BOOK SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW: A Wall Street Bailout for Main Street: This Bulletproof Trade Will Help You Get Paid By Iris Marie Mack, PhD, EMBA

A Wall Street Bailout for Main Street: This Bulletproof Trade Will Help You Get Paid

By Iris Marie Mack, PhD, EMBA

Genre: Wealth Management, Investing, Business & Money, Options, Analysis & Strategy

Buckle up and settle in. It's payback time for small investors -- who want big returns. In her outstanding new book “A Wall Street Bailout for Main Street”, Dr. Iris Marie Mack uses her Harvard University and London Business School savvy to simplify what she calls a "bulletproof trading strategy" that even the most inexperienced investor can use to become wealthy over time. (She has a) gift for simplifying heretofore complex stock trading notions (and it) sets this financial how-to book far above others in its genre. Dr. Mack's impressive academic credentials don't keep her from relating easily to everyday investors. In fact, she seems to revel in imparting her knowledge. Her populist cry of "Don't get mad; get even!" will resonate soundly with retirees, students and everyone in between who are looking for a simplified methodology for extending their resources -- in a safe and sane manner.

My Review:

I am incredibly distrustful of wall street, the American banking institutions, and ALL representatives of corporations. That being said, this book is a valuable asset in explaining the economic climate of todays America, and restructuring personal assets within these parameters. Me personally, I have very little interest in how the stock market can work for me, and would not invest my time or money into it. But this book is a sharp how-to for the novice in understanding this world, and, more importantly, how to make it work for us, and not against us. Four stars.

About the Author

Iris Marie Mack, PhD, EMBA, earned a doctorate in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University. She was also awarded a Sloan Fellowship Executive MBA from the London Business School. Dr. Mack worked at various energy and financial institutions, acted as a faculty member at MIT, and worked at NASA and AT&T Bell Labs – where she obtained a patent for research on optical fibers.

Dr. Mack currently lectures on Energy Trading and Risk Management for the Fitch Learning Certificate in Quantitative Finance Program on Wall Street and at Tulane University.  Because of Dr. Mack's extensive knowledge of the derivatives, energy trading, and investment banking world, she has been invited to write opinion columns for the UK edition of the International Business Times.

Dr. Mack has also been named one of Glamour Magazine’s Top 10 Working Women, and she is no novice writer. This publishing will be her third financially-focused and published book – including her energy trading book published with Wiley Finance and a financial literacy book for teens and adults. With this breadth of experience and sheer intellectual prowess, Dr. Mack is more than able to help readers reach the financial stability they deserve.

In addition, Dr. Mack founded The Global Energy Post and MathQED - a homework help site for K-12 and college students. Previously known as Phat Math, this service has even been named one of the Top 50 Social Sites for Educators and Academics, 25 Savvy Social Media Sites for Grad Students and 25 Useful Networking Sites for Grad Students. Such accolades illustrate Dr. Mack’s ability to clearly inform the masses. 

You may learn more about Dr. Iris Marie Mack by visiting her 

Author's Book  Page on Amazon.com. 

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Main-Street-Bailout-377302109282245/ 

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/Iris_Mack

Website: http://mainstbailout.com/index.php

On Amazon (Paperback): http://amzn.to/2jMNwcV
On Amazon (Kindle): http://amzn.to/2l6VP4k

BOOK SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW: Heartache & Sin By Charles Soto

Heartache & Sin

By Charles Soto

Genre: Suspense, Drama

When a Midwestern farming town is hit hard by a crop-destroying drought, people are willing to put their faith into anything that might bring them some relief.

Steven Wheaton is burdened by the effects of the drought on his farm, and heartbroken knowing that the chances of starting a family with his wife Karen have been damaged by her recent diabetes diagnosis.

Devastated, Karen turns to the new pastor in town, looking for faith and guidance…but even her relationship with God cannot fill the void in her life.

When ulterior motives collide with harrowing miracles, where does the line between good and evil begin?

My Review:

This book blows my mind. This story centers around a family coming to terms with illness, and seeking solace in a new pastors teachings. Then the tale takes a turn into madness as the pastors true agenda starts to unfold. His schemes will leave nothing untouched. This is a dark and spellbinding thriller that parallels many things we are seeing in our communities today. A cautionary tale? Maybe. A highly recommended read! Five stars.

About the Author

Charles Soto is a moving and unconventional fiction author of Heartache & Sin, The friend Request, Pride and a Prayer and the ghost writer of the Auto-Biography, Frias with Love (Where we come from, where we went).

Along with his diversity as an author and his capabilities of writing in a profound array of genres, his talents as a sculptor and expertise in the painting and decorating field has enabled him to supervise such projects as the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, NV., Pantageous Theatre in Downtown Minneapolis, MN., as well as many more iconic Structures.

Charles Soto was born in Las Vegas NV., and throughout his childhood was raised in the Bay Area of Alameda County on the outskirts of San Francisco, CA. He now lives in Northern Minnesota with his wife of thirty years and their two daughters.

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlesSoto/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CharlesSoto

Website: http://www.authorcharlessoto.com

On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33542.charles_soto
On Amazon: http://amzn.to/2j2YvjG

BOOK SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW: The War of the Usurper By Elí Freysson

The War of the Usurper

By Elí Freysson

Genre: Space Opera

The War of the Usurper is the first in the Golden Throne series. It is my foray into creating my very own epic space opera universe, full of what I like about such settings: Casual space travel, many, many inhabited worlds, super-technology co-existing with magic, larger-than-life characters, a whole lot of backstory, and just sheer vastness of scale.

This first entry is a self-contained story about the titular nine-year war for the throne of the Realm of the Glorious Dawn. Power is seized by a power-hungry tyrant, who resorts to ever-greater atrocities to hold onto the throne, while loyalists secure the sole legitimate heir, twelve-year-old Princess Maraka, and begin the struggle to restore order.

Each chapter details a different flashpoint of the war, as important events must turn on the actions of wildly different people, spread far and wide across the social hierarchy and physical width of the Realm. Meanwhile, year after year, Maraka must grow up in the shadow of all of this, and learn to become both the steadfast symbol and the strong leader her subjects need.

My Review:

The War of the Usurper chronicles a nine-year war instigated by a greedy uncle who killed his brother to take his royal seat. Through space, Princess Maraka flees with allies to maintain her safety and rightful place as leader.Told from various points of view, Freysson has developed an intriguing plot and cast of characters to keep the attention of the reader. Action/adventure readers who lean towards science fiction are sure to nerd out.

About the Author

I was born in Akureyri in northern Iceland in 1982. Aside from a brief spell spent in Norway in my very early childhood I have spent my whole life here, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum in my teens, which explains a whole lot and makes me just eccentric enough to be a writer.

I graduated high school in 2004, after which I dove into my first attempt at a proper fantasy novel. I finished the first draft a year later, but it took me until 2011 to get it published. I followed with a book a year for the next four years, before deciding to move into the English-language market. I translated three of my fantasy novels into English and self-published on Amazon, and then started writing original material in English. And here we are.

My hobbies include swimming, weight-lifting, video games, tabletop games with my friends, nature walks, and wasting time on Youtube.

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EliFreyssonAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EliFreysson

Website: http://www.elifreysson.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZ1H5M5

The author is giving away 10 copies of The War of the Usurper {ebook}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK BLITZ: The Last Grand Master By Andrew Q. Gordon

The Last Grand Master

By Andrew Q. Gordon

Genre: Fantasy/SciFi

In a war that shook the earth, the six gods of Nendor defeated their brother Neldin, God of Evil. For three thousand years, Nendor and the Seven Kingdoms have known peace and prosperity and Neldin's evil was nearly forgotten.

But then Meglar, wizard-king of Zargon, unleashes the dark magic of the underworld and creates an army of creatures to carry out his master's will. One by one, the sovereign realms fall as a new war between the gods threatens to engulf Nendor.

Leading the opposition to Meglar is Grand Master Farrell. Young and untried, Farrell carries a secret that could hold the key to defeating Meglar—or it could destroy the world.

Farrell is joined by Nerti, queen of the unicorns, and Miceral, an immortal muchari warrior the Six have chosen as Farrell's mate. As Farrell and his new allies make plans to counter Neldin's evil, Meglar forces their hand when he invades a neighboring kingdom. Rushing to help their ally, Farrell and Miceral find themselves in the middle of the battle. Cut off from help, Farrell attempts an untried spell that will either turn the tide or cost him and Miceral their lives.

The Last Grand Master is free by subscribing here:

http://aqgsignups.getresponsepages.com

About the Author

Andrew Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads, ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook somewhere quiet when he wants to write. Andrew’s imagination has helped him create works of high fantasy, paranormal thrills and touch of the futuristic.


To find out more about Andrew:

Website: www.andrewqgordon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/andrewqugordon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewQGordon
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2l6De8B
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/2l6haLg
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2kb2Fs8 

COVER REVEAL: Twisted Beauty by Kristen Flood

Twisted Beauty

by Kristen Flood

Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance

THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN LOSING EVERYTHING . . .  IS FORGETTING WHAT YOU LOST. 


KRISTEN FLOOD,  author of Seeking Incandescence and The Museum, pens a riveting adult romance with a poignant examination of love, identity, and forgiveness. 

THE BEAST 

Once the powerful prince of Renol, William is a shell of the man he once was. Living under the curse of a powerful witch, William has spent 100 years making deals on her behalf and mourning the loss of his first love. 

THE BEAUTY 

Belle has spent her life confined within the limits of her city, Paylor, and is now bound to a man she does not love. When she dares to venture outside the city's gates in search of something she's lost, she finds more than she ever expected.

As Belle and William embark on a journey of love and mourning, passion and forgiveness, they discover that sometimes what we lose isn't as important as what we find. 

Twisted Beauty is on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33638769-twisted-beauty. Facebook: @kristenfloodbooks. Twitter: @KristenFlood01. 

INTERVIEW: Terez Mertes Rose, Author of Outside the Limelight Ballet Theatre Chronicles, Book 2

Outside the Limelight

Ballet Theatre Chronicles, Book 2

By Terez Mertes Rose

Contemporary [Women's] Fiction

Book Summary

Rising ballet star Dena Lindgren's dream career is knocked off its axis when a puzzling onstage fall results in a crushing diagnosis: a brain tumor. Looming surgery and its long recovery period prompt the company’s artistic director, Anders Gunst, to shift his attention to an overshadowed company dancer: Dena's older sister, Rebecca, with whom Anders once shared a special relationship.

Under the heady glow of Anders’ attention, Rebecca thrives, even as her recuperating sister, hobbled and unnoticed, languishes on the sidelines of a world that demands beauty and perfection. Rebecca ultimately faces a painful choice: play by the artistic director’s rules and profit, or take shocking action to help her sister.

Exposing the glamorous onstage world of professional ballet, as well as its shadowed wings and dark underbelly, OUTSIDE THE LIMELIGHT examines loyalty, beauty, artistic passion, and asks what might be worth losing in order to help the ones you love.

{Outside the Limelight is a Kirkus Indie Books of the Month Selection for January 2017.}

Interview:

What inspired you to write this book?

Back in the spring of 2006, in my earlier days of novel writing, my sister was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma—a rare, benign brain tumor on the eighth cranial nerve. While the ensuing craniotomy and tumor removal were deemed a success, her facial nerve had to be clipped in the process, resulting in facial paralysis on one side, along with the more typical post-craniotomy brain fog, dizziness, single-sided deafness and ear-ringing that had worsened. Bad luck on my end, too: my carefully crafted, recently completed novel went over like a lead balloon with my agent. She suggested that I try my hand at something incorporating ballet, which I’d touched on in my first, unpublished novel. So as my sister struggled with the aftereffects of her acoustic neuroma, immersing herself in therapies and surgeries and strategies, I set to work on a new novel. But it would only be in February of 2011, after the first ballet novel didn’t sell, and my fourth novel didn’t sell, and my agent and I were once again musing about ballet in fiction for adults, its absence in the current marketplace, that it all came together in my mind. I said to her, “what do you think about a ballet novel featuring two sisters, dancers in the same elite company, and the more talented one gets felled by an acoustic neuroma diagnosis and a host of post-op problems?” She loved the idea. And so I got to tell a new ballet story while concurrently telling my sister’s story (although she’s a nurse and not a ballet dancer). Which meant a lot to me; my sister has continued to struggle terribly since her acoustic neuroma removal, and there’s so little I can do to help her. Telling the world her story, the struggles she and her fellow acoustic neuroma patients suffer, made me feel like I was helping in my own small way.

Do you have a favourite character, or in what ways do any of the characters represent you?

I love all my characters and I think in one way or another, all represent some side of me. That’s the fun thing about being a writer; you can “find yourself,” or work on thorny personal issues while projecting much of the burden of it onto someone or something else. Of the characters in this book, however, I felt particularly attached to Dena. She’s the younger sister (I’m the seventh of eight kids), fiercer and more difficult, although her talent is more extraordinary. She’s utterly screwed when this acoustic neuroma appears, sidelining her indefinitely when all she wants to do is pour her frustration, her heart, into her dance. But I dearly love Rebecca, the older, healthier sister, too. While she didn’t suffer a dramatic injury that risked ending her career, the more pedestrian ailment of aging, being overlooked in the corps de ballet, year after year, threw the same difficult question at her. What do you do when you’ve devoted your entire life to one career, and that career’s at risk of ending, very soon? How do you gracefully fight a losing battle with time?

What surprises did you come across when writing the book?

This book had three very different revisions over a period of years, and while it was hard and discouraging to recover each bump along the way, I’m so surprised and pleased by how the final revision turned out. There’s humor in the story that wasn’t in the first two incarnations. The sisters’ relationship feels more real and organic now, sometimes adversarial, other times loyal and loving. As my sister and I muddled our way through our own difficult issues, the story seemed to take on more depth, always in pleasantly surprising ways. And there were a half-dozen “wow, I didn’t see THAT coming” moments that it’s probably a bad idea for me to share, because they’re story spoilers. But, I have to say, these are the most wonderful gifts for a writer, these little “aha!” or puzzle pieces floating down from the heavens that fit the story so perfectly, you can only shake your head in wonder. It’s also interesting to note that most of the surprises came while I was working on the final draft of this story. My little reward for toughing it out, never rushing things, and letting the story tell ME what it wanted to be about.
If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead characters?

This is a tough one to answer, because it involves two factors. Who are the best actors to physically and emotionally represent Dena and Rebecca and, secondly, who looks and moves enough like a ballerina that they could convince viewers they’d been ballet dancers their entire life? I had a great, hilarious rant at The Classical Girl about my frustration with the 2011 horror film, Black Swan. (http://wp.me/p3k7ov-kd). Ballet people tend to get judgmental when they watch actors who “learned ballet in just two years!” take on the role of a professional ballet dancer. (Hint: it takes ten or twenty years.) But okay, assuming this hypothetical actor gets a dance double who looks identical and dances like a dream (American Ballet Theatre soloist Sarah Lane did a great job in Black Swan), the actors I’d love to see in the film version would be Jennifer Lawrence as Dena, Scarlett Johannson (dyed brunette) as Rebecca, Christoph Waltz as Anders, Ben Afleck (with thinning gold hair) as Ben.
Anything you would like to say about writing? Encouraging words for potential writers?

Here’s encouragement: ANYONE can be a writer. You just need to sit yourself down daily and write. No, not talk about it or daydream about it. Just sit and write. Every day. It doesn’t have to be hours and hours. It can be twenty minutes. (No distractions or Internet access during that time, though!) If you do this daily, monthly, yearly, it will grow and grow. People seem to think they need to wait till they retire to start writing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because those people will wait and wait, and finally sit down one day, to write The Great American Novel. And guess what comes? A Great American Dose of writer’s block.

But, lest I sound too chirpy and can-do, bear this caveat in mind if you’ve doggedly set off to be a writer. In the end, if you don’t love the process, really love to write, well, don’t do it. If you can’t NOT write, well, there you go. Write. The reward is in the journey, and journeys don’t pay well. I am okay with the fact that I’ve devoted an astonishing number of hours over the past twenty years to project after project, with very, very little income generated. We’re talking something like $2.00 a week for a thirty hour work week. But what do I get instead of money? Oh, wow. My spirit, soul and heart all sing when I’m engrossed in my work, or when I look over a finished product. It’s a good feeling, like nothing else on earth. It’s where I was meant to be. Heed that little whisper in the back of your mind. It makes life easier.

About the Author

Terez Mertes Rose is a writer and former ballet dancer whose work has appeared in the Crab Orchard Review, Women Who Eat (Seal Press), A Woman’s Europe (Travelers’ Tales), the Philadelphia Inquirer and the San Jose Mercury News. She is the author of Off Balance, Book 1 of the Ballet Theatre Chronicles (Classical Girl Press). She reviews dance performances for Bachtrack.com and blogs about ballet and classical music at The Classical Girl (www.theclassicalgirl.com). She makes her home in the Santa Cruz Mountains with her husband and son.  

Novel Excerpt

When Anders Gunst, artistic director of the West Coast Ballet Theatre, told nineteen-year-old Dena Lindgren he was promoting her to soloist, all she could think was that she’d misheard him. They were standing backstage, post-performance, at San Francisco’s California Civic Theater. Partial lighting streamed from the overhead fixtures, casting the furthest wings in shadows. The stagehands, immersed in their nightly cleanup routine, swept the floor, inspected cables and called out to one another across the empty stage. Anders always spoke softly, and right then, it was hard to hear over their voices.

“I’m sorry,” she stammered, clutching and unclutching the towel she’d used to mop up her sweat from Arpeggio, the ballet she’d just finished. “I misunderstood what you said. Because you’re promoting my sister. Not me. Right?” She felt foolish even suggesting otherwise, like the newbie first-year corps dancer she was. At five-foot-two, she was a petite dancer, and right then she felt her smallness. Anders himself, while not particularly tall, was dressed tonight in a sleek charcoal Italian suit and tie that enhanced his refined looks and made him seem all the more intimidating, even as he smiled at her.

“No.” He shook his head. “It’s you I’m promoting to soloist.”

She began to shiver in her costume, a pale, glittery, silken tunic that clung damply to her skin. “That’s not possible. There’s just that one position open.”

“Yes.” Anders didn’t seem bothered by her aggrieved tone or the way everything about her had scrunched up in resistance.

“But… but,” she sputtered. “That wasn’t the plan.”

He chuckled. “I think, as the artistic director, I have a fairly good sense of what the plan should be.”

And still she stared at him, incredulous, unable to process it.

While he continued speaking, a part of her mind detached and hastily scrolled over the past two hours, this performance of Arpeggio, the unexpected triumph of it in the aftermath of the terrible news she and her older sister Rebecca had just received. Their parents were divorcing; their father already had plans to remarry. Dena hadn’t seen it coming, and this destruction of their family of four had devastated her. Rebecca, dancing Arpeggio too, had taken Dena by the shoulders in the dressing room, given her a shake, told her fiercely to take that pain and pour it into the performance. This crucial performance in which they both had soloist roles, even though they were both only corps dancers. The big, huge, this-could-be-career-changing opportunity for the two of them that they simply had to excel at.

They’d excelled, both of them. And now, by all rights, the career change belonged to Rebecca, three years Dena’s senior, in age and company status. The promotion was to be hers. Everyone in the company knew it.

“Anders,” she said, more vehement now. “What about my sister?”

Anders gave her a thoughtful nod. “Rebecca is a very strong dancer, graced with extraordinary beauty. You lack your sister’s looks—most of the girls do—but it’s that very omission that makes you a more interesting dancer to watch. You can embody a number of different moods and personas, all so decisive and convincing. You have a talent that draws eyes to you. Rebecca fits seamlessly into any ensemble she’s placed in. She blends in. You stand out. I see that now. To keep you in the corps would only hinder what’s flowing from you so naturally. Soloist rank is where I want you.”

He glanced over to the front of the backstage area where Ben, ballet master and assistant to the artistic director, was gesturing to his wristwatch. Anders looked at his own watch. “I’m expected over at L’Orange in ten minutes,” he told Dena. “I’ll leave you to your cleanup. Congratulations, again.”

The implications began to sink in. “Wait! How… how can I possibly tell her?”

A touch of impatience crossed Anders’ face. “Rebecca and I understand each other. I’ll have a word with her.”

He didn’t wait for her reply, but instead strode away to where Ben stood waiting, by the door with the green glowing “exit” sign above. The two of them disappeared from sight.

She remained there, rooted to the spot, still trying to process it all.

Links: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClassicalGrrl (@classicalgrrl) 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheClassicalGirl/

Website: www.terezrose.com

On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2i4EFTz

On Amazon: http://amzn.to/2hJKqas

INTERVIEW: w/ Wendy Crisp Lestina, Author of A Bit of Earth

A Bit of Earth

By Wendy Crisp Lestina

Genre: Memoir; humor

A 160-page memoir, A Bit of Earth, begins with the author's dream-encounter with her father, a Marine lieutenant who was killed on Okinawa during the last days of World War II--and ends with reconciliation and healing. Told in 23 essays, the story is focused on Wendy Lestina's lifelong spiritual mandate from the father she never knew: "Life a big life, as big as you can make it, big enough for both of us." A tough challenge for a woman, and one that Lestina tackled with varying degrees of success (she was the editor-in-chief of a woman's magazine in New York and the spokesperson for a national businesswomen's organization) and failure (several marriages, loss of friendships, unprofitable business ventures). 

The tale, which takes place in a small farm town in far northern California; Los Angeles; Pasadena; New York City and its suburbs; Portland, Oregon; and the prairie village of Bricelyn, Minnesota, weaves through nearly seven decades and criss-crosses the country. The story follows the historical context of the second half of the 20th century, but Wendy Lestina's adaption to the cultural changes for her generation in that time is not typical. As one reviewer writes, "There's never a predictable moment as Wendy ventures far and wide, only to return to her ancestral home bearing the gifts of a life well and truly lived." Another reviewer noted, "Wendy shares her big life of small moments, bringing us wry, canny thoughts and deadpan laughs." This is brave memoir in which the author never presents herself as victim or hero, but rather as a woman who's willing to take risks to search for what's real and lasting -- and to find in that search, an abundance of love and humor.

Interview: 

What surprises did you come across when writing the book?

How much I recalled once I began to write the details of a certain episode, whole conversations came back to me, even what people were wearing, what the interiors of the apartments, houses, offices, looked like.  It was like falling through a black hole and finding myself in an exact moment of time. I could feel the nubby mauve fabric of a costume I wore in a play I was in;  names came back to me; prices; weather; music; food. The mind is a fascinating repository of every moment of our lives, as it turns out... all we have to do is perform the exercises to unlock these treasures--and not fear what, or who, we will find there. That is what stopped me from writing a memoir until I was over 70—I was afraid of who I  am and who I was, and what people would think. (And so I clung to the mantra, adapted from the wisdom of the first psychologist I visited, when I was 25, who said, “Wendy, do you know how often other people think about you? Four minutes a week.”)

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play yourself?

People say that I resemble Meryl Streep. That's  a pretty good start.  Another choice  would have been Carrie Fisher, as she played  Marie, Sally's best friend in “When Harry Met Sally.” That role, written so brilliantly by Nora Ephron, is close to the mark.

Anything you would like to say about writing? Encouraging words for potential writers?

I'm not sure if all writers struggle for voice, but it has been the most difficult aspect of writing for me, not in the least because I have the gift/curse of being an excellent mimic. While this skill is especially valuable for entertaining public speaking, at which I have had a measure of success, it is an obstacle in the path of authentic passion. It helped me to have an outstanding editor who is also a lifelong friend. She knows my true voice and I trust her blunt criticism.

Advice for new writers? 

Tell the best story you can tell. Don't think about sales or money or fame or reviews. Whether you're writing fiction or creative nonfiction, write for your characters,  give them life and freedom and send them out into the wild unknown of your story. Ramble around, meander, listen to yourself write.

Astonish and delight us.

About the Author

Wendy Crisp Lestina is the author of five books:  When I Grow Up I Want to Be 60 (Penguin/Perigee, Spring 2006); Do As I Say Not As I Did (Penguin/Perigee, 1997); From The Back Pew (2003); Old Favorites From Ferndale Kitchens (1994); and the best-selling 100 Things I’m Not Going to Do Now That I’m Over 50 (Penguin/Perigee, 1995).

Her career has been as a magazine editor (Savvy, Datamation, among others) and a public speaker (as the spokesperson of the National Association for Female Executives). She has appeared on dozens of national television programs, including Oprah!, The McLaughlin Group, the Today Show, and Good Morning America. Her op-ed pieces have been published in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, the Portland Oregonian, and heard on Oregon Public Broadcasting. 

Since 2004, Wendy has directed over a dozen documentary videos, including Saving the Queen, produced under a grant from CalHumanities; and Letters Home, which won the Western History Association’s Autry Public History Prize in 2011. Her weekly newspaper column, “From the Back Pew,” has won three national awards for both “most serious” and “most humorous” from the National Newspaper Association.  In 1997, Middlebury College (Vermont) awarded her an honorary doctorate for her work “on behalf of women and children.” She holds a B.A. (English) from Whitman College (Washington).

As a volunteer, Wendy served eight years on the national board of directors of United Methodist Communications (Nashville). She was a seminar leader in Bedford Hills Correctional Facility (New York); she coordinated nonprofit fundraisers in New York and Humboldt County. She is now the president of the historic  Ferndale Cemetery Association.  

Wendy and her husband, John live on the family farm outside of Ferndale, California where they are hosts of an Airbnb that serves dinner.

Links: 

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1947WaldnerFarm/
Website: www.wendylestina.com

On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2h0WrLu

On Amazon: http://amzn.to/2hXjXcg

On B&N: http://bit.ly/2hJNPWG

BOOK BLITZ: Dreamslippers Series Boxed Set By Lisa Brunette

Dreamslippers Series Boxed Set

By Lisa Brunette

Genre: Mystery, Female Sleuths, Romantic Suspense

SERIES OVERVIEW

What if you could ‘slip’ into the dreams of a killer? This family of PIs can. They use their psychic dream ability to solve crimes, and that isn’t easy. 

In Cat in the Flock…
Following a mother and girl on the run, apprentice dreamslipper Cat McCormick goes undercover inside a fundamentalist church. Is its enigmatic leader guilty of domestic violence? Did his right-hand man really commit suicide?

In Framed and Burning…
It was supposed to be a much-needed vacation in Miami, meant to snap Cat out of a persistent depression. But when her great uncle’s studio goes up in flames, killing his assistant, Cat must find out who’s really to blame.

In Bound to the Truth…

The dreamslippers don’t quite trust their client. Did Nina Howell really fall under the spell of a domineering, conservative talk show host—as her wife claims?

PLUS explore Amazing Grace’s back story in the bonus story found ONLY in this boxed set!

For readers who enjoy strong female leads, quirky, well-developed characters, and a dash of dating drama with their mystery. Fans of J.A. Jance, Mary Daheim, and Jayne Ann Krentz will love Cat and “Amazing” Grace!

5-STAR REVIEWS FOR BOOKS IN THE SERIES…

“This might possibly be a ‘great book.’” - Sharon E. Leighton, a reader in Canada, on CAT IN THE FLOCK

“Lisa Brunette’s FRAMED AND BURNING is a brilliant, suspenseful whodunit…” - Anthony Award-winning writer of the Inspector Chen series, Qui Xiaolong

“The plot runs deep, and the characters are both quirky and interesting. This is a total whodunit mystery that will keep you on edge until the very end!” - Sage Adderley, on BOUND TO THE TRUTH

Follow Lisa online:

Twitter: @lisa_brunette
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LisaBrunettePage1

Website: www.lisa-brunette.com

Readers can grab this boxed set for just $6.99 by using a $2 coupon from the author!

Redeem the coupon by simply selecting the link below. Enter the coupon code at checkout and download the entire boxed set in any format for any device.

Coupon code: AJ24V 

Link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/693828

INTERVIEW: with Kristen Flood, Author of Seeking Incandescence

Seeking Incandescence

By Kristen Flood

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Inno shouldn’t exist. But she does. She is very real. Born illegally outside of the breeding facilities, she has been raised to believe that it is her duty to infiltrate Ares Academy and take down the government. But can she fit in with the obedient masses of the military? Pepper should be dead. She should have had her memories wiped and been placed on the streets to die. But she was immune. She has spent her life undergoing experiment after experiment and now has been charged with one task. But can she be trusted to spy for her captors? Mint is a military officer. The Seers have deemed him worthy of joining Ares Academy. There he will be molded into the perfect solider, the unshakable image of obedience, efficiency, and apathy. But what if there was another way? Is standing up worth standing out?

Interview:

What inspired you to write this book?

In 2012, my senior year of high school, I submitted to the L. Ron Hubbards contest. At the time I only wrote fantasy but as I started my short story I realized that it wouldn’t work for the contest. With only weeks left before the submission I decided to do something I had never done. I decided to write a science fiction piece. I called it Blue Birds and sent in to the contest. I lost. I got an honourable mention and I thought, “Well I just wasn’t good enough.” I let the story go and I let it collect dust until a conversation with a friend brought it back up. That is when I found out that this contest had 1,000 people enter a quarter and an honourable mention but me somewhere in the top 50. So I decided I turn Blue Birds into a book and see where it took me. It was a casual project at the time because I didn’t really have time to write a book. July 15th of 2015 my husband and I had a baby. During my leave from work, I realized that there was never going to be a good time to write a book that I was always going to be busy. So during the hardest college semester of my life with a new-born baby I wrote and finished Blue Birds which I had renamed, Seeking Incandesce. That book released June 17th of 2016. Now, writing just consumes my life and I absolutely love it.

Do you have a favorite character, or in what ways do any of the characters represent you?

My favorite character is Pepper. She wasn’t originally supposed to have such a big part in the book. She had three scenes in the short story and lived in Inno’s memoires. But as I dusted off that short story to write my book, I realized that no one shined as brightly as Pepper. In the background of Inno and Mint so many different things were happening that only Pepper knew about. I think that Pepper’s journey in itself is extraordinary and it’s what made this book into a trilogy.

What surprises did you come across when writing the book?

Pepper was by far the biggest surprise of the book for me. Her character is so unique in general and the way she complements Inno is truly amazing. I try to put a bit of my own ideas on the world into my books. One of the main themes is identity and I think that Pepper and Inno display that so well. Another big surprise for me was Inno and Mint’s relationship. When I wrote this book they were supposed to fall in love but Inno and Mint just weren’t meant to be. I think seeing these characters on paper is such a rewarding experience.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead characters?

If this book was to be made into a film I would love for my cover model, Shyan Scurek, to play Pepper. I think that Lena Headey would make a fantastic Clarabelle. Lena plays Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones and I think that her mannerisms fit perfectly with Clarabelle’s cool and collective personality. Clarabelle is a villain you love to hate.

Anything you would like to say about writing? Encouraging words for potential writers?

I think that a lot of people that want to write get caught up in where to start. Then they get caught up in their fear to fail. So I think that I would say start by writing. Write that book, write that blog, and just keep writing. Fail. Do it. Go ahead and fail a hundred more times if you have too because the path to success is covered in broken glass and if it doesn’t hurt you haven’t gone far enough. There is never going to be a good time to write so do it in between diaper changes, homework, lunch breaks, and whatever crazy hectic schedules you have. Write because you have too, don’t make it a choice, set a deadline and do it. 

About the Author

Kristen Flood is a YA science fiction author and poet. At twenty-two, Kristen published her first book, The Museum: A Collection of Dark Poetry. Now twenty-three, she has released her second book, Seeking Incandescence. Kristen lives in Missouri with her husband and son. When she’s not writing or chasing her toddler she spends her time cramming for tests and turning in last minute assignments at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Kristen plans to release two books in the coming year but until then she is just trying to get through finals.

Links: 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kristenfloodbooks 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KristenFlood01

Website: kristenfloodbooks.com

On Amazon: http://amzn.to/2fDhn5z

On B&N: http://bit.ly/2gxzRoR

On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2fUZ64L

Book Trailer:

The author is hosting a Goodreads giveaway!

Enter here: http://bit.ly/2joLcgn