A Life Through Books

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Virtual Book Tour: Death and Ham by Bobby Evers #nonfiction #memoir #humor #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours
7:57 AM0 Comments

 


Memoir / Humor / Essays

Date Published: November 16, 2022


 

Bobby Evers never takes himself—or the world—too seriously. Death and Ham: Life is a Real Trip offers twenty-three new essays that weave together the funny and tender aspects of life, death, and the world around him. The flair for storytelling that Evers premiered in his first book (Shoes and Cheese: The Boonetown Chronicles) is alive and well in this follow-up that travels beyond Boonetown, a journey full of interesting people and heart-felt discoveries. He even lets the reader glimpse his own apprehensions about turning sixty—while also revealing that he’s not too worried about not being the most tech-savvy one at the office. Meet some of his favorite people, and some of the most outlandish people he’s ever met. Death and Ham is a fun, wacky, sometimes-nostalgic journey that may leave you a little wistful for the past, and will surely lend you some laughs for your days ahead.


 


About the Author

Bobby Evers is a life-long Tennessean, a theater enthusiast, and avid traveler. Being a keen people-watcher, he has always been a storyteller, and now he brings those stories to the page in his first book. He has worked in the construction business, and as an interior designer and architectural consultant for over thirty-five years.

 

Contact Links

Website

 

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Amazon


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Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Release Blitz: Pilgrimage Through the Storm by Bindiya B. Chanrai #newbooks #poetry #prayer #giveaway #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours
11:00 PM1 Comments

 

Poetry / Prayer

Date Published: Nov 20, 2024

Publisher:  Serapis Bey Publishing



“One does not become enlightened by imagining oneself as a figure of light but by making the darkness conscious.” 

Carl Jung (1875 – 1961)

 

A deeper level of consciousness can only be birthed from a space of darkness, the void of all possibility, as all of life has arisen from nothingness. Such is the paradox of awakening. When you find yourself held in suspension, and when you are catapulted out of everything you know to be true, it is easy to forget the truth of who you really are.

However, no matter the outer experiences, your innermost essence is unchangeable.

A sense of isolation and separation are undoubtedly facets of the dark night, but in reality you are never alone. Many people have walked this path before you, there are those who are currently engulfed in its midst and those who will follow.

The pieces in this book landed as my own journey through the wilderness. Each fragment is a lived experience, and each lived experience is a mentor.

I offer you these words as your companion while you transition through your own inner shadows…may they provide comfort as you move through the deepest levels of release and find your way home, to a self-compassion you never knew existed.


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Book Blitz: The Start-Up Puzzle by Robert van Pappelendam #nonfiction #business #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours
10:30 PM1 Comments

 


Nonfiction / Business

 

There’s a lot of over-promises and incorrect advice being given online on starting a successful enterprise. This wrong advice could cost someone their life savings and importantly ruin their life ambition and dream. Therefore, in partnership with the Erasmus University Rotterdam, we decided to pull together a practical how-to guide explaining the process successful start-ups go through: The Start-up Puzzle. It explains the different steps by using real-life examples and has an academic section explaining the theory behind these steps, all augmented by interviews with experts in the field of start- and scale-ups. What makes this guide unique? Real-life examples and expert interviews augmented with a birds-eye overview of the academic theory create a practical guide that is both understandable, practical, and implementable.

 


About The Author

RvP is known as the go-to person to simplify & break down complex business challenges into understandable questions you can deal with. He has a remarkable 30+ year track record as both a senior leader in a Fortune 50 company in operational regional and local jobs, global marketing and strategy roles, innovation and external ventures jobs - world of abundance of resources, shortage of  entrepreneurship. On the other hand, he was closely involved as an entrepreneur and advisor to many start & scale-ups in FMCG, Luxury, and MedTech, a world that is often dominated by scarcity, and thus the only way to survive is by taking risk, and coming up with creative out of the box solutions that have never been done before. Currently, he is active as a senior consultant, advisor to start & scale-ups, an avid (public) speaker, a University lecturer, and a high-altitude tour skier, Robert strives to make a difference in the lives of those who aspire to be involved in creating new ventures, in starting enterprises as well as big Corporates that want to be inspired by the creativity that a culture of scarcity breeds.

 

Contact Link

Website


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Amazon



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Preorder Blitz: Wildcard by Angela Knight #scifi #romance #preorder #comingsoon #excerpt #rabtbooktours @ChangelingPress @RABTBookTours
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Sci-Fi Romance, BDSM

Date Published: November 22, 2024

 

 

 

Passion’s the pot when Rowan Kerr draws the Wildcard.

 

Though she lives in a world of Beyonce and iPhones, Indra Fox thinks she may be an alien. She’s too strong, too fast, and heals too quickly to be merely human. But she doesn’t know for sure, because her parents refused to tell her. Nor would they explain why she -- and her equally superhuman best friend, Diana Newman -- were raised to be warriors.

When their families are murdered, Indra and Diana seek revenge on their killers, Satan’s Horsemen. Then Diana is kidnapped, and Indra goes undercover at a strip club the gang owns to discover where her friend has been taken.

But when Rowan Kerr walks into the club, Indra realizes he’s even more powerful than she is. Rowan says he knows who she really is and what she was created to do, but she must go with him to learn the truth.

Indra will do anything to save Diana. Including embracing her destiny as something more than human.

Rowan thinks Indra could be the teammate -- and lover -- he dreams of. But she’s mad as hell about being kept in ignorance, and she’s convinced that she’s been betrayed by the woman he works for. What’s worse, she’s not wrong. Can he convince her to take a chance on him? And can Indra and Rowan defeat the very real aliens who are behind Diana’s abduction?

 

They’d better, or humanity will pay the price for their failure.

 

 

 



EXCERPT


Rowan

I eyed the long, low stucco building as I got out of the car.

Pink neon depicted the outline of a writhing nude woman with a tail and cat ears wrapped around a purple neon stripper pole. More neon read “Pole Katz Gentleman’s Club,” in red.

You sure this is the right address? I asked my computer implant.

Qubit’s silky female voice replied, Her nanos ping from this location, and have been doing so for five hours a night for thirty-eight days. There’s a 93.8 percent chance she’s working here.

Why? She sure doesn’t need the money. I frowned at the neon stripper. Has to be hunting.

Odds are running at 87.6, Qubit agreed.

Indra Fox was going to be about as happy to see me as a serial killer finding cops at the door. And for the same reason.

I headed for the purple awning over the club’s entrance. Even without enhanced senses, I’d have been able to hear the music -- Beyonce purring about getting frisky in a limo.

Qubit displayed results from sensor scans and web searches along the periphery of my visual field, flashing the club’s layout and the number of people inside -- one hundred and fifty-three patrons and staff. Of those, one hundred and fifty-two were Nats -- natural humans. There was only one who wasn’t. Indra Fox.

Double doors led into a narrow, black-walled foyer vibrating with music just short of deafening. To my left stood a cashier’s window where a bored-looking woman in a bare-midriff Pole Katz T manned a Square station. A sign over the window informed me of the twenty-dollar cover charge.

“Hi, there,” the cashier purred, giving me an approving once-over.

Pulling out my wallet, I peeled off a twenty and handed it over.

“Thanks,” she said. “Enjoy.”

“I’m sure I will.” I turned to find a narrow-eyed bouncer glowering by the curtained entry to the main room. He wore black chinos and a black T that said SECURITY in all caps. He looked the part, too -- six-foot-three, 232.8 pounds, per Qubit’s sensors -- with skin the color of teak, a shaved head, and full-sleeve tats on massive arms. Judging from his expression, he didn’t like the looks of me. Probably because big as he was, I was bigger. I suspected he was also trying to figure out if I was a cop. Or worse, if I’d get drunk and disorderly, and if he could handle me if I did.

Dude, you wouldn’t have a prayer.

“Don’t touch the girls,” he warned. “Be a gentleman.”

“I’m never anything but.”

He looked dubious, but I gave him a twenty-dollar tip, and he relaxed as if reassured. Which might be a bit premature, depending on what happened with Fox.

I stepped past him through the curtained doorway into an eye-searing storm of thumping music and colored light. The club’s dark walls were covered with neon silhouettes of women in erotic poses, and the floor was scuffed dark wood. A curving translucent bar glowed to the right, edged in yet more neon.

You need to buy a drink first, Qubit told me. There’s an etiquette to patronizing these places, and you don’t want to draw attention.

Yeah, I’d hate to be conspicuous. I was six and a half feet tall. Conspicuous was pretty much baked into the cake. Snorting, I headed to the bar to collect an overpriced Scotch, then turned to work my way through the crowd as Qubit scanned for our target.

The focus of the room was an oval stage with a pair of sturdy chrome poles, a set of four steps at one end. A ring of plump chairs in red velvet surrounded it, occupied by rapt patrons. Additional groupings of chairs and tables clustered around that, mostly men, with a few couples scattered here and there.

A blonde Nat girl worked one of the poles to the cheers and hoots of the customers. I headed for the chairs around the stage.

If you sit there, you’ll be expected to tip every dancer, Qubit warned as I dropped into the sole unoccupied seat.

Money not being a problem -- one of the perks of working for Mama -- I shrugged. Fine. If Fox is dancing, I want to make eye contact. According to her file, the only one of us Indra had ever met was Diana Newman. I wanted to see how she’d react to me.

The blonde dancer bounced upward, grabbed the pole hand over hand and swung her way around it, arching her leanly muscled body into a seductive curve. She was down to a G-string and pasties, so she must be most of the way through her act.

I would have been interested, but I could smell her. Not that she smelled bad -- fresh sweat, some kind of floral shampoo and citrus body wash, a hint of mint from her mouthwash. But underneath that, she smelled Nat. So no, not my type, though she had the kind of lean grace you get from swinging around a pole for hours a day.

Frowning, I watched her spin and grind. Why hadn’t Mama ordered Indra Fox and Diana Newman picked up when their parents were murdered? Or if not then, once it became clear they were stalking the killers?

Instead, Mama had let the two run. Now Newman was offline too, and Fox was still killing assholes.

The blonde finished her routine. Absently, I held up a ten. The Nat sauntered over and knelt so I could tuck it into her G-string. Giving me a dazzling smile, she winked. “Want a lap dance?”

I smiled and shook my head. Looking disappointed, she stood and headed for the next bill. The guy who waved it looked a lot more enthusiastic.

This whole fucking thing is weird. Fox has capped four men in the past year. Why not pick her up before now? Mama doesn’t approve of merking people, even actual mercs.

It was a rhetorical question, but Qubit answered anyway. She didn’t share her reasoning.

There’s a shock.

Not that I was shedding any tears for Fox’s victims. According to the police files Qubit had hacked, they’d been members of Satan’s Horsemen, a mercenary gang suspected in a slew of illegal shit -- drug trafficking, prostitution, gun running, murder for hire. No wonder the cops didn’t care they’d ended up room temperature. Though judging by the crime scene pics, Fox’s temper was almost as nasty as mine.

The local po-po also suspected Pole Katz was run by the Horsemen, though a couple of raids had turned up jack in the way of evidence. All they’d managed to do was charge two girls with allowing a little too much groping during lap dances.

Any of the gang present?

 

 

About the Author

New York Times best-selling author Angela Knight has written and published more than sixty novels, novellas, and ebooks, including the Mageverse and Merlin’s Legacy series. With a career spanning more than two decades, Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine has awarded her their Career Achievement award in Paranormal Romance, as well as two Reviewers’ Choice awards for Best Erotic Romance and Best Werewolf Romance.

Angela is currently a writer, editor, and cover artist for Changeling Press LLC. She also teaches online writing courses. Besides her fiction work, Angela’s writing career includes a decade as an award-winning South Carolina newspaper reporter. She lives in South Carolina with her husband, Michael, a thirty-year police veteran and detective with a local police department.

 

Author Links

Author’s Website

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 Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress

 

Pre-Order Today

 



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Virtual Book Tour: Memories of MK-Ultra by Bill Yarborough #comingofage #thriller #historical #interview #rabtbooktours @BillYarborough3 @RABTBookTours
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Coming of Age / Psychological /Historical Thriller / Metaphysical

 

 

Memories of MK-ULTRA traces the development of three siblings from their early childhood—marred by harrowing mind control experiences in the CIA’s MK-ULTRA program—through their coming of age during the turbulent 60s and into their early adulthood in the 1980s. As the story develops, an incredible chain of events uncover the dark forces shaping their lives . . . until an unexpected source of light appears.

 







INTERVIEW


Introduce yourself and tell me about what you do.

Manhattan Book Group will publish my debut novel, Memories of MK-ULTRA, this coming September. The novel is inspired from my young childhood when I, along with my brother and sister, underwent experiments in the CIA’s MK-ULTRA mind control program. I am currently working on the second installment of my novel series, and Prolific Press published my fiction short story “Night Mother” in an anthology of short stories, Jitter Issue # 8.

One reason I wrote Memories of MK-ULTRA was to allow me to explore my childhood traumas with some distance. I also began a healing journey after my repressed memories surfaced, engaging in a wide variety of therapeutic approaches, including psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, parts therapy, Reiki, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT, also known as tapping).

Because of my interest in the healing field, I’ve co-authored an emotional health column in the Diablo Gazette Magazine with Dr. Holly Holmes-Meredith, covering a variety of healing methodologies. I am a certified Hypnotherapist, EFT practitioner, and Reiki Master. I also provide EFT coaching services. EFT involves tapping near the endpoints of energy meridians in your body to get release from negative emotions and physical pain. My wife, Inge, and I are working on a book entitled EFT on Steroids – The Extraordinary Benefit of Communal Tapping along with a website focused on the topic. We have facilitated group tapping sessions for over six years and believe they can provide a valuable service during these stressful times.

Besides embracing the joys of becoming a dad for three kids approaching their teenage years when I married my wife, I also worked in the financial industry and served as board president for two non-profits. My wife and I love to travel both domestically and overseas.



Tell me more about your journey as an author, including the writing processes.

I did not begin my journey as an author until my mid-20s. My interest in writing exploded when my brother experienced a psychotic breakdown, which, for reasons I didn’t understand then, had a profound impact on me, and I needed to bury myself into something. Inspired by Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror conventions I attended with my sister, I chose fiction writing as my new passion.

I had a lot to learn and a long way to go to develop my talents, but I kept at it. I eventually sent out my short stories and received encouraging feedback, with one magazine requesting some revisions and another committing to publishing one of my stories. But then my repressed memories started to surface and my life turned upside down. I’d been something of a loner, never thinking I’d marry, but the releasing of my buried childhood traumas and therapy sessions created personality changes, and before I knew it, I was married and gained three pre-teenage kids. Between my job and my new family, it was difficult to find time to work on my fiction writing. Given my busy travel schedule, I wrote much of the first draft of my novel while flying across the country at 30,000 feet.

Besides working with several professional editors, I’ve taken part in numerous writers’ conferences, workshops, and critique groups. I’ve also solicited feedback from well over 100 beta readers, who’ve read the novel cover to cover, including readers from a professional focus research group and a women’s book club. The feedback from these groups has been very encouraging and invaluable in developing and sharpening Memories of MK-ULTRA. A number of readers comment the novel is immersive, as if they are in or experiencing the story.



Tell me about your Book

Depending on audience interest, I can talk about the novel itself, my childhood experience in MK-ULTRA, and background information on the CIA’s MK-ULTRA program for those who may be unaware of its history.

The novel itself - The mystery of what they endured as children took a lifetime to unravel. Tommy, Beth, and Curtis Matthews are young children forced to take part in life-altering experiments in the late 1950s. They are placed in MK-ULTRA, a covert CIA mind-control program that was designed to create super soldiers or spies. The experience dramatically impacts their lives, but they don’t remember any of it—at least not right away. As they come of age through the turbulent 60s and into the 80s, invisible strings pull them toward their preordained destinies.

Dr. Rudolph Holtzmann, the Nazi-trained psychiatrist in charge of their CIA program, harbors a secret agenda to turn Tommy into a future world leader, but Holtzmann's work is compromised by dangerous forces surrounding him and by one of his experimental subjects, a Mexican boy with shamanic gifts. When MK-ULTRA aborts Holtzmann’s program, the siblings are left deeply damaged without access to the memories that can free them. It takes Curtis's psychotic breakdown and Beth's startling vision to open up pathways to their buried past. These developments lead to the detective work of Lynn Snyder, a diligent therapist—but will it be enough to unravel the hidden tapestry of deception?

Actual historical CIA records reveal that MK-ULTRA tried to approach the infinite and gain a gateway into the divine by opening doors to worlds beyond our reality. Those efforts, along with some memories embedded in this story, bring into question what we think we know about the reality we live in. The novel also explores themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the triumph of the human spirit. See the Story section below (# 9) for more about the novel.

The novel is inspired by my experiences – In 1958 my brother, sister, and I became child victims of MK-ULTRA. We repressed these experiences until we began to recall them over 25 years later. Because of our young age and the trauma and drug experiments we underwent, we cannot be certain of all our memories—hence, it’s a novel. But we recalled a number of common memories independently, which fit a pattern corroborated by well-researched books, major media articles, and government investigations. As mentioned earlier, I began an extensive healing journey soon after my repressed memories surfaced.

Historical information on MK-ULTRA - From 1953 to 1964, the CIA operated a secret mind control program called MK-ULTRA. The program experimented with psychedelic drugs, electroshock, hypnosis, psychological assault, isolation, sensory deprivation, and other forms of torture. MK-ULTRA conducted these experiments on American and foreign citizens, often without their knowledge or consent.

There were 149 separate MK-ULTRA subprojects with three broad aims: perfecting interrogation methods, conditioning CIA agents not to divulge secrets; and developing mind control techniques. Although MK-ULTRA experimented predominately on adults, it also experimented on college students and children. MK-ULTRA carried out its research activities at over 80 institutions, including universities and colleges, hospitals, prisons, government agencies, corporations, and other entities. In many cases, these organizations were unaware the CIA was the sponsor of their research and the source of funding. In its obsession to gain mind control expertise, the CIA recruited ex Nazi SS officers who had operated concentration camps.

MK-ULTRA received significant public attention in the 1970s because of a senate investigation and a presidential commission. Journalistic investigations soon followed, highlighting the numerous abuses of MK-ULTRA. The impact of MK-ULTRA continued after it’s shut down. Stephen Kinzer in his book Poisoner In Chief and John Marks in his book The Search for the Manchurian Candidate highlighted how the widespread drug experiments by MK-ULTRA contributed to launching the counter culture drug revolution of the 1960s. Naomi Klein in her book The Shock Doctrine documents how the CIA used MK-ULTRA techniques to orchestrate a coup and dictatorship in Chile and to assist Russia and China in their abrupt transformations to free market economies, which created the Russian oligarchies of today.



Any message for our readers

Reality may not be what you think it is, and healing is always possible.



Story

Memories of MK-ULTRA draws us into the psychological turmoil endured by Tommy, Beth, and Curtis Matthews as they grow up and come of age. Although their world seems normal, they are under the control of the CIA’s MK-ULTRA programming they no longer remember. When their memories re-emerge in adulthood, they catch glimpses of the life-changing summer that exposed them to both the darkest and brightest aspects of humanity. Not only do Tommy and his siblings uncover a web of manipulation and trauma, but also a hidden world beyond their imagination.

The story contains two interwoven storylines. One follows Dr. Rudolf Holtzmann, a Nazi-trained MK-ULTRA psychiatrist charged with engineering super soldiers and spies at the Gateway School, a CIA facility outside of Washington D.C.

The other tracks the quirky developments of Tommy, Beth, and Curtis as they grow up in rural Maryland, then suburban Texas. The smart, artistic Beth develops into a rebellious teenager whose search for alternative states of consciousness blends in with the drug-crazed culture of the late 1960s—until her love of books leads to a career as a science fiction author. Gregarious, tough-guy Curtis dreams of joining the military and later of movie stardom. Meanwhile, Tommy, plagued by fears and destructive desires, is concerned about his unquenchable obsession to become President—given his fascination with nuclear war.

Because of the interwoven storylines, readers see the trauma inflicted on the Matthew’s siblings as children, but they do not. Readers know why their development is so twisted, but they do not. And readers hold their collective breath as both horrible and life-changing truths are revealed, taking us on an emotional roller coaster.

A goal of the coming of age aspect of the novel is to give the reader insights to how buried unconscious experiences can dramatically influence behavior from childhood into adulthood as well as the dramatic inner struggles such experiences can create. Memories of MK-ULTRA forces us to question memory, identity, and the fragile concept of truth. The first book of a trilogy, it also provides a window into the multiple dimensions of the human mind and soul.

Readers often want comparisons to similar books, so below are a few:

Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wildflower - This coming-of-age story shares similar themes of repressed childhood memories and the transformative power of healing from unconscious traumas.

Richard Condon’s The Prince of Tides likewise deal with themes of repressed childhood traumas, the turmoil they can create in life, and the recovery that is possible.

Stephen King’s novels Firestarter and The Institute deal with children subjected to mind shattering experiments with paranormal effects.

Psychological thrillers such as Richard Condon’s The Manchurian Candidate and Shutter Island have dealt with attempts to control the human mind and memory.


About the Author

Bill Yarborough has enjoyed writing for many years. Manhattan Book Group will publish his debut novel, Memories of MK-ULTRA, in September 2024. The story is inspired by repressed memories from his young childhood where he, his brother, and his sister recall undergoing experiments of the CIA’s MK-ULTRA mind control program. Bill is also working on a sequel to his first novel, and his short story “Night Mother” was published by Prolific Press in an anthology of short stories, Jitter Issue # 8. Bill also co-authored emotional health articles in The Diablo Gazette Magazine, and he and his wife, Inge, are working on a book entitled EFT on Steroids.

 

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Teaser Tuesday: Educational Disobedience by Dr. Annise Mabry #nonfiction #education #excerpt #comingsoon #giveaway #rabtbooktours @RABTbookTours
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Nonfiction / Education

Date Published: 10-06-2024


 

Educational Disobedience is a compelling and transformative guide for parents, educators, and advocates committed to reimagining traditional educational systems. Drawing from her extensive experience as an educator, homeschool advocate, and law enforcement professional, Dr. Mabry challenges the conventional paradigms of schooling that often fail underserved and marginalized students. With practical advice and deeply personal insights, she explores how parents can use homeschooling to reclaim their children’s education.

Dr. Mabry argues that educational disobedience is not about defiance but about empowerment—empowering parents to resist systems that perpetuate inequity and disempower children, particularly those from at-risk communities. She provides a roadmap for creating individualized, flexible learning paths that focus on student well-being, literacy, and personal growth. The book also highlights how cooperative educational models, like her own Tiers Free Homeschool Cooperative, can serve as community-driven alternatives to traditional schooling.

Educational Disobedience is not only a call to action but a beacon of hope for parents seeking to revolutionize their children’s learning experience. It’s a must-read for those ready to challenge the status quo and advocate for educational justice. 


Excerpt


The Original Educational Disruptor

My grandfather grew up during an era when teaching Blacks to read and write was downright dangerous. He was given an opportunity to learn because he passed as white. Passing is a concept with deep historical roots, particularly in the United States, where individuals of mixed race, especially African Americans, would present themselves as white to avoid racial segregation and discrimination. I have some experience with this too because as a feminine-presenting African American lesbian, I often rely on the ability to blend in when I’m in public or unsure about the safety of my surroundings. I imagine my grandfather felt much the same way. 

When my grandfather married my grandmother, his ability to pass became limited in many situations. So, he gravitated more to the Black community where my grandmother was accepted. In the 1940s, they lived in an area with other Black sharecroppers, but my grandfather was the only sharecropper who could read and write. 

My grandmother knew how dangerous this was for him and their family so she frequently discouraged him from making this fact public knowledge. I grew up hearing my mom say, “Never let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” As a kid, I learned this meant to keep secrets. As an adult, I realize this was the passage of generational trauma. 

The turning point for my grandfather came during one harvest season when he watched so many sharecroppers being cheated out of profits that were rightfully theirs. My grandmother begged him not to challenge the status quo but my grandfather knew an injustice when he saw it, and this time he leveraged his passing privilege to change it. One by one, my grandfather began teaching the Black sharecrop- pers how to read, write, and count their money. He explained what working on halves truly meant and showed them how to sell some of their harvest on their own instead of turning everything over to the land owner.


About the Author

Dr. Annise Mabry is an educator, advocate, and founder of The Dr. Annise Mabry Foundation. She specializes in alternative education and community engagement, with a focus on creating inclusive and empowering learning opportunities.

 

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Reading Time:
Teaser Tuesday: Falcon by Marteeka Karland #excerpt #motorcycleclubromance #romanticsuspense #comingsoon #rabtbooktours @ChangelingPress #RABTBookTours
6:55 AM1 Comments

 

 

Motorcycle Club Romance, Suspense, Age Gap

Date Published: November 22, 2024

 


It’s all fun and games until my ex shows up from the dead.

 

Gina: For over a year I’ve lived in fear, a monster terrorizing me within the gates of the Grim Road MC compound. The club took care of the physical problem, but demons still ride me hard. I’ve learned to trust the people I interact with on a daily basis, I’m still too anxious to explore the compound unless I’m with one of the old ladies or Lemon. Or Falcon… He always seems to be there when the fear threatens to swallow me whole. He’s protective and caring, and he takes me for rides on his Harley. Which he had painted pink because he found out I wanted to ride a pink bike. How many men in a motorcycle club did that?

Falcon: What happened to Gina at the hands Grim Road, myself included, is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. My only chance at redemption is to help her heal and feel safe again. I’m too old for her, but I can’t seem to care. I want to protect her, but I’m watching her to an unhealthy degree, waiting for the times she needs someone to bring her back to reality and assure her she’s safe. Until the day she invites me inside her sanctuary without a chaperone. I’d never take advantage of Gina. Not intentionally. Then again, I never expected my ex fiancé to come back from the dead.

 



EXCERPT


Falcon

The soft cry coming from Gina’s bedroom window damned near broke my heart. She did fine most days, when she had the girls to distract her. But at night, when she was alone in that house, nightmares visited her regularly. Those nightmares were partly my fault and that was why I couldn’t let go of this need to see she was safe. Which is why I was currently sitting underneath her open window outside her house. At one in the morning.

Yeah. That wasn’t creepy or anything. Thank God she still stayed in the compound. I knew she wasn’t really comfortable here, but she had nowhere else to go. Though she typically stayed in her house or in the fenced-in backyard, she would very occasionally leave the compound to grocery shop or whatever. She never went anywhere inside the compound by herself other than to drive from her house to the main gate and back.

Another soft cry followed by a small sob echoed in the night. It was a scared, lonely sound, much like that of a child lost from its parents in a crowd. Among the myriad night noises in the wildlife reserve where our compound was nestled, she sounded like a caged animal too scared to fight.

With a shake of my head, I dug my phone out from my back pocket and moved away from the window slightly behind a shrub and called her. When I heard her phone play a trilling notification, I moved farther away so she couldn’t hear me speaking through her open window. She answered on the fourth ring.

“H-hello?”

“Hey, Gina. I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

“I -- no. You didn’t. Falcon?”

“Yeah. Probably shoulda led with that, huh?” I tried to make fun of myself to distract her. I knew from months of watching over her and listening to her nightmares she was always shaken when she woke.

“Sorry. I should have checked to see who was calling before I answered.” She sounded a little more awake and even managed a small laugh.

“I’m really sorry. I thought I saw your light on and thought something might be wrong. About the time you answered, I realized it was Rocket and Lemon’s place.”

There was a short pause and I thought I heard her shuffling around. Maybe sliding the covers from her body so she could sit on the edge of the bed. And, Goddamn, that image needed to stay the fuck outta my head!

“You were… checking on me?”

“Well, yeah.” I hoped I sounded sheepish and embarrassed but I wasn’t that great an actor. But if it pulled her out of her nightmares, I’d suffer through it. Gladly. “I guess I was.”

She took in a shuddering breath before speaking again. “Because of what happened?”

I had to be careful about my answer here. I didn’t want her thinking I felt obligated to look after her, but I didn’t want to scare her either. God knew she had plenty of reasons to be scared of me.

“Because you need someone looking after you and I kind of enjoy the job.”

“You don’t have to, you know. I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will. You’re strong. You need time to heal and to learn to trust yourself again.”

“I didn’t expect you to say that.”

“Why not? What should I have said?” I kept my voice neutral and conversational. I wanted her to keep talking so she could settle her mind. I always managed to find a way to get through to her when she had a nightmare. I don’t know if she suspected I was watching her or not, but whenever I’d hear her crying or calling out in fear, I’d send a text. Or knock on her door. Or call. If she’d noticed the timing, she hadn’t said anything. Positive or negative.

“I thought you’d tell me I’d have to learn to trust you. Why would you think I didn’t trust myself?”

I had to smile. I’d led her straight where I wanted her to go and she’d done so without hesitation. “Because you already trust everyone in this club. What you don’t trust is your own judgment telling you to trust us.”

She was silent so long I thought I might have overplayed my hand. Then her soft voice asked, “How do you know I trust you?”

“Because, when Rocket and Lemon said the club would pay for a place outside the compound if you wanted to get away from us, you declined.”

“Yeah,” she said on a sigh. “I suppose you’re right. I just couldn’t stand the thought of being out on my own again. I was obviously not very good on my own the first time.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Gina. Once he got you back here, it was easy for him to make you feel like you didn’t have a choice. You know better now and you choose to stay.”

“I never really thought about it that way. I couldn’t get past having to be on my own. And Lemon… well…”

“What about her? You know she’s solidly in your corner. Right?”

“That’s just it, Falcon. I do know. She didn’t make excuses for anyone. She didn’t doubt anything I told her. She believed everything and I was quick to tell her you guys thought I was willing when… you know… when you…” Even now she couldn’t say it, and I wanted to claw out my own heart.

“Yeah, honey. I know. We’re all ashamed of that, even if we didn’t know. We could have taken the time to talk to you more. Or at all, really.” I gave a self-deprecating snort of laughter. “More importantly, we could have made sure you knew you weren’t in danger from any of us. All you had to do was tell someone you wanted away from Hammer and we’d have removed you from the situation and asked questions later. We didn’t make it clear so that’s on us.”

“I guess,” she said softly. “Seems like both of us were victims of Hammer’s deception.”

“I’d say that’s a fair statement.”

I heard sounds on her end as she moved from her bedroom. I heard a door open, then close. Moments later, the light in her living room came on.

“You said you saw a light. That you thought it was mine.” She sounded better now. More herself. Though I hated that she’d donned the air of indifference she hid behind, I was glad that, at least subconsciously, she’d trusted me enough to tell me what she had.

“Yeah. I did.”

“Are you close by, then?”

“Yeah. Just outside.” Not a lie.

“Um, would you, uh…” She cleared her throat. “Would you like some coffee?”

“You good with me being in your space without one of the women nearby?”

“I think so.” Her voice said she was trying to convince herself she could do this and wasn’t doing a very good job. “You’d leave if I got overwhelmed. Right?”

“Absolutely. In fact, why don’t we sit outside on the porch? That way you can keep the door between us if you want to.”

There was a pause, then a sniffle before she spoke again. “You’d do that? Just to make sure I was comfortable?”

“Gina, honey. Of course. I like bein’ around you. I like talkin’ to you and just wavin’ at you as I drive by. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you always want to spend that kind of time with me.” God, could I sound any more pathetic? Did I fucking care?

“Come over, Falcon. I’ve unlocked the door and am making coffee. Let yourself in. We can sit and chat for a while.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice, honey.”

I chuckled as I took my time walking up her driveway. I knocked loudly before opening the door. Even though she was expecting me, I wanted to make sure she was well aware of where I was in her home.

“Hey.” Her smile was small, but so beautiful it made my heart ache. How anyone could have hurt this woman was beyond me. She carried a tray with two mugs, a pot of black coffee, cream and sugar. That was something else about Gina. She was always prepared with a way to entertain guests. I got the feeling at least some of that came from the need to have something to concentrate on besides being scared all the time. The other was a desire to make people comfortable and welcome. The way she dealt with all the children the club had recently acquired seemed to fulfill that side of her as well. Which gave her an added distraction from her fear. “I have some caramel sauce in the fridge if you’d rather.”

“Black’s fine for me. Thank you, Gina.”

She fixed hers with a liberal amount of cream and sugar before blowing gently over the liquid and taking a careful sip. I watched her as I took a sip of my own coffee, letting the silence stretch. I’d follow her lead.

“Um, I should thank you. I actually had dozed off and was having a nightmare when you called.” One hand cupped her mug while she ran her other hand up and down her arm.

 

About the Author

Marteeka Karland is an international bestselling author who leads a double life as an erotic romance author by evening and a semi-domesticated housewife by day. Known for her down and dirty MC romances, Marteeka takes pleasure in spinning tales of tenacious, protective heroes and spirited, vulnerable heroines. She staunchly advocates that every character deserves a blissful ending, even, sometimes, the villains in her narratives. Her writings are speckled with intense, raw elements resulting in page-turning delight entwined with seductive escapades leading up to gratifying conclusions that elicit a sigh from her readers.

Away from the pen, Marteeka finds joy in baking and supporting her husband with their gardening activities. The late summer season is set aside for preserving the delightful harvest that springs from their combined efforts (which is mostly his efforts, but you can count it). To stay updated with Marteeka's latest adventures and forthcoming books, make sure to visit her website. Don't forget to register for her newsletter which will pepper you with a potpourri of Teeka's beloved recipes, book suggestions, autograph events, and a plethora of interesting tidbits.

 

Contact Links

Author on Instagram & TikTok: @marteekakarland

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Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress

 

 

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