A Life Through Books

A Tall Tales from the Hills Novel: Book 1

Mystery

Date Published: November 7, 2019

Publisher: Jan-Carol Publishing, Inc.

Set in Southwest Virginia and inspired by actual events and the story of the small town's most revered doctor, who may just be a serial killer. A local police officer with a tarnished reputation, a reporter who manipulated facts, and the doctor's chief intern, who may be a thief, have pieces of the puzzle. Yet no one in authority believes the great doctor could be responsible. All the while, patients are dying.

About the Author

Shadowed and protected by the mountains of her native southwest Virginia, Amelia Townsend has lived hither, thither, and yon – mostly between Virginia and North Carolina. She has worked as a newspaper and TV reporter, freelance producer and director, writer, and now PR hack.  She is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She has no claim to fame. Further, she is most often bewildered when people say they are impressed by her work. Her first novel, Keepsakes for the Heart, was nominated by the N.C. Historical Association for the prestigious Ragan Old North State Award for non-fiction.

Her favorite avocation is listening to and writing down other people’s stories, for truth surely is stranger and more beautiful than fiction. This is where Townsend has found fodder for the stories of the hills that she wrote with her late writing buddy. Several have come to life in the form of a novel and a couple of plays in production. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Townsend’s most impressive accomplishments are her children – a son and daughter – who managed to turn in to fine young adults, despite her attempts to raise them.

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Date Published: September 1, 2020

Publisher: Crazy 8 Press

Angela Hardwicke isn’t just any private eye. She’s a PI from Eternity, the cosmic realm responsible for the design, creation, and maintenance of the Universe.

When accountant Gil Haberseau hires her to find an intern with stolen corporate files, Hardwicke soon finds herself embroiled in a deadly case of lies, intrigue, and murder, clashing with vengeful gangsters, MinderNot rallies, and a madman who’s come a long way to get what he wants.

In Russ Colchamiro’s thrilling Sci-Fi mystery Crackle and Fire, Angela Hardwicke learns once and for all that when it comes to being an intergalactic private eye, there’s no telling what threats she may face on-realm and off… including the demons that lurk deep within her soul.

Bonus story included! The AI-themed Angela Hardwicke murder mystery, “The Case of Jarlo’s Buried Treasure”

About the Author

Russ Colchamiro is also the author of the rollicking sci-fi adventure, Crossline, the zany sci-fi/fantasy backpacking series Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, editor of the sci-fi-themed mystery anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, and co-author and co-editor of Murder in Montague Falls, a noir-inspired collection of novellas.

Russ is also the creator and host of Russ’s Rockin’ Rollercoaster podcast, where he has interviewed several NY Times and USA Today best-selling sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery authors. Russ has also contributed short stories to more than a dozen sci-fi and fantasy anthologies.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children.

For more on Russ and Russ’s Rockin’ Rollercoaster, visit www.russcolchamiro.com, follow him on Twitter and Instagram @AuthorDudeRuss, ‘like’ his Facebook author page www.facebook.com/RussColchamiroAuthor, and watch his podcast on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUb7MDUNQxyVRBDOTVEqOaw

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Ranch Rescue Book 1

Western Romance, Contemporary

Date Published: September 30, 2020

Publisher: Blushing Books

Holt Coleman runs the Rescue Ranch with his five brothers. A project initiated by their parents and supported by the entire family. They rescue abused women, and abused horses. Two very different ventures with more similarities than expected, both are suffering from past trauma and have lost the ability to trust. Currently, the ranch needs a new house mother to welcome and assist the women who are seeking safety here. When convicted murderer Aurora Bickman applies Holt’s intrigued by her application and her past. When he meets her he knows he has to have her, as an employee, as a lover and as her daddy.

Aurora Bickman was released from prison early given her good behavior and prison overcrowding. Most people thought she didn’t serve long enough but they also didn’t know her sentence began shortly after she married her deceased husband. Feeling as though she’s imposed on her best friend’s hospitality long enough, and even though she’s scared beyond belief, she is ready to start her life over on her terms. Surprised she has an interview and worried she’ll be rejected, she pushes the feelings aside and takes a chance at the Rescue Ranch. When she sees the gorgeous ranch and meets the handsome Holt Coleman, she feels as if her dreams have a chance to come true. In more ways than one.

This is book one in the Rescue Ranch series and can be enjoyed independently.

Publisher’s Note: This sexy, Daddy Dom, cowboy romance contains elements of danger, adventure, mystery, sensual themes and power exchange and is intended for adults only. If any of these offend you, please do not purchase.

About the Author

Melinda Barron loves to explore Egyptian tombs and temples, discover Mayan ruins, play in castles towers, and explore new cities and countries. She generally does it all from the comfort of her home by opening a book.

Melinda loves to lose herself between the pages of a book. The only thing she loves more is creating stories from the wonderful heroes and heroines that haunt her dreams and crowd her head. She believes love is for everyone, not just those who are a size 2. Her books are full of magic, suspense and love, in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Mel currently lives in the Texas Panhandle, with two cats, and a file stuffed with new ideas to keep her typing fingers busy, and your heart engaged.

She also writes as Maura McMann.

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Date Published: November 2019

 Publisher: Gersten Weitz Publishers

Three generations tell an incredible story of survival in the poignant Holocaust memoir The Birds Sang Eulogies.The survivors Anna and Danny Geslewitz tell of their harrowing wartime experiences. Danny’s began in the Lodz ghetto in Poland, then continued in Auschwitz, then in a series of forced labor camps. Anna’s journey took her from the horrors of the Lvov ghetto to a flight into Germany to avoid death in the ghetto. The end of the war, while it ended their years of agony and deprivation, found Danny barely alive and struggling to regain his health and Anna dealing with the post-war chaos as she tried to locate family. The book then follows Anna and Danny’s daughter and granddaughter years later when they travel to Poland and record their reactions to the sites of their family’s suffering. These riveting accounts close with moving poetry written by Anna. Readers will share the sorrow and terror the poems express as they marvel at the bonds of these three generations. 

Excerpt

In this poignant memoir, The Birds Sang Eulogies, Anna and Danny Geslewitz's incredible stories of survival are told by them, their daughter and their granddaughter, three generations affected by the Holocaust. Danny's agonizing story began the moment the Germans invaded Lodz, Poland in 1939. His harrowing story of survival begins in the ghetto where starvation and death were rampant. When the Germans liquidated the ghetto in 1944, Danny and his remaining family members were sent to Auschwitz. Danny's description of hell on earth leaves the reader horrified. After enduring Auschwitz for three weeks, Danny and his brothers began nightmarish journeys to seven forced labor camps were they endured inconceivable deprivations. After witnessing two brothers perish, Danny is near death when suddenly the Germans disappear. Living in the eastern Polish city of Lvov, Anna vividly describes life and death in the Lvov Ghetto. When it becomes clear that the Germans will kill every remaining Jew in the ghetto, she and her sister flee into Germany. There, Anna works as a maid in German household. She lives a life of constant terror fearing that her Jewish identity will be discovered. The mayhem of liberation brings its own challenges to Anna and Danny. Barely alive, Danny struggled to regain his health. Anna scrambled to find a way to survive in the chaos and find her sister from whom she had been separated. As Danny and Anna worked to find their place in life, they meet in Germany. Together, they begin a memorable new chapter. Years later, their daughter and granddaughter travel to Poland. Their personal accounts of their trips are riveting. Anna Geslewitz was a poet. One can feel her sorrow, terror and angst as one reads her poems. The poems are included in The Birds Sang Eulogies: A Memoir.

About the Author

Ms. Raz is a retired speech pathologist and the author of the popular Help Me Talk Right books How to Teach a Child to Say the “R” Sound in 15 Easy Lessons, How to Teach a Child to Say the “S” Sound in 15 Easy Lessons and How to Teach a Child to Say the “L” Sound in 15 Easy Lessons and Preschool Stuttering: What Parents Can Do. Ms. Raz is also a contributing author in other publications.

Ms. Raz is a past president of the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors’Association. She is a member of the Board and the Education Chair for the Phoenix Holocaust Association. Ms. Raz newest publication is The Birds Sang Eulogies: A Memoir. The book recounts the harrowing experiences of her parents during WWII as they struggled to survive the Nazi’s attempted extermination of the Jews.

Ms. Raz is married to Zohar Raz. They are the proud parents of two daughters and two grandchildren.

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Contemporary Christian Romance

Date Published: April 27, 2019

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Kayden James may have missed out on her happy ever after. But, as a successful marriage and family therapist, at least she can help other people find theirs. Now that her career has taken off, Kayden is finally ready to put the past behind her. . . until it strolls into her office unexpectedly one day. The last thing Kayden needs is for her ex-boyfriend to stir up old feelings. She’d rather stay a single cat lady than let him break her heart again.

Liam has spent a long time living with one regret—letting Kayden slip through his fingers. He’s determined to make amends for the way he treated her all those years ago, but he’s finding it hard to melt her icy exterior. If he can just convince her to trust him and see that he’s changed, their love finally has a chance of coming full circle.

 Excerpt

A combination of relief and confusion washed over Kayden while she processed the information. Her brain registered a jumbled mess of contradictory emotions ranging from sadness to anger to happiness.

Liam withdrew his hand. “That’s all in the past,” he said, reaching for his burger. He took a big bite and stared off into the distance.

“You said you work nearby. Where?”

“The University of Colorado. I teach computer science at their Denver campus.”

Kayden let out a low whistle. “I’m impressed. What’s your area of expertise?”

“Database Management Systems.”

“Sounds complicated.” She finished eating her fries. “It wouldn’t be my idea of fun, but I bet you find the subject fascinating.”

He grinned. “Not as fascinating as your job. In my line of work, it’s extremely rare for a computer to get mad and storm out of the room.”

Kayden gave him a playful elbow to the ribs. “Very funny.” Her lips twitched, struggling to contain the laughter, until it burst out and engulfed them. Soon they giggled like two long lost friends instead of estranged exes.

Shane cleared away their plates. “Any dessert for you today?”

“No, thank you,” Kayden answered.

“I’ve got this,” Liam replied as Shane slid the check on the bar between them. He placed the money he extracted from his wallet on the counter. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks. You folks enjoy the rest of your day.”

~~~~

Liam followed Kayden out of the restaurant and into the sunshine, feeling a little less guilt-ridden than when the day had begun. He stepped lightly and inhaled the aromatic pansies blooming in one of the many large flower pots dotting the sidewalk along the path to Elway Plaza. 

He eased his sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose. While they walked, he admired the captivating woman beside him and thanked God for the opportunity to make amends for the way he’d treated her.

“This is my stop. Thank you for lunch.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I guess I’ll see you around.” She turned for the door.

“Wait!” He withdrew the wallet in his back pocket and pulled out his business card. “Give me a call sometime. Day or night.”

Kayden read aloud the name on the card: Liam Pierce, PhD.

He slowly stepped away, wishing he had a camera to capture her radiant smile. “Goodbye, Dr. James.”

About the Author

★ Amazon #1 Bestselling Author ★

Cherry resides in the Mitten State with her husband of 19 years and a tabby cat named Caden. A true Michigander, she points at the palm of her right hand when telling people where she lives, drinks Vernors ginger ale when she’s under the weather, wears shorts and a sweatshirt at the same time, and measures distance in minutes, not miles. She also cheers for her favorite football team, the Michigan Wolverines. Go Blue!

A confirmed night owl, Cherry wholeheartedly agrees with whoever said, “I could be a morning person, if morning happened around noon.” It’s no surprise then she prefers to write in the evening. She’s a bit of a pantser writer, meaning she dreams up stories without using an outline, so every day is an exciting adventure as she waits to see where the characters lead her next!

A lifelong avid reader, Cherry turned to writing as a creative outlet. Drawing partly from her own experiences, and partly from her wild imagination, she weaves romantic tales with a smidgen of religion and a hint of mystery. Cherry’s first novel, The Fearful Heart, debuted in 2014, and she has never looked back. She continues to grow as an author, learning more about the writing craft with each book.

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A Satirical Romp through the Wall Street and Silicon Valley Swamps

Satire, Literary Fiction

Published: April 2020

Would you sell your soul to a sociopathic hedge fund titan for tens of millions in dirty cash? What about your sexy wife? What if it meant cozying up to a neurotic and lecherous tech entrepreneur while risking your freedom, and maybe even your life?

Snatch 2&20 is a satirical memoir parodying the author’s past life as a hedge fund manager. It should not only be of interest to the fans of the hit TV shows Billions and Silicon Valley, and books like The Wolf of Wall Street and Liar’s Poker, but to anyone who wants an insider’s take on the rotten core of our delusional plutocracy in this second Gilded Age.

If you just say no to innuendo, then please enter with caution (as the strumpet said to the stiff). But just remember that, in this case, the only thing more offensive than the jokes is the truth they pillory- the corruption of our financial elites and the system that enables them, the ludicrous hype surrounding technology companies and their founders, and the blatant hypocrisy of pretty much everyone. It is also, perhaps, one man’s journey to find a grain of meaning in the castle of sand that is his life.

Praise for Snatch 2&20:

 "Snatch 2&20" is a remarkable debut novel by Luke Fellows and one I highly recommend. If you're looking for an entertaining escape and enjoy a little zing in your reads, this one scores off the charts in originality, entertainment value and excellent writing. Well done...Among the top stories I've read so far this year." - Reader Views

"A raucous story told by a brilliant mind becomes something both satirical and insightful in Snatch 2&20 by Luke Fellows...the novel sings like a satirical sword cutting through the worlds of finance and the realms of human folly, making Snatch 2&20 a timely caper that is both amusing and insightful from start to finish." -Self-Publishing Review. 4 stars out of 5.

"In this gloriously sardonic book...the descriptions and dialogue are consistently pithy and snarky...Overall, this novel will be a riotous ride for readers...Fast-paced and often hilarious fiction" - Kirkus Reviews

"Complex, witty, dramatic, thought-provoking, and filled with business and social inspection...Snatch 2&20 is engrossing, unexpected, and hard to put down..." -Midwest Book Review

"Snatch 2&20 is just wild enough to support its destructive, incongruously wholesome conclusion...a clever, cynical novel about the absurdities of capitalism and the people who prop it up." 4 Stars out of 5- Foreword Clarion Reviews.

About the Author

 Luke Fellows is a forty-something recovering hedge fund manager. Born in London, and educated at St. Paul's School and Oxford University, he sacrificed his love of Classics for a Wall Street career, moving to New York City in 2000. After a sojourn at Harvard Business School, he made the leap to Silicon Valley, where, in 2008, he co-founded a technology-focused hedge fund, retiring as soon as his partners could practicably get rid of him. Despite his best efforts to escape the bubble, he still lives with his wife and three daughters near Palo Alto, CA. Snatch 2&20 is the first novel he is admitting to.

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Date Published: 9-29-20

Change happens in business and in life. Today’s success is achieved by learning how to thrive and come alive – manifesting our deeper purpose and true potential – through transformation.

For that to happen we have to shift our mindsets to build and sustain our own capacity to transform. By replacing fear with love. Waste with value. By enriching our personal and professional lives with deeper meaning and expanded capacity.

This book invites you to step out of your comfort zone, tear down your internal blockers, and follow the Ten Steps of Transformation, for a greater impact in your life, organization and society.

Join The Heart Revolution

About the Author

Karen is a business executive, transformer and facilitator with 20+ years of experience in People, Culture and Transformation Leadership roles from several multinationals across industries.

She hates waste in all forms and shapes – and loves impact. That’s why she has a burning desire to help individuals and organizations to transform, disrupting their lives as a way to enrichment.

Karen is a self-proclaimed collector of the lightbulb moments, where people do things they never imagined they could. And she says she comes fully alive when deeply engaged in asking, listening to and sensing people – both what they’re saying and not saying.

She is lifelong student and learner, holding a bachelor’s in Economics – specialized in Organizational Development, an Executive MBA and a Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy. But originally started her career as a nurse, caring for terminally ill AIDS patients. Seeing how differently people would meet death – whether embracing it having truly lived or facing it begrudgingly with regret – gave Karen existential insight into the importance of living fully, both personally and professionally.

Whatever the label though, working with people, their well-being and transformation has been the red thread throughout Karen’s life. And she is here to help everyone who wants to disrupt and enrich their lives – transforming through love and laughter – whether as individuals or whole organizations.

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Self Help- Body mind Spirit- Psychology

Date Published: 9/29/20

Do you have a yearning to be the best version of yourself, but struggle to connect with your inner child? If you answered yes, perhaps I can help. I am Reyhan Toplu, and once upon a time, I was just like you. My journey will help inspire you to reconnect with yourself.

We’ve all heard the cliché, “don’t lose sight of the child within”, but how do we hold onto them in a world of negativity? How do we preserve our love and innocence in a world seemingly intent on grinding us down? The time is right for us to rediscover our inner peace and self-love.

Too many of us think of our inner child as someone to fight against, rather than embrace. The victim of embarrassment, trauma, and for some of us, suffering, we’re all too willing to fight against the worst of what our inner child could be, rather than realizing the potential for growth, love, and happiness. This book is all about a journey to reconnect with my inner child, a book of ideas to help you on your own journey to finding peace and happiness. Our journeys may not be the same, but I hope my story can help guide you to finding your own contentment.

Journey with me, Reyhan Toplu, as we explore the hidden truths of your inner child on a quest for health and happiness that comes from within.

About the Author

Reyhan Toplu is an holistic healing and mindfulness practitioner, scholar, yogini, and author who offers her blending lifetime skills and knowledge with holistic; body mind spirit approach. Reyhan focuses on the multidimensional needs of individual. Recognizing a need for greater spiritual awareness in society, Reyhan has devoted her life on especially inner child healing, self-love, teaching mindfulness and helping people in all age groups who need to discover and develop their creative power of self-healing and personal growth. She also has integrated her accredited yoga, meditation, reiki, shamanic healing and other healing practices into her private healing & therapy work and public course offerings. And she is also writing her next book “Mindful Compassion for Suffering".

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Date Published: SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2020

Publisher: HURN PUBLICATIONS

A memoir turned into thrilling fiction; Moon in Bastet is based on the life of author E. S. Danon. The story follows a fourteen-year-old girl named Eva, an orphan living in the Negev desert of Israel who is working as a custodian of Cirque Du Christianisme. Her life is controlled by a volatile drunk named Bella who favors a group of equally volatile teenage bullies over her and her own safety or sanity.

Bullied, neglected, and alone – Eva’s only friends are an odd, thirteen–year–old Sephardic boy named Jack and a small cohort of Bedouin sister-wives. On the brink of giving up on life, Eva stumbles upon a mysterious cat in the middle of the desert. Or really, did the cat stumble upon her?

Together they must fight to stay alive, win the battles thrown at them, and Eva must learn to not only lean on others but to trust in herself.

Filled with mystery, magic, and symbolism – Moon in Bastet is a story of resilience, survivorship, forgiveness, and women empowerment. This is a work filled with Jewish mysticism that can be enjoyed by people of all races, ages, and religions everywhere.

About the Author

Elizabeth Danon received her B.S. in Marine Science from Stony Brook University before working as a Marine Biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service. She traveled the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico: collecting data aboard commercial fishing vessels and dredges.

When that didn’t pan out to be the glorified job that she expected, finding herself covered in shark snot and fish scales daily, Elizabeth became a technical writer. In her spare time, she began doing standup comedy after taking comedy bootcamp with the Armed Services Arts Partnership. At this time, she married the most wonderful man who also provides most of her joke writing material. Unfortunately, because he’s Indian he has also enabled her Maggi addiction… Like she needed that on top of her already long-standing iced coffee issues.

Her favorite show is Schitt’s Creek, as she feels a special bond to her fellow comedians – and Sephardic brethren. Growing up half-Jewish herself, Elizabeth eventually converted to being full-Jewish with Temple Israel as a student of Rabbi Panitz.

Her enriched, but complicated, heritage has been an inspiration for most of her creative writing. Being an Aries, she has always felt like a leader and has therefore integrated her feminist beliefs into her work, albeit dropping every women’s studies course that she ever elected in college. Additionally, her writing has an unmistakable international presence. Elizabeth wanted to discover as much as she could about her Sephardic Heritage and went on Birthright, followed by her independent travels to over ten other countries… carrying nothing but a red bookbag.

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Notorious Minds Crime Mystery Thriller Boxset

Mystery/Thriller

Date Published: October 13, 2020

Publisher: Fire Quill Publishers

Frankie Shep is still mourning the deaths of her husband and young son when she finds a bone in the far corner of her Wyoming cattle ranch.

Excited to think she may have discovered an ancient Native American village, she takes the bone to a lifelong friend who is now a forensic anthropologist on contract with her county.

After a cursory inspection, he turns a blood-chilling stare at Frankie. The bone isn’t ancient. Worse, the victim could be the remains of Frankie’s mother. She disappeared from her own bed more than a decade ago.

And now her retired father is missing.

As Frankie digs deeper, she discovers the terrifying truth that a serial killer is using her land to bury his victims, all members of her family and inner circle.

And now he’s watching her.

Mystery Bones Murders is a story of love, heart-wrenching deception, and finding redemption.

Available exclusively in the Notorious Minds box set!

What does it take to commit the perfect crime?

Delve into these dark and twisted tales by twenty USA Today and International Bestselling Authors.

No matter what kind of crime story typically catches your imagination, there’s sure to be something for everyone.

Conspiracies, political plots, and yes, even murder, are just a few of the crimes waiting inside this box set.

Discover a narcissistic grandmother running an underground syndicate, or a support group bent on murder…and even a serial killer who turns his victims into fairytale creatures.

Uncover the passion, jealousy, and fear lingering in every tale.

This box set is packed with thousands of pages that will hold you on the edge of your seat, crying for answers.

About the Author

 Karen Randau authors fast-paced stories with intricate plots and lots of actione. Her debut novel, Deadly Deceit, was the first in her four-book Rim Country Mysteries and has twice reached the #1 slot in Amazon's amateur sleuth category. The fourth book in the series, Deadly Payload, was a finalist in the 2019 Book Excellence Awards and the 2018 Beverly Hills Book Awards®. She was one of seven authors in the Tawnee Mountain Mystery Series with Deadly Reception and now is joining 19 other others in the Notorious Minds Crime Mystery/Thriller boxset.

A native of the southwestern U.S., Karen has traveled internationally and witnessed famines, violence, and hopeful people working to overcome abject poverty. She draws on both her creativity and personal experience to weave together an interesting cast of characters with rollercoaster-like twists and turns. 

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