’m waiting for the next novel. Union of Friends: A Riverfield Novel.
Review by Martha A. Cheves (VINE VOICE): 5.0 out of 5 Stars. They were best friends. Yet “Union was murdered two years ago.” Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2017. He felt a contraction in his heart and a cold tingling in his face, and couldn’t utter a word. Two years Travis thought. He lost the power of sight for an instant, but he conquered his emotion by a strong effort of willpower, almost a transport of rage. Why had she waited two years before telling him? He felt numb, lost, and as if he had just awakened from a coma and was being downloaded with events he missed. The words two years rolled through his mind – Union has been dead for two years. He heard her say something about coffee, and he followed her into the house, his mind returning to reality.
Union Miller and Travis Gibbs had grown up together. They were best friends. Yet, he had been dead for two years and Travis never knew until he received a letter from Union’s mother stating ‘My Union was murdered. Please come. He didn’t do it.’ So, he went to Riverfield to find out who killed Union and why.
According to the police Union killed Patti and Patti’s husband killed Union. But why? This simply wasn’t the Union Travis had known the better part of his life. And because of this, he was determined to find out what really happened. With the help of an old schoolmate Travis started his investigation through which the name Global Friends kept popping up. Could there be a connection? Could Union have found information regarding this company that needed to remain hidden?
Union of Friends is one book that kept me in the dark until the end. I never knew where it would lead me next nor which character could really be trusted. Author Glenn Sartori let nothing slip which kept me turning pages as I tried to decide how everyone connected. I’m now looking forward to the next book in this series.
Review by Mayhem: Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2016. Travis Gibbs, a court reporter in Kansas City returned to his hometown of Riverfield, Missouri to try and prove his best friend’s innocence. Union Miller was dead. shot and killed by Matt Martin after Union allegedly killed Matt’s wife Patti. Sounds like an open and shut case, right? When Travis began poking around, Ally Richards, one of Union’s old girlfriends joins him in the investigation. As the plot thickens, questions are raised and Sartori introduces sidebars that will have you asking yourself: What is really going on here? If you like mayhem. madness and murder, you’re going to love this book and guess what? There is a real surprise on the last page.
Review by Carl A Wattenberg, Jr.: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Midwest Murder Mystery with Global Human Consequences. Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2015. A double murder mystery in the St Louis area building to a thriller climax in Honduras centering on the timely topic of human trafficking and new internet technology, “Union of Friends” maintains an engrossing story line, with wonderful comparative descriptions for which Sartori is known. I recommend it highly. After Sartori’s first thriller “Epiphany”, now this, eagerly looking forward to his next.
Tragedy, murder, and conspiracy push three Riverfield residents down unfamiliar paths…
…. a psychologist who takes on an unethical mission; the wife of a detective who inserts herself in a murder investigation; and a former cabaret hostess who risks everything in order to discover her lover’s killer.
Mayhem abounds as Union Miller unwittingly becomes the link between the three—whose actions result in unexpected consequences that change the fiber of Riverfield forever.
5 Stars: Finally, Here!
Riverfield Novel Book Two is finally here and titled Consequences of Falling.
Bradley and Elizabeth survived a whirlwind romance, elopement and great sex, for two people who are as different as day and night and then their daughter Jessica was born.
Tragedy unfolds and life changes direction for Elizabeth. I Quote:
“As the clouds rolled across the sky obscuring the last bit of the evening light, Elizabeth kept watching the lake from her apartment’s deck. She thought of herself as a woman always watching something in motion, which was shifting and changing. She wasn’t in motion, or was she? It made her light-headed to think of this. She yearned for her mind to be clear like the water, to be clear of that day in court. And the occasional woodpecker’s remote tapping and the air rending silence that followed it were only sounds registered in her head. They were meaningless, but that day in court was not.
It seemed her thoughts were determined to wander along that shadowy path, where court arguments laid like exposed roots across the forest floor. It was the day that her life totally fell apart, the day she lost her daughter. It had happened last month.”
How could things go so wrong?
It is October 1989 and Elizabeth Trent finds herself running from her past and the only answer might be revenge. A new counseling job in Riverfield, Missouri at the CYA clinic might be a good start. Would returning to the place of her childhood be the answer or would there be old ghosts?
Falling into the routines that a small town has to offer; Elizabeth immerses herself into her clients and secretly hopes she will bump into an old heart throb Union Miller. The mundane has a way of becoming short lived when secrets threaten to break free.
Murder and mayhem begin on Monday May 7, 1990. Can Elizabeth live with the consequences of her actions? Join the investigation as “The morning fog was as thick and wet as breath on a mirror, dimming the heat lightning in the air. Yellow bolts the color of a cat’s eye forked out above the police station. Inside an oppressive mood had settled over the building. Everyone was feeling frustrated. They needed some sort of concrete lead in order to move.”
Romance, tragedy, abduction, murder and conspiracy engage this well-developed cast of characters that include detective John Turner, Mike Ryan, Anne Turner, Kimberly Young, Peter Benton, Randy Bennett, Connelly Dunnerman, and Seiko Dunnerman. The events that unfold will change Riverfield’s small town forever, for now fear grips the community.
I love this fast-paced novel with lots of suspense and mystery. Author Glenn Sartori uses real life stories as inspiration for this novel. He includes an excerpt from his next Riverfield Novel titled ‘Reflections Of Triplets’.
I invite you to read Consequences of Falling (Riverfield Novel Book Two) by Glenn Sartori. I reviewed this book from a Kindle format. I suggest you also read book one in the series titled Union Of Friends. Author Glenn Sartori has also published South City Mosaic: Life On Alaska which I have also enjoyed as book one in his South City Mosaic Series and his stand-alone book titled Epiphany.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Review by James Rehg: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A chance to visit Riverfield again—don’t miss it. Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2017. Verified Purchase. Riverfield novel book two gives yet another look into the lives and characters in this small Mississippi River town. Union Miller, a featured character in book one, has a lesser but important role in the solution of several murders while new protagonist emerges as detectives in Sartori’s current book. Sartori continues to deliver vivid descriptions of people, places, and events while his character change and grow.
The novel is divided into three parts. Part, one has extensive backstory for several families suffering tragic events and introduces characters with a need to find answers to murders and apparent suicides. Be sure you get to the second and the third parts where the pace increases and the solution to several murders unfolds.
Book two is a good mystery and equally good read. I like to discover great sentences in the stories I read, and Sartori did not disappoint me. I found and marked numerous ones throughout the mystery. I recommend it.
Review by Fran Bradley: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Excellent mystery! Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2016. Verified Purchase. I wasn’t sure I wanted to finish this book after the first chapter which sounded so dark but it kept my interest and surprised me several times that I had to finish it before I went to sleep. The different plots and happening kept me going. Character development was excellent and I felt like I knew these people and Riverfield. A good mystery that will keep you guessing. Well done!
Review by Richard Lang: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Mystery. Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2016. After a bitter divorce in Dayton, Ohio, Kimberly Young, aka Elizabeth Trent, returned to her hometown, Riverfield, Missouri. She signed on at the CYA Clinic to work as a psychologist and counseled Grace Benton. When Grace was abducted and found dead, her father, Peter Benton accused Kimberly of being involved and attacked her. She died shortly after the incident in a fiery car crash, then Peter was found by his boss, Ito, with his throat slashed in his home. Peter’s co-worker at Shikata, Connelly Dunnerman was found by Ito in his office with an apparent heart attack. Were the deaths related? Was there a conspiracy at work? Sartori does a masterful job of keeping the truth from the reader until the very end.
Review by Carl A Wattenberg, Jr.: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Another Superb Mystery from Glenn Sartori. Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2017. Glenn Sartori has written another absorbing murder mystery in Riverfield, with local foreign technology intrigue, tragic manipulation of a Japanese enchantress, and a kidnapping gone awry, in 1990. As with his prior two novels, I heartily recommend Sartori’s third mystery novel, the second of Riverfield.
In medieval Russia, a battlefield historian is commissioned to transport treasures from invasion-torn south to a haven in the north. Centuries later, four events occur simultaneously.
Grace Sawyer, on her summer sabbatical at the Rosanov Art Institute in Yaroslavl, stumbles upon a black stone from a medieval Russian treasure. Richard Simon, an art historian in New York, is solicited by a friend in the CIA to journey to Yaroslavl on a cryptic quest.
In Kiev, the brother of the president of the Ukraine is assassinated, and a group of men plan to violently end the Epiphany—the historic meeting between the Pope and the Patriarch of Russia.
Within a week, these events will mesh in a violent climax that echoes in the halls of the Rosanov Art Institute.
Review by #1 Librarian: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. #1 Librarian Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2014.Verified Purchase. First-time novelist Glenn Sartori presents a story of intrigue that begins in Medieval Russia and then takes its readers to the present day where the world is awaiting an historic event – the joining of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church — the “Epiphany.” Reminiscent of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon, an art historian named Richard Simon finds himself in Russia where he unwittingly uncovers a secret plot to assassinate the leaders of the two churches. Soon Richard and art teacher Grace Sawyer are thrown together to foil the assassination plot. A series of murders, close escapes, and secret encounters keep readers guessing and eagerly turning the pages of this exciting story.
Review by Edward Farber: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Excellent Read. Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2015. Verified Purchase. It’s a winner (as the late Jack Buck, famous St. Louis Baseball Cardinals’ announcer, used to say) for St. Louis author Glenn Sartori’s novel, Epiphany. This mystery novel blends religion, Russian history, and the art world into a fast-paced read that will grab you at the Prologue and keep you enthralled until the very last page. In between, you’ll follow Rick Simon and Grace Sawyer as they become enmeshed in murder and intrigue–even a romance that blossoms amid all the action. To continue the baseball analogy, Sartori has hit a homer in his first novel. I’m looking forward to his next.
Review by James Rehg: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A story that works. Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2014. Verified Purchase. A good story told by a good story teller. The plot held together to the end and had enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. The only negative was it suffered the same problems as the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, many characters, places, and streets and all with difficult names to remember. But that is not bad company to be associated with and is the case with many books placed in Eastern European and the Scandinavian countries. It was a most enjoyable read and a great first book. If you like mysteries, put this on our list.
Amazon Customer: 5.0 out of 5 Stars … and Patriarch together for the first time since the Great Schism of 1054. Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2016. Verified Purchase. Prophetic in bringing the Pope and Patriarch together for the first time since the Great Schism of 1054. A good plot that kept me reading one more chapter before putting it down. Characters come across as real. Having grandparents who came from Russia and Kiev I enjoyed the challenge of the culture.
Review by Carl A Wattenberg, Jr.: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Great Russian religion and historical icons adventure. Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2014. Verified Purchase. Plot was excellent and intriguing. It was not predictable, and people and places well described. History, geography, religion, and politics all woven into an exciting adventure. I have read it twice and it just got better. I recommend this story of Russian religious scheming and historical icons to everyone.
Review by Kathy Floyd: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Thrilling to the very end. Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2015. Verified Purchase. Very entertaining. With this mystery of the artifacts, the upcoming Epiphany, and murders everywhere, it’s hard to keep up with all the priests.
Review by Arlene A Sartori: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Five Stars. Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2014. Verified Purchase. Very enjoyable reading!!!!
About The Author: Glenn Sartori is a lifelong resident of St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from St. Louis University with BS and MS in Electrical Engineering. In 1997 he married Rosanne and enjoy condo living in St. Louis County. They have two sons Michael and Jeffrey, both grown, live in different cities and have a family of their own.
Glenn worked in electronic design and engineering management at McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing, and traveled to many countries, his favorite was Japan. He retired in 2002, which is the same year Rosanne retired from teaching in the St. Charles School District.
In late 2002, Glenn started his second career as an author of text books. Along with his college friend, they have co-authored four engineering text books for Pearson Education Publishing Company. Glenn successfully transitioned to writing mystery novels and most recently published the first book of his memoir trilogy.
Australian Epic Fantasy Romance Author Bernadette Rowley.
Princess Avenger by Bernadette Rowley.
An Epic Fantasy Romance Novel.
Queenmakers Saga Series Book One.
AN AVENGING PRINCESS Alecia is determined to protect her people from her tyrannical father. Her only worth is to have a son, who will be heir to the kingdom. A DANGEROUS SHIFTERVard is tasked with guarding a princess who refuses to be shielded from danger. His dark secret could spell the end of the woman he’s sworn to protect. And yet, when thrown together, neither of them can deny the forbidden attraction. As their lives spin out of control, will love be enough to pull them from the vortex and perhaps save the kingdom?
Princess Avenger is the first book in the epic Queenmakers Saga, combining the sweeping high fantasy world of Thorius with sizzling romance. If you like magic, political intrigue and mythical creatures, wrapped up in a ‘beauty and the beast’ love story, then you’ll adore Princess Avenger.
***This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers. ***
Review: Recipe for a captivating fantasy novel – fast-paced adventure, romance, a strong hero and an equally strong heroine, wrapped in a fine layer of magic. It is an easy read, with a lot of great imagery and well-turned phrases sprinkled throughout, that paint the perfect moment along the storyline. Hooked from the first page I eagerly devoured this book! Both the Princess and her guard have their share of secrets that come crashing together in a glorious story. From the first paragraph, Bernadette Rowley’s Princess Avenger grabs you and will not let you go! I stayed up all night reading. Rowley’s fantasy world-building is exciting and engaging, and her characters are strong and relatable. What a find! From the moment I started reading I was captivated. Couldn’t put it down. Look forward to reading more from this author.
Product Details: Paperback: 204 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (November 10, 2019) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
THE PERFECT PLAN With her people on the brink of starvation, Lady Benae Branasar devises a daring rescue. She will marry powerful Prince Jiseve of Brightcastle and use his fortune to save her estates. But first she must compete against three princesses equally determined to win his hand. A DANGEROUS DISTRACTION When she finds herself drawn to her reluctant escort, the prince’s squire Ramón Zorba, her plans begin to unravel.
Ramón is dealing with problems of his own, but as he thaws, Benae glimpses the devastating man beneath. The more time they spend together, the harder Benae finds it to focus on her objective. Will she stay true to her people? Or will love and fate intervene?
The Lady’s Choice is the second book in the epic Queenmakers Saga, blending the sweeping high fantasy world of Thorius with sizzling romance. If you like magic, court intrigue and mythical creatures, wrapped up in a “marriage of convenience gone wrong” romance, you’ll love The Lady’s Choice.
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
Review: This is one intense, electrifying tale that captures your attention from start to finish. The characters are authentic, impressive and realistic with such depth and personality its easy to relate. The scenes are written with such realism, there’s no trouble interpreting each scenario as they play off one another perfectly. Royal intrigue, combined with vying for the king’s hand in marriage almost reminiscent of episodes of “The Bachelor” on TV, and a lot of sexual tension make this book different from the first one in the series. And what about Ramon and his unrequited love for Princes Alecia. You’ll just have to read the book and discover for yourselves, because I’m not telling.
Review: This is one intense, electrifying tale that captures your attention from start to finish. The characters are authentic, impressive and realistic with such depth and personality its easy to relate. The scenes are written with such realism, there’s no trouble interpreting each scenario as they play off one another perfectly. Royal intrigue, combined with vying for the king’s hand in marriage almost reminiscent of episodes of “The Bachelor” on TV, and a lot of sexual tension make this book different from the first one in the series. And what about Ramon and his unrequited love for Princes Alecia. You’ll just have to read the book and discover for yourselves, because I’m not telling.
Product Details: Paperback: 242 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (November 21, 2019) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
A PRINCESS OF THE PEOPLE IN SELF-IMPOSED EXILE Nothing could prepare Alecia for what she faces as she leaves all she has known behind and embraces a future with her rescuer. A TORMENTED SHAPESHIFTER, DESPERATE TO DEFEND THE WOMAN HE LOVES Vard Anton fights both external forces and the least controllable of his forms – the bear.
The lovers travel to a lost city, hoping a sorcerer there may help Vard master his transformations. They soon discover this mentor has his own devious agenda. Will Vard and Alecia escape? Can their love survive Alecia’s fear of Vard’s animal forms? What secret does the princess hold with the power to destroy Vard’s trust? The answers to all this and more are contained in the pages of Princess in Exile, the dark sequel to Princess Avenger.
Princess in Exile is the third book in the epic Queenmakers Saga, combining the sweeping high fantasy world of Thorius with sizzling romance. If you like magic, political intrigue and mythical creatures, wrapped up in a ‘beauty and the beast’ love story, then you’ll adore Princess in Exile.
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
Reviews: “All the drama, angst, danger and suspense make for one thrilling experience.” “This was a riveting story. The author’s characterization and the plot drew me through the book. Great follow-up to the first story in the series.” “Ah! The tension grows in this fast-paced sequel to The Princess Avenger. Princess in Exile is fast, tight, and full of action and drama. It kept me turning pages until the end in a short period of time.” “This is A Must Read. I loved it. If you like magic and shifters, and battles you will love this.”
Product Details: Paperback: 182 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (January 6, 2020) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
A DESPERATE MERMAID, determined to flee her people and create a new life. Merielle has rejected her family and gambled her future on inducing a human man to fall in love with her.AN EXILED SEA CAPTAIN, sworn to avenge a devastating loss. Nikolas blames the monstrous sea nymphs for his brother’s disappearance but when he finds an injured mermaid on his beach, he agrees to help her.
Despite his hate for the mer people, Nik is increasingly drawn to Meri, who slowly works her way into his damaged heart. Will Nik break the laws of land and sea to be with Meri or will the devastating secret she holds crush their tumultuous relationship.
The Lord and the Mermaid is the fourth book in the epic Queenmakers Saga, combining the sweeping high fantasy world of Thorius with sizzling romance. If you like magic, political intrigue and mythical creatures, wrapped up in a dark and sexy retelling of The Little Mermaid, then you’ll adore The Lord and the Mermaid.
***This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.***
PRAISE FOR THE LORD AND THE MERMAID
***** This series gets better and better with each book. The fourth book brings even more of the kingdom to light. Plus, we get to see more of previous characters we’ve been introduced to. I love tales of mermaids and this one had such a deep story behind the love formed between Meri and Nik. Nik’s past is dark and so filled with pain. I can’t wait to see more of this couple as the series continues.
***** Retelling of The Little Mermaid is better than the original and Disney!
Reviews-PRAISE FOR THE LORD AND THE MERMAID:
5 Stars. This series gets better and better with each book. The fourth book brings even more of the kingdom to light. Plus, we get to see more of previous characters we’ve been introduced to. I love tales of mermaids and this one had such a deep story behind the love formed between Meri and Nik. Nik’s past is dark and so filled with pain. I can’t wait to see more of this couple as the series continues.
5 Stars. Retelling of The Little Mermaid is better than the original and Disney!
Product Details: Paperback: 250 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (February 13, 2020) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
AN ALLURING HEALER Lady Alique Zorba is as beautiful as she is impulsive, and she’s determined to rescue her family and kingdom from the dark elven menace. A PRAGMATIC GENERAL Kain Jazara has no idea of the explosive revelations hanging over his head, as he tackles the latest incursion of the dark elves into Thorius. But must he be lumbered with highborn healer, Alique when she’ll only get in his way?
When the two volunteer to become hostages so the innocent can be freed, little do they know they’re about to embark on the first of many missions together; assignments where neither can guarantee the other’s safety. As they discover an undeniable passion, will revelations from Kain’s past destroy Thorius, his relationships and any chance of happiness?
The Elf King’s Lady is the fifth book in the epic Queenmakers Saga, combining the sweeping high fantasy world of Thorius with sizzling romance. If you like magic, political intrigue and mythical creatures, wrapped up in an inter-racial love story, then you’ll adore The Elf King’s Lady.
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
5 Star Reviews on Amazon: I wasn’t a big fan of Lady Alique Zorba in previous books, but in The Elf King’s Lady, you really get to know her. I was a fan of what I found. Factor in the gruff General Jazara, and tempers ignite. This might be one of my favorite books in the series thus far. An enjoyable read for sure!
Another great story line with endearing characters to love. Just a fun series to read and enjoy. Definitely recommend.
This series just gets better and better with each book. This book was action packed and the plot moved quickly and easily throughout.
Product Details: Paperback: 250 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (April 25, 2020) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
Two unlikely lovers… the ocean their playground… saved by desire.
AN IMPOVERISHED NOBLEWOMAN. Lady Esta Aranati will do anything to ensure the safety of her estate and its people, even to smuggling on the high seas. She leads a double life, a mask and wig the only shields that protect her reputation. A DARING PIRATE. Samael Delacost roams the ocean, living off the hard work of others, ignoring the voice that whispers ‘you don’t belong’. Until one night, Sam boards Esta’s ship and discovers she’s no easy prey.
Thrown together by a treasure hunt, the unlikely partners strike sparks off each other. Against her better judgment, Esta tries to help Sam find his mother, but what she discovers will change their lives forever. Can Sam and Esta find their way through danger, political intrigue and societal rules to forge a life together? Or will their differences and their pasts dictate the future?
A swashbuckling fantasy romance, begun on the high seas but sealed in the King’s Court
The Lady and the Pirate is the sixth book in the epic Queenmakers Saga, combining the sweeping high fantasy world of Thorius with sizzling romance. If you like magic, political intrigue and sexy pirates, wrapped up in an adventure on the high seas, then you’ll adore The Lady and the Pirate.
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
5 Stars: Unlikely Lovers, Saved by Desire!
Amazing story telling by Bernadette Rowley brings the reader into Lady Esta Aranati’s double life.
I think you will benefit from the meaning of these two terms upfront. Lenweri (the elven people, they have dark skin, pointed ears and are tall and elegant) and Sis Lenweri (the faction of dark elves that wishes to take over the kingdom of Thorius).
Chapter one opens with some suspense aboard the ‘Sea Sprite’ when captain, Lady Esta Aranti’s first mate wakes her up from deep sleep to inform her they have a visitor on board. I quote: “Esta drew a deep and heavy sigh, her heart kicking up a notch as she contemplated who the visitor might be. On a ship mile out to sea at night, there were few possibilities and none of them good.”
In chapter three the mood shifts and I quote:
…Esta moved to the bow and stood with the wind in her face, the black strands of her wig streaming behind her. It was chill but not wet and she reveled in the dance of her ship over the waves. Sea Sprite was one of the joys of her life and sailing one of her great loves. When she was on the ocean, she was free of earthly ties and a little of its wildness seeped into her, giving her strength for the trials of estate life. Lately, she had found it almost impossible to return to the estate without a nagging sense of dread.
…You seem almost happy tonight, sister,” Katrine said, joining her in the bow. Katrine was wildness personified, with a lithe body and long black hair that she rarely tied back. Not for her the wig as she had less need for a full disguise, shunning public life as she did. She wore leather breeches, flowing black shirts and a broad black satin mask decorated with stars. Her piercing blue eyes were now fixed on Esta.
…I am happy, Katrine,” Esta said. “What makes you think I am ever unhappy?
I invite you to join Katrine and Esta as they sail the sea with visions of finding treasure on their minds.
I hope the quotes above whet your appetite for strong female characters, rugged men, pirates, treasure maps, adventure, sword and sorcery and of course romance. All eight books in the Queenmakers series stands-alone, so jump right into the fantasy world of Author Bernadette Rowley.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details: Paperback: 222 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (June 29, 2020) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
The Master and The Sorceress by Bernadette Rowley.
An Epic Fantasy Romance Novel.
Queenmakers Saga Series Book Seven.
A DESPERATE SORCERESS
Katrine Aranati no longer knows how to deal with the woman she has become. She runs headlong into a man whose heart’s desire is order and control.
A MASTER JEWELER
James Tomel is outwardly a pillar of society, but he hides more than one secret. His life plan has no room for a dangerous liaison with a reckless stranger.
When they are thrown together on a trip to Brightcastle, fierce creatures from legend pursue them, but even more perilous are the feelings swirling between them. As their hearts and bodies come together, one will flee while the other demands an accounting.
The Master and the Sorceress is the seventh book in the epic Queenmakers Saga, combining the sweeping high fantasy world of Thorius with sizzling romance. If you like magic, danger and mythical creatures, wrapped up in an ‘opposites attract’ love story, you’ll adore The Master and the Sorceress.
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
Product Details: Paperback: 196 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (November 8, 2020) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Global Library: Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
AN ELVEN PRINCESS Caught up in a vicious civil war, Gwaethe Arenil is desperate to save her peace-loving faction and reunite her people. A HUMAN COMMANDER Dashing army captain Jacques Vorasava has fought on the same side as Gwaethe in the past, but will he help her this time? And will his support come with more dangers than Gwaethe can accept, both for her people and her heart?
As the threat from the enemy elven faction forces them to work together, conflicts between their cultures push them apart. In a land of polarized opinion and intolerance, can Jacques and Gwaethe forge a new reality where their love can be accepted?
This story continues themes and characters from The Elf King’s Lady, book 5 in the Queenmakers Saga.
Elf Princess Warrior is the eighth book in the epic Queenmakers Saga, combining the sweeping high fantasy world of Thorius with sizzling romance. If you like magic, political intrigue and mythical creatures, wrapped up in an inter-racial love story, then you’ll adore Elf Princess Warrior.
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
Product Details: Paperback: 254 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (November 4, 2020) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal
A princess determined to be queen. A secret shifter favored by the king. Can they find their way back to love?
Alecia Zialni has returned from exile, resolved to fulfill her mission to be queen of Thorius. But the headstrong princess is now a mother and no longer has a respected place in Brightcastle.
Vard Anton has gained control of his bear, but will it be too late to convince Alecia to take him back? Now the King’s Blade, he has the power Alecia craves.
As they reconnect and discover the depth of their love is unchanged, Alecia’s political aspirations drive a wedge between them.
Can Alecia fight deceit and tradition to become the next queen of Thorius? And will Vard’s new status spell the end of their chance at love?
The People’s Princess is the thrilling ninth book in the Queenmakers Saga epic fantasy romance series. If you like strong heroines, sexy shifters, forbidden passion and political intrigue then you’ll adore Bernadette Rowley’s enchanting adventure. Buy The People’s Princess to fight for love today!
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
Review by NIC: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Alecia is back and making her move…
Oh to be back in this world again.
I have loved this series from book one and with each new book and couple and this book brings everyone back into one as the coming war looms nearer and nearer.
So many familiar faces and some events from previous books tie back in but from Alecia’s pov.
Alecia is a young woman who is consumed by grief and rage struggling through a sense of betrayal from her father. Alecia is finding her strength and taking action to ensure her own future and the direction it’s going to take. She’s assembling her inner circle and making her own alliances.
Her and Vard are still smoldering and explosive together. But now they are on the opposite sides. Vard is loyal and the right hand of the king. Alecia is questioning said king and her actions may be seen as traitorous.
I am eagerly awaiting the next book and for more of the ‘tension’. Plus I can’t wait to see where everyone ends up and what secrets come to light.
Review by Inghild Økland: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Captivating! This was a captivating fantasy, full of mystery and wonder to keep turning the pages.
The setting, the court and the dead king, not knowing who could be trusted and how to prevail, was really interesting and exciting.
What hit me most perhaps was Alecia’s strong love for babies, not only her daughter, but also the brother she should ‘hate’. Her mother mentality and protective instinct was very strong, and I felt that I could relate to this.
I loved the book, and I think many will enjoy following Alecia and Vard to see their paths unfold.
Review by Rachel C.: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. I’ve missed them! I can’t say how excited I am to be back in this world with Alecia and Vard, as well as some familiar faces from the past! I know this gem took Bernadette longer than originally planned, but I can say with absolute certainty that it was worth the wait!
We pick up with Vard and Alecia separated, and Alecia returning home after having been gone for quite some time…and with a baby in tow, to boot! *gasp*
I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say, that just like with all the previous books in this series, the world-building, imagery, and characters are everything I have grown to expect from Bernadette. I found myself quickly re-immersed in this world, as if no time had passed. Characters that I have grown to love and root for are present *waves to Alecia, Vard, Meri, and Nikolas, etc.*, and like a welcome home, as well as some that I kind of want to punch…multiple times…in the face. We also make some new friends that I couldn’t help but love. My emotions were also all over the place, with some cheesy grins, yells, swoons, and cusses. I want the best for these characters because this author has made me care in a way that only the best can!
I’m not sure I’m doing this book justice, but I can say I highly recommend this, as well as the rest of the series! I recommend starting with Princess Avenger to understand the full complexities of the story! You won’t regret it!
Review by NB: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Fantastic story! The story starts with a bang and leaves you on the tip of your toes till the very end. Intrigue, adventure, shifters, elves, princesses, princes, witches, and more. Couldn’t put it down and stayed up way too late to finish it.
Review by READS A LOT: 4.0 out of 5 Stars. Elves, Shifters and Romance! Intense. Exciting. Page-turning. My first time reading this author so I will be checking out the series.
Product Details: Print Length: 341 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy; 1st Edition (February 17, 2022) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
A princess whose mission is to be queen. A secret shifter, at the right hand of the king. Will their love be enough to bind them?
As Alecia Zialni pulls her people together, she fears she doesn’t have the skills or the support to accomplish her ultimate goal.
Vard Anton is now the king’s most trusted advisor, but his secrets could topple him, and his sudden rise has delivered powerful enemies.
Yearning for Vard’s support in her political aspirations, Alecia is crushed when he offers her marriage instead.
As the enemy elven forces move on Thorius and its allies, will Alecia accept Vard’s proposal or forge ahead with her plans? And can Vard save the king and Thorius from the elven menace before his secrets are exposed?
The King’s Blade is the exciting tenth book in the Queenmakers saga epic fantasy romance series. If you like strong heroines, forbidden passion, political intrigue and mythical creatures, you’ll love Bernadette Rowley’s captivating adventure.
Buy The King’s Blade to fight for justice today!
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
Review by NIC: 5.0 out of 5 stars Bring on book 11!Omg I can’t wait for more! This book picked up literally right from where book 9 left off and kept on going. Alecia is starting to develop into the Queen she wants to be. I loved getting all the previous characters pov’s again and seeing the series continue moving towards the ultimate clash with the Sis Lenweri. A m/f romantic fantasy with multiple couples, court mechanics, battles, reunions and some steam.
Review by Tony: 5.0 out of 5 stars FASCINATING STORY.I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Full of action, suspense, intrigue, and action. What a surprising ending. I highly recommend this story.
Review by ScramblerRich: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Rollercoaster of passion, politics and intrigue! Don’t miss it! Reading Rowley’s Queenmakers Saga is like riding a rollercoaster with thrilling peaks and valleys of romance, intrigue and action and once I started it I found it hard to put down!
In her 10th installment in the series, “The King’s Blade”, Princess Alecia continues to push ever forward on her determination to become the first ruling Queen of Thorius in several centuries. Her lover Vard, who is the king’s blade wants her as his wife but that would derail her plans to become queen.
On top of that, the hostile Sis Lenweri elven faction have resurrected and enlisted a powerful and dangerous ally thought to have disappeared hundreds of years ago. With these allies, they have started to attack the various city strongholds held by the humans and the other elven group allied with them.
And on top of that, King Beniel is gravely ill! And he has made up his mind against having Princess Alecia take up his scepter to rule as Queen when he passes.
All the main characters developed in the previous nine books are on board and working together to resist the Sis Lenweri. But by no means are they doing so because they like each other. Far from it!
These unforgettable characters are continuously forced to confront their firmly held beliefs, political intrigues, fierce battles, ethical dilemmas, unquenchable desires, and love’s vagaries.
I’m smitten with this series and can’t wait to see it reach its conclusion. And even though this is the 10th volume, there is a thorough “previously in the Queensmaker Saga” summary section which brings you up to date on all the past events and characters so you can read it as a stand-alone novel. Don’t miss it!
Review by Shivani McK: 5.0 out of 5 stars Alecia Positioning for the Crown and there is Vard. Bernadette Rowley’s Book 10 of the Queenmakers Saga comes to grips with Alecia and Vard’s relation and the tension between her drive to become queen and rightful heir for her kingdom and people and Vard’s career as King’s Blade. The balance of family, career and relationships has always been a dilemma throughout time, sometimes at a cost with the balance being a delicate one. Alecia, her team and advisor, yes, and the guardians all show strength, courage and direction at Brightcastle while preparing for the elven attack. While Vard along with the King Beniel and his generals are engaged on the battlefield with the elves. The details of the battle scenes are exciting, full of description, and the urgency can be felt on all fronts. The sudden turn of events at every corner of the kingdom never stops and neither do the secrets, surprises, drama, and intrigue.
Review by Deb Barringer: 5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing adventure that should not be missed!The King’s Blade, book 10 in Bernadette Rowley’s Queenmakers Saga, is an epic adventure that does not disappoint. The long-awaited battle has finally arrived. Pushed to the point of breaking, and fighting against an unimaginable enemy, will the kingdom prevail or will it fall? The storyline is fast-paced and very well written, filled with danger, intrigue, subterfuge, politics, adventure and romance. This tale will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. The characters are well developed and engaging. I felt as if I was battling right along with the soldiers as they diligently fought. Alicia continues to aspire to be queen. With the kings health deteriorating, will she get her wish? Overall, this is a great addition to a wonderful series that should not be missed!
Review by Kelly Pfister: 5.0 out of 5 stars The King’s Blade. This story draws you in and keeps your attention the whole time. Great characters and great writing. Add this book to your reading list!
Review by Margo: 5.0 out of 5 stars Characters merge to fight an epic battle against good and evil. Game of Thrones type of book where you go bounce from one scene to the next to get the full view of the battlefields. It was great to read all the characters who had been well developed throughout the books merge together for the final epic battle. Who will merge the victor? What twists and turns will happen? Read and find out!
Review by NB: 5.0 out of 5 stars All night read. I was so excited to read the next book in the saga and it did not disappoint! I loved it! To be back in the world was a treat. You’ll just have to read to find out if their love survives their individual wants and be sure to leave time because it’ll keep you up all night.
Review by Debbie: 5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you on the edge of your seat. This epic fantasy keeps you on the edge of your seat. The world building is incredible and descriptive, the storyline is captivating and enthralling and grabs you hook, line and sinker. The characters are amazing and Alecia is becoming the queen that she is meant to be. Filled with action, adventure, politics, intrigue , danger and romance, this is a series definitely well worth a read.
Product Details: Paperback: 338 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (July 2, 2022) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
A princess who yearns for love and leadership. A powerful shifter, who walks a tightrope of intrigue and desire. Will their separate paths lead them to each other—or tear them apart?
Determined to gain the throne now that her uncle is dead, Alecia pushes ahead with her plans. However, a threat long thought extinct returns to the kingdom’s skies.
Vard Anton carries a secret which could destroy Alecia’s trust in him and crush their future. But he must enact the dead king’s plan and defeat the enemy elven faction marching on Brightcastle.
While all around is uncertain except for Vard’s love, Alecia turns her back on marriage in order to fulfill her political aspirations.
As the ultimate battle looms, will the kingdom forces triumph over their enemies? Can Alecia prove herself worthy of the throne as chaos ensues? And will Vard’s secret be the final blow to their love?
Of Queens and Dragons is the exciting eleventh book in the Queenmakers saga epic fantasy romance series. If you like strong heroines, forbidden passion, political intrigue and mythical creatures, you’ll love Bernadette Rowley’s captivating adventure.
Buy Of Queens and Dragons to fight for love today!
This book contains sex scenes and is intended for mature readers.
Review by NIC: 5.0 out of 5 stars The princess has become a QUEEN! Battle…swords…dragons…elves…night hounds…magic…court mechanics…
Bernadette created some thrilling battle scenes that had me holding my breath! I mean the pov’s and various parts of the battle throughout the region had you so deeply drawn into the conflict…this was my favorite war/battle depiction in probably…ever!
Plus hello…a warrior princess, an enraged dragon, some flaming arrows and a Hail Mary?! Ah, yes please and thank you! That scene will live rent free in my head.
This is book 11 and has beautifully tied together all the threads of the couples and story lines in the Queenmakers Saga so far. I highly recommend starting from book one as that is where it all begins.
Various m/f couples and their povs as the war has reached its climax and the fate of the kingdom must be decided. There are deaths as we are in war, some steamy scenes as our couples embrace and lots of twists. Epic fantasy romance at its finest.
Review by Deb Barringer: 5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful conclusion to a fantastic collection! Of Queens and Dragons, book 11 in Bernadette Rowley’s Queenmakers Saga, is definitely a finale worthy of a five star rating. Brimming with adventure, I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. The storyline is fast-paced and very well written, filled with action, intrigue, mystery, politics, danger, subterfuge, and slow-burn romance. The battle that has been brewing finally comes to fruition and it is epic. The fighting is so well described I felt as if I was truly on the battlefield alongside the kingdom fighters, striving for victory against the Sis Lenweri. The characters are well developed and engaging. It is wonderful to see all of the people from prior episodes come together in this final installment. Their different relationships often lead to intense interactions. Overall, Of Queens and Dragons is a wonderful conclusion to what has been a fantastic collection!
Review by Margo: 5.0 out of 5 stars The battle we’ve all been waiting for has finally begun! It’s the end and the odds are stacked against the humans as they face an enemy with a secret weapon thought to be extinct. Most all the characters we have come to know and love show up to help fight. Great finale that will leave everyone who has read the series quite satisfied Enjoy!
Review by Debbie: 5.0 out of 5 stars This has been an epic series and this is a finale totally worthy of this series. This has been an epic series and this is a finale totally worthy of this it. From book one I have found myself drawn into this incredible world that the author has created and it all comes down to this final battle in this epic finale. The detail, the story, it’s just so exciting and thrilling and the characters that have been on this adventure have been remarkable and I am so glad I took this journey with them. Gripping, captivating and so so addictive, this fast paced epic fantasy is full of danger, intrigue, drama and secrets and will have you on the edge of your seat just to see how it all comes together at the end. Just amazing!
Review by Shivani McK: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Finally Worth Waiting For. What an amazing finally to this 11 book saga. Bernadette pulled out all the stops creating an epic battle scene in a fight for her place queen, the Lenweri, and the people of Thorium. The majority of Queens and Dragons final book in, The Queenmaker Saga is all about the battle. Detailed description of armor, weapons, battle tactics, and the emotions that Alecia feels in her first real battle as the Sis Lenweri converge upon Brightcastle as a pivotal move for complete take over. There are two characters missing from the battle, I’m sure you can guess, but everyone is present for this showdown, Hell-hounds and dragons included. You will want to pick up book 11 of the Queenmaker Saga: ‘Of Queens and Dragons’ for the exciting ending.
Review by NB: 5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating from the start. Such a satisfying slow burn romance. The beginning of this book had me gripped as the inevitable happened and then I had to find out if they would get together at all!
Review by Tony: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic story. What a great finish to the series. It banished all of my fears and reinforced all of my hopes.
Product Details: Paperback: 302 Pages Publisher: Bernadette Rowley Fantasy (October 9, 2022) Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
The Queenmakers Saga Box Set by Bernadette Rowley.
Spicy Epic Fantasy Romance Series Box Set (Books 1-4).
An epic fantasy box set with over 1200 pages of spicy romance, magic, and political intrigue.
Titles contained in this box set: Princess Avenger, The Lady’s Choice, Princess in Exile, and The Lord and the Mermaid.
The saga begins with PRINCESS AVENGER:
A princess in disguise. A shifter with a hidden agenda. Will they uncover the truth in time for romance to blossom?
Alecia Zialni has sworn revenge against her father for having her first love murdered. Masquerading as a man to pursue her vendetta, the prince’s headstrong daughter is soon in over her head. And when her handsome rescuer is assigned as her protector, her secret double life becomes complicated by their rapidly growing chemistry.
Captain Vard Anton struggles to control his budding lust for the determined princess he’s supposed to defend. And as an animal shapeshifter charged with killing her father, he knows he can never reveal his true identity. But the violent beast form he cannot master threatens to expose him and risk her safety.
As her feelings for Vard continue to bloom, Alecia is devastated when she’s betrothed to a lecherous lord. And wracked with guilt over his ultimate mission, Vard fears there is no way for them to ever be together. But her obsession with vengeance may be the death of them both…
Can Alecia and Vard topple a tyrant to join their destinies and their hearts?
Princess Avenger is the thrilling first book in the Queenmakers Saga epic fantasy romance series. If you like strong heroines, sexy shifters, and forbidden passion, then you’ll adore Bernadette Rowley’s enchanting adventure.
Buy Princess Avenger to go undercover for justice today!
Readers Recommend Princess Avenger: If you’re looking for a story to take your mind away, pick up Princess Avenger. Just don’t drop your Kindle in the bathtub. Recipe for a captivating fantasy – fast-paced adventure, romance, a strong hero, and equally strong heroine, wrapped in a fine layer of magic.
Readers Recommend The Lady’s Choice: Man, talk about an out-of-control locomotive ride! An intense storyline holds you on a razor’s edge with total focus riveted to each word. A fantastic read with adventure and twists.
Readers Recommend Princess in Exile: A rollercoaster of unexpected events and surprising mishaps launch all your emotions to blazing life in this gripping storyline. A fantastic read from the first page. You won’t want to put it down. If you like magic, shifters, and battles, you’ll love this.
Readers Recommend The Lord and the Mermaid: One stunning storyline and roaring plot catapults this beauty to life. The characters are authentic with depth and individualism that blend and flow. Retelling of The Little Mermaid – better than the original and Disney! The Queenmakers Saga Box Set Books 1 to 4 includes Princess Avenger, The Lady’s Choice, Princess in Exile and The Lord and the Mermaid. We’re talking 1300 pages. And the genre is sexy epic fantasy romance. The setting is my fantasy kingdom of Thorius and you can expect feisty heroines, tortured heroes, magic, political intrigue, and mystical creatures. If you love a good shifter romance, Princess Avenger is your kind of story and you’ll want to continue following Alecia and Vard in Princess in Exile. The Lady’s Choice features Ramon Zorba, secondary character from Princess Avenger and a sexy beta hero. I had fun creating him. The heroine, Benae, is a healer and you are just going to love her. The Lord and the Mermaid is my retelling of The Little Mermaid. I know you’re going to enjoy how this romance evolves. The mind boggles. Sit back and get carried away to another world where you can forget your troubles and just be….
Top US Reviews:
Review by Rachel C.: 5.0 out of 5 stars Loved. I joined a Facebook group and stumbled across Bernadette Rowley. I’m glad I did. I enjoyed being able to read the boxset, so I could get all four at once. I liked how each book focused on different primary characters, while two of them did follow two previous characters, which I was glass about. I of course have my favorites, but I enjoyed all the characters. Bernadette does a great job overlapping timelines, as these stories happen in the same world, and have some overlapping characters as well. I recommend giving this series a chance! I’m glad I did.
Edit: Now that it’s been a while since I’ve read it, I thought it only fair to come back and say just how much I love this series! I love the characters so much, and I keep thinking about them and what might happen/what I want to happen! The other books in the series after the box set are the perfect addition! Highly anticipating Queen’s Return to come out! You should most definitely give these books a read!
Review by Corina Douglas: 5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked line and sinker!The author has done an amazing job with this series. The world she’s created is believable and engaging. I have fallen in love and out of love with characters, only to fall back in love with them. This is a clever feat, and shows the author’s talent to show all facets of a character. I particularly enjoyed the first story and the third, and I look forward to reading the other stories in this world!
Review by Jignet: 5.0 out of 5 stars READ IT YOU WILL LOVE IT EVERY SINGLE BOOK IN THIS SERIES. I love all these great books. Some I read before the series and enjoyed them then but now all together in one place is a killer steal deal!!
Review by Brigitte Frantz: 5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Romance Adventure. Wonderful Exciting Adventurous. I can’t say enough about this series. The writing is excellent. Captures you from the beginning and keeps you to the next book. I read them all in a row. The characters are marvelous.
Review by Maria J: 5.0 out of 5 stars Treasure Trove. I love this series!
Review by Me: 3.0 out of 5 stars Ok It just was not for me. Insipid princess meets horny conflicted and deranged shifter. There was not much in the way of growth that I could see character wise. I really wanted to love this tale but sadly it just didn’t resonate with me.
Review by Shivani McK: 5.0 out of 5 stars Romance Series Worth Reading. If you are looking for a good romance series boxset look no further than The Queenmakers Saga. Bernadette Rowley has created a wonderful series in a medieval time set with castles, forest, elves, and passionate royal families. The woman in her series, usually Ladies to the Queen, are strong, courageous, and even though they may appear venerable they are not weak. The men, often military captains, are dashing, a bit stubborn, of few words but emotions that run deep and lots of honor. Bernadette’s stories have heart, intrigue, suspense, sexy steam, and a different view on love in each story. This is a romance series worth reading.
Review by Deb Barringer: 5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!Queenmakers Saga by Bernadette Rowley is unlike any series I have ever read. Each book is interlinked yet completely able to stand on its own. Every book hosts an unconventional romance with plenty of fantasy to keep you on the edge of your seat. The heroines are strong, the men are commanding and sparks fly everywhere while they fight for their lives. This is truly a box set not to be missed!
Product Details: Print Length: 976 Pages Publication Date: August 6, 2019 Language: English Fantasy (Action & Adventure) Fantasy (Adult & College Age) Fantasy (Dragons & Mythical Creatures) Fantasy (Epic Romance) Fantasy (Fairy Tales) Fantasy (Metaphysical & Visionary) Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery) Romance (Action-Drama) Romance (Gothic) Romance (Paranormal)
About Bernadette Rowley: Bernadette Rowley is an Australian epic fantasy romance author who is also a veterinarian. After flirting with picture books, junior fiction and space opera, Bernadette was challenged to write a romance in 2011 and she hasn’t looked back.
First published by Penguin Australia and then Pan Macmillan Australia, Bernadette is now an independently published author. The Queenmakers Saga contains eleven books spanning the genres of fantasy romance and romantic fantasy.
Her favorite tropes are enemies to lovers, forced proximity and forbidden romance. Strong themes include the horse/human bond and healing.
When not at her desk, Bernadette can be found absorbed in a good romance or romantic suspense, swimming, walking, or having coffee with friends.
It is the year 3010. Fyodor lives in the future and travels to the past.
Her story is vivid, depicting real-time events as she moves through time, back into our Biblical past: Genesis, Adam and Eve, Noah documented with biblical references.
A truly wonderful story intertwined with fantasy and fact.
Travel with Fyodor in A Diamond Pod and witness Biblical Time Travel in a new dimension.
People are experiencing encounters with these fallen angels who have both de-evolved and evolved with an insatiable lust.
Theodocia McLean’s book, The Nephilim: Is This Half-Breed Living Among Us Today? is a unique approach to the “Nephilim” (offspring of fallen angels and human copulation).
This might possibly be Theologians best kept secret.
This is a fictional account of the “Nephilim” briefly described in the Bible. Her premise is that fallen angels survived the great flood that wiped out the earthbound Nephilim.
This fictional accounting is set in the backdrop of a convention of people who are experiencing encounters with these fallen angels who have both de-evolved and evolved with an insatiable lust and the question remains, is this half-breed among us today?
Household Property Inventory Workbook by Theodocia McLean.
A Must Have Record Keeping System.
The Household Property Inventory Workbook by Theodocia McLean is one purchase you will wish you had made several years ago. Lucky for you, it is never too late to document household and personal belongings.
This workbook is geared for homeowners or those who rent. Document and track everything from furnishings to valuables. This workbook begins with all the primary household family members’ vital statistics, dates, places, of birth, right down to the details needed for family members if you are in the hospital or you need someone to care for your furry members of the family. It ends with your end-of-life instructions.
Heaven forbids your home and all its contents are lost to fire, flood or other natural disaster. However, this is when this workbook becomes valuable. Your home and all its contents are your biggest investments and you have spent a personal fortune insuring for earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and theft. It is the worst time of your life when the insurance adjuster wants proof of your loss. You took the time to document your belongings in this workbook, you followed the format, your recorded serial numbers, included receipts and photocopied everything. You even stored copies on external hard drives or in the cloud. You’re covered! Just sit back and wait for the insurance company to cut you a check.
I highly recommend you purchase this workbook annually for your home and store each past year(s) in your safety deposit box. This workbook makes a great wedding or housewarming gift. Buy copies for yourself, your family and friends.
Cat Diary For Cat Lovers (In The Event Of Accident Or My Death) by Theodocia McLean.
Dear Cat Lover,
I could never imagine (not would I want to) my life without a cat. Even as a child, I had a cat and some years a cat and a dog for pets.
The idea for this Cat Diary stems back twenty-five plus years. Circumstances beyond my control was forcing me not only to move to another state, but I couldn’t have a cat where I was going.
My pressing task was to find a new home for my beloved male cat named Greybow. I bought a notebook and begun writing everything I knew about Greybow’s likes, dislikes, medical history (as he had lost one leg due to an accident), and everything that made him special. Next, I put an ad in the local newspaper. A day passed before a local college student called and asked if she could visit Greybow. She came over to the house and immediately wanted Greybow. She moved here to attend college and she was homesick for her family and lonely. She had an apartment that allowed cats and so she decided she needed a furry friend. Before we moved ahead with the exchange, I asked her to take the notebook home and study it before she made the final decision. She called in a couple of day and asked if she could adopt my Greybow. She said she had read his diary and was convinced he would be the perfect companion for her. I say my goodbye and watched her drive away with my precious Greybow. Before she left, I gave her my new address and asked her to write, so I would know that Greybow was settling in well. A couple of months later, I received a long letter stating how wonderful Greybow had settled in. She said she was no longer lonely as he was her shadow and stayed close while she studied long hours. In my heart I knew that the diary had played a huge role in guaranteeing the successful transition for both her and Greybow.
These many years later, I created this workbook to help you and your precious furry friend(s) find a new home. You might find your situation mirrors mine so long ago. Perhaps illness has driven you to this decision or a family member has died and his or her cat needs a new home.
I would never wish on you the agony of needing to place your furry family member in a new home, but if it needs to be, I hope this workbook brings you comfort and the new owner much needed information to make the transition seamless.
It is now 2018 and my shadow is named Wolf. He was a shelter cat, adopted before six month and returned to the shelter. When I found him in 2011, he was in a large room of cats, curled up all lone on a corner piece of carpet. I picked him up, turned him over, and held him close to my chest like a baby. He looked up at me with the lonely eyes and started purring. My heart melted and I knew he was the furry one. Someone had already named him Wolf due to his gray color and pointed ears. He was and is adorable. He is now age seven and the king of the house.
This workbook would not be complete unless I stated that Wolf has endorsed it. Wolf is my loving shadow and I have talked through every word of this notebook with him and he gives his full approval.
Wolf and I realize that if you are using this workbook, it is because you love your furry friend and want to provide for him or her even when you can’t be around. We wish you and your furry member of the family the very best in health, love, cuddles and the transitions that life brings.
With Love from Wolf and Theodocia (Photos Included are Personal)
Characters Unleashed: Writing Exercises For New Authors by Theodocia McLean.
Congratulations, You Have Decided To Write A Book.
Writing your first book will send you on a roller coaster of emotions. Maybe you have dreamed for years of retiring from your job, creating time and the perfect space to write your novel. The words might pour out of your mind faster than you can type or you might face dry spells where the words won’t come. Writing your book will become a labor of love, intense work, laughter and tears, but seeing your book in print will be one of the most thrilling experiences of your lifetime.
Family and friends might ask you the very same question that you find yourself asking as you stare at the blank white page in front of you. Why am I writing this book? Is my first intention to become famous and get rich or do I have a story, an idea or some information that I want to share with others?
In my experience, my first book was fiction because I had a story in my head that wouldn’t leave me alone. A story that I needed to tell if for no other reason than getting it out of my head and the satisfaction of reading it in print. From there I branched out into a memoir in hopes of sharing a part of my life journey. My workbooks were written out of a need to share important information with others. I created a format that allows my reader to write their own contribution in the workbook and make it their own.
I think the best authors have written out of the sheer pleasure of writing the novel, biography, short story, poetry etc. Passion for the characters, story or information that you want to convey will be the springboard that will keep you writing.
The satisfaction of selling my books is surprisingly not about money at all. I have discovered that selling a book is a humbling experience. If just one person takes time out their busy life to purchase and read one of my books or contribute to one of my workbooks that they hold in their hands and write in, how much more truly lasting satisfaction could I possibly obtain?
Why A Workbook? Words are like clouds, they form, the create amazing things, they create chaos and then they disappear. You don’t have to be perfect at journaling for this workbook to help you as an author. You do have to be willing to put the work in to reap the rewards.
As your move along into this workbook, you will write about what you know and what you imagine. I created this in workbook format because writing is in your blood and this workbook will guide you.
Every day you get up out bed and experience life. Maybe you go someone, talk to people you know, meet someone new, are perhaps you are forced into a new environment or situation.
Unless you are writing a reference book, your book will most likely be about characters, environment, locations, and time periods. Whether fiction or nonfiction, your book will need to draw your reader out of their space and time and into your creation of space and time. The more you understand how your day-to-day experience transforms into the life of your book, the better writer you will become.
I wish you the very best in writing, publishing and more importantly, promotion and sales. You are welcome to contact me for help.
Message From Author: I was born Theodocia, on the small cozy Island of Beals, Maine. Sold to the mailman, adopted twice, I was not told my beautiful name until my sixteenth birthday. My love for writing began when my fifth-grade teacher captured my imagination with creative writing assignments while I was living away from home, in a harsh, punitive private school environment. A song that I have sung every day is the only link that I had to Clara, my one special friend, who made daily life bearable for a short time, in that dreadful place. I am an avid reader and I enjoy reviewing books.
OUR READERS TO DATE: 3 He Is Watching by Diane Kurtz Calabrese. “Compelling and Enlightening” Christians want to lead a righteous life, yet it can be a challenging desire to fulfill while existing in a society plagued by greed, jealousy, envy, and other sins. As a result, many believers want… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 3 God Loves Sea Animals Too by Diane Kurtz Calabrese. Poetry For Inspiration. This book is a collection of inspirational poems about sea animals. It teaches children about the various kinds of sea animals in the oceans and their purpose, both physically and spiritually, to inspire… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 46 “Our Prime Purpose In Life Is To Help Others.And, If You Can’t Help Them, At Least Don’t Hurt Them.” By Dalai Lama. Mind, Body, Spirit And Discovering The Purpose Of Life by Diane Kurtz Calabrese. The purpose of this book is offering every one of… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 196 Mystics of Sonoduhl (Epic Fantasy)! Mystics of Sonoduhl by Rudy Lopes. Maghrurio is a middle-aged nobody working for Abner, the magical Mystic of Decra. When a fiery explosion fatally injures Abner, he asks Maghrurio with his dying breath to find his assassin. He also makes… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 236 Come See My Africa by Ken Palmrose. Enjoy a tour of southern Africa led by your guide, Tau, a young student who lives near beautiful Victoria Falls. Not every child or adult can actually travel in person to Africa, but Tau will take you on… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 209 The Treehouse Story by Jessica Gold. Grandpa loves to tell funny stories about our dad to my brother and me. One of our favorite stories to hear is the one about the treehouse. Our dad was very independent and he and his brother, our Uncle… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 204 More Golfing Adventures with Frankie the Witty Caddie by Paul Sturm. Frankie still has what it takes to make your golfing day…. Frankie, the witty, light-hearted caddie, and his caddying partner, Ozzie, caddied for a very unusual group of golfers. This foursome’s golf play was… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 293 Golfing Adventures with Frankie, the Witty Caddie by Paul Sturm. If you enjoy entertaining, fun-loving, and humorous stories, then come laugh along with Frankie, the witty caddie, whose uproarious, comical words and outrageous, zany antics provide a foursome of golfers some unique experiences during their… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 282 My Favorite Girlfriend by Paul Sturm. Special 2023 Kindle Edition. Get ready to dive into the hilarious and heartwarming coming-of-age memoir, “My Favorite Girlfriend”. Follow the journey of a scrawny, funny-looking, yet naturally athletic kid who leverages his skills on the basketball court to help… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 220 “First Day, No Way!” by Jessica E. Gold. Little Katie is going to be going to her first day at school, and she is so nervous. She imagines everything that can go wrong, getting lost, not remembering her lunch, and everything that you can imagine…. Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 235 Perceptions and Secrets by Jessica Gold. Our Perceptions may not always be reality. Rick and Marissa Lynch, Manhattan elite and press favorites seem like the perfect couple, with money, prestige and a beautiful daughter Emily. In reality, their lives have become tangled webs filled with… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 207 How I Found Peace at A Beach Bar! Surviving Chaos: How I Found Peace at A Beach Bar by Harold Phifer. For more than fifty years, Harold Phifer’s childhood living conditions remained a secret, even from those who thought they knew him best. No one… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 152 Carron Maitland-Jake Brennan Mystery (Two Book Series). Justice For Lindsey by Christina Siwik. A Carron Maitland/Jake Brennan Novel. Carron Maitland and Jake Brennan would have never met in another time and another place. Carron had it all. The heiress to a fortune had built her… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 156 Sophie London and Evin Foster Mysteries. He Never Said Good-Bye & Deception In The Moonlight by Christina Siwik. Sophie London and Evin Foster Mysteries Book One and Two. Sophie London sets out to prove her husband, William, was murdered and not just killed in a… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 252 2024 New Edition Release! At The Edge Of The Stairs by Phil Stephens. Supernatural-Psychological-Suspense Thriller! At The Edge of the Stairs is a gripping tale of a young woman’s love that is so strong it transcends the barrier between this dimension and the next. It… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 179 The Altar Boy by Phil Stephens. Dark Humor-Catholicism-Coming of Age Fiction! It starts with black-robed nuns, priests, bishops, the select fraternity of Altar Boys, and the ancient ceremonies of the Catholic Church. Music of the ’60s, boyhood shenanigans, Cootie doctors, and coming of age. Set… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 199 Retro Chic by Gloria Lintermans. A Guide To Fabulous Vintage and Designer Resale Shopping In North America. The only comprehensive guide to shopping for vintage and designer resale, including:* specific stores in all the major U.S. & Canadian cities * favorite haunts of celebs and… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 206 The Healing Power Of Grief by Gloria Lintermans and Marilyn Stolzman Ph.D. The Journey Through Loss To Life and Laughter. “With insight and compassion, the authors lead readers through their grief and into a healed future of purpose and joy. For the bereaved, their family… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 196 The Healing Power Of Love by Gloria Lintermans and Marilyn Stolzman. Transcending The Loss Of A Spouse To New Love. The Healing Power of Love: Transcending the Loss of a Spouse to New Love is a collection of twelve beautifully and honestly told, uplifting and… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 171 The Newly Divorced Book Of Protocol by Gloria Lintermans. How To Be Civil When You Hate Their Guts. This book is an intimate look at divorce. It reveals what divorce tells us about ourselves, as well as delineating the important ins and outs of the… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 212 The Secrets to Stepfamily Success by Gloria Lintermans. Revolutionary Tools to Create A Blended Family Of Support and Success. “[Secrets for Stepfamily Success] is the most thorough work on step families I have seen… a handbook of great value for both professionals and stepfamily members… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 369 Sam: The Cat Without A Tail by Gloria Lintermans. Sam: The Cat Without A Tail follows the trials of Sam, a young Manx cat with a soft, white puff of a tail. As he discovers that he is indeed different from everyone around him, he… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 134 I spent nineteen of my twenty-five years in law enforcement as a detective. Long before I became a police officer, I wanted to be a writer. But I feared it wasn’t a practical profession and lacked the confidence to an attempt at it. Shortly after… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 36 Action & Adventure Fiction! Mystical Richard by Larry Cashman. Matt White was an average guy just looking to earn some extra money while he was teaching. After he started performing his magic shows at the theater in downtown Chicago, he met a gentleman named Richard… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 169 I hadn’t gone looking to write a book. And although I love to write, especially poetry, and editorial responses of educational articles, writing can be arduous and was never cathartic for me. I would rather take pictures. My dream was to be a veterinarian, to… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 187 Frozen Conquest by Randall Krzak. An international criminal gang, known as Diablo Corps, plans a series of devastating attacks to take over the G7 countries unless their demands are met. Secure in their hidden headquarters in Antarctica, they possess the means to disrupt the leading… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 264 Ultimate Escalation by Randall Krzak. Punjabi militants seek to distance themselves from Indian and Pakistani dominance and interference. With the dissolution of British India in 1947, families were ripped apart as the Punjabi region was split between the two countries. Limited attacks within each country… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 230 Full Of Humor and Fun! My Sister Wants An Elephant by Lynne Podrat. Randy’s sister wants a WHAT?!? And his Mom isn’t flat-out saying no?! My Sister Wants an Elephant is the true story of two siblings who team up together to convince their mother… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 242 Listen To Me: How My Down Syndrome Brother Saved My Life by Lynne Podrat. This memoir was written to honor my youngest brother’s influence over my life, the good, the bad, and the ugly, of living with a Down Syndrome sibling. It tells the story… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 241 The Orphaned Princess by David DeRosa. The battle was ended. The last dragon put out the fires and divided the people into factions. Gemite and Sylvan he charged with responsibility of their world, saying, “I will not save you again, from your recklessness.” Then he… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 259 The Immortal Jake by David DeRosa. Going Home! Jake’s life is merry mayhem around a militant mindset of misusing impossible science. He’s an extra-terrestrial teenager who accidentally marooned himself in the Bronze Age. He’s waited patiently for people to develop the technology he needs to… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 442 Sword & Sorcery Fantasy! Anaxiunara by David DeRosa. One Brief Eternity! With three children on an epic voyage to seek justice for his murdered wife Jo Lee finds the perfect nanny, a mysterious woman with a magic about her that might even mend his broken… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 252 The Kurdish Connection by Randall Krzak. KURDISH SCAVENGERS UNCOVER A CACHE OF NERVE GAS IN IRAQ AND OFFER THEM TO KURDISH FIGHTERS IN TURKEY. THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS BEDLAM ALPHA TEAM MUST SECURE THE WEAPONS BEFORE THEY CAN BE USED. “You must swear by Allah never… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 296 Dangerous Alliance by Randall Krzak. United Nations’ sanctions are crippling North Korea. China has turned her back on her malevolent partner. The North Korean military machine is crumbling, unable to function. Oil reserves are minimal and the government seeks new alliances. Cargo and tourist ships… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 310 Carnage In Singapore by Randall Krzak. Terrorist groups such as Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah have flourished in recent years with new recruits joining them and ISIS-affiliates at an alarming rate. Blended operations by various Asian countries have forced the groups to work together to… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 238 Revenge by Randall Krzak. Book 2 of 2: A Bruce and Smith Thriller. Relegated to a desk job at the Pentagon despite his last field mission being a success, Colonel Javier Smith submits his retirement papers. He moves forward with his plans to create a… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 302 Colombian Betrayal by Randall Krzak. Book 1 of 2: A Bruce and Smith Thriller. Colombian Betrayal tears the cover off the drug trade and exposes the death, and violence behind the twisted connections between governments, revolutionaries, terrorists, and drug lords. Watch as an unholy alliance… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 261 Mission by Randall Krzak. Xavier Sear Thriller Book 1. Joao and Catarina Regaleria’s twentieth wedding anniversary celebration was fast approaching when a contact from the past reaches out for his assistance. Colonel Theodore Mwanga, a former enemy commander during the Angolan war and now an… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 413 Author Chris Karlsen Is Internationally Published! The Bloodstone Murder Series! Silk by Chris Karlsen. The Bloodstone Series Book 1. It is the time of Jack the Ripper; the widowed Queen Victoria sits on the throne of England. The whole of London is on edge wondering… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 297 Author Chris Karlsen Is Internationally Published! The Love & War Series Are Romances! The Love and War Series! Books Written In English, Portuguese and Spanish! The Ack Ack Girl by Chris Karlsen. First Book In The Love and War Series. The Ack Ack Girl won… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 273 Australian Science Fiction Author Clayton Graham! Explore The Milijun Universe And Countless Others! Milijun by Clayton Graham. Book 1-Milijun Series. 5 Stars: Explores our deepest darkest fears! Milijun: What Would Alien Interaction Really Be Like? A tangled web of alien intrigue traps a mother and… Continue reading →
OUR READERS TO DATE: 295 5-Star Review by VAL5.0: A Most Unusual And Exciting Novel! Ithyanna, Last Daughter of Atlantis by Don Edward Cook. Book I: How the World Ended Millennia Ago (The Last of the Atlanteans). IN THE DAYS OF NOAH, IN AN ANCIENT WORLD OF ANXIETY … Noah… Continue reading →
