Michael J. Bowler - Once Upon a Time in America - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

With Lance leading the way, the Knights of the Round Table have set out to convince the American people that amending the Constitution to protect children is right and just and long overdue. As the team travels from state to state, they are met with acceptance, indifference, and even hostility. But Lance’s popularity and mystique as The Boy Who Came Back, coupled with his innate charm, gradually sway more and more of the populace, not to mention state legislators, to their cause.

The journey becomes a rite of passage that propels the young people into adulthood, and solidifies Lance’s status as an iconic and influential figure.

But he’s uneasy. He knows Arthur is hiding something from him, something that will bring him great sadness. After The Excalibur Incident in Las Vegas, Lance becomes more and more certain that the future is one he won’t like, despite his stunning success at winning over some of the most intractable states.

Then comes the attack, sudden and brutal.

Now the Round Table is in disarray, and Lance must confront a cold-blooded killer who’s luring him into an obvious trap. But if he refuses the challenge, more loved ones will die, and everything he’s fought for will die with them. Surrounded by the diverse young knights who have become his family, Lance sets out to battle his enemy with the knowledge deep in his heart that only one of them will survive. Is this the end of the Round Table?

The Knight Cycle concludes…

My Review

Lance steps over the divide between childhood and all that lay beyond in the concluding chapter of Michael J. Bowler's five-part young adult series, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. Yes, Lance turns eighteen and legally becomes an adult, but it's the lessons he's learned along the way that have truly made him into the person he is at the conclusion of the story.

Hero.

"A hero is someone who rises above those who try to break him, and proves to the world that he's better than the worst thing he ever did, or the worst thing ever done to him."

Now Lance understands that he can't have everything he wants. Sometimes it takes tremendous pain and loss to bring about change. Life is filled with things he doesn't like, but he has gained the maturity to deal with both the good and the bad. He doesn't turn away from what's uncomfortable or difficult. He's able to inspire others by just being himself.

America's Son.

"Lance wanted to scream and shout and pound the walls. Like a little boy. Except he wasn't a little boy anymore."

The President of the United States bestows this special title upon Lance, showing just how important he's become to those in power and the people he serves. Yet at times, his head gets a little too big, and he lets his ego get in the way of all the good he's trying to accomplish. He calls the Children's Bill of Rights—an amendment to the Constitution that everyone in New Camelot is crisscrossing the country for Congress to ratify—"my CBOR." It's only when the people who've been with him since the beginning bring him down to size that he's able to get back on track. Lance is a master at forming coalitions among those of differing economic backgrounds and ethnicities, but he's at his ultimate best when he acts in everyone's best interests and not just his own.

Lover.

"I got you. For now and always."

As the caravan of knights journeys across the country, Lance comes to visit Jack's hometown of Pocatello, Idaho. His mother welcomes Lance with open arms and invites him to spend some time alone among Jack's things, looking through his personal photos and holding his favorite, mud-encrusted football. It's a turning point for Lance because he's finally able to fully grieve for his first love and let him go. In Lance's mind, Jack was such a "badass," all muscles and strength, that he taught him that it was okay to be gay. Without this transformative relationship, Lance never would've been able to be openly in love with Ricky, his true soulmate and the one he was meant to be with. He would've forced himself to be straight in order to make the wrong people happy, instead of the one that matters the most to him. With Jack's early passing, Lance is well aware of the myth that young people have their whole lives ahead of them, and he intends to seize the moment when it comes to loving Ricky.

King.

"Uneasy the head that wears the crown."

When the series started all Lance wanted to do was win the X Games, and now he's on the verge of becoming King Arthur's successor as the heir to the throne. Lance knows that even a few short years ago, he didn't have the patience to remain calm, cool and collected when leading his knights into dangerous situations. Now he's let go of that youthful impetuousness, and he's able to take the hits for the team, fully realizing that those kinds of sacrifices are a part of a leader's job. Lance feels his whole world shift when he lifts Excalibur aloft when coming to Arthur's rescue and he has a premonition that it will never shift back. He's no longer a kid who acts on pure emotion, he's grown up, and as much as he doesn't want to yield to fate, he knows what has to be done, and he's determined to see it through.

At the end of the journey, Arthur sums up Lance's character best when he tells his adopted son, "Everything you are, Lance, you were from the moment I met you. I merely helped you realize that."

***

Once Upon a Time in America can be purchased at:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Prices/Formats: $4.99 ebook, $14.95 paperback
Pages: 328
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Release: November 12, 2014
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9780990871101
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of seven novels––A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time (Silver Medalist from Reader’s Favorite), and The Knight Cycle, comprised of five books: Children of the Knight (Gold Award Winner in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards), Running Through A Dark Place, There Is No Fear, And The Children Shall Lead, and Once Upon A Time In America.

His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition.

He grew up in San Rafael, California, and majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University. He went on to earn a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to eight different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state.

He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He is currently at work on a horror/suspense novel based on his screenplay, “Healer.”

Links to connect with Michael:
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Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog
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Blog Tour Site


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Cristelle Comby - Danse Macabre - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

Private investigators Alexandra Neve and Ashford Egan are hired to succeed where the police have failed, to safely return home a missing ballerina. With no lead to pursue and no idea who could be behind the young woman’s kidnapping, they soon find themselves at a loss as to what to do.

To make matters worse, the heart of England seems to be caught in the middle of a little Ice Age. With snow endlessly falling and Tube lines either too cramped up to use or out of service, it is a pain to do any legwork in the huge metropolis.

Oh, and because trouble never comes alone, there may also be a serial killer on the loose in the streets of East London...

My Review

What makes Alexandra Neve and Ashford Egan a good private investigating team is what makes Cristelle Comby a good writer. They notice things—the things most people overlook, the little details that add up to form the big picture. Picking up a mystery novel is meant to be an interactive experience. The author drops clues throughout the narrative and the reader puts them together one by one, but what makes the journey satisfying is when the main characters reveal what makes them tick at the same time. When it comes to Neve and Egan, Comby does this brilliantly.

Neve is a born investigator, putting herself in someone else's shoes comes easily to her. She's a pro at finding common ground when it comes to getting to know a victim. In DANSE MACABRE, the killer is targeting young women in their twenties who are exceptionally talented in the creative arts. Neve is twenty-four. She, too, lives in East London, and is a former student of literature. The parallels are uncanny, bordering on unsettling. Neve can see traces of herself in the victims from the way their bedrooms are arranged to their singleminded focus when it comes to their careers.

Egan, on the flip side, has a hard time relating to people at all, and shields himself from getting emotionally involved in a case. It's not until he learns that the killer sews open the eyes of his victims post mortem that he lowers his guard and allows himself to identify with their plight—because Egan, himself, is blind. His fierce independent streak is a means of coping with his condition. He holds everyone at arm's length, but it only leads to a profound sense of guilt when one of the victims turns out to be a student of his and he doesn't even remember her. When he realizes that he's relegated others to nothing more than background noise, he knows that he can't keep shutting people out. He needs to change.

But it's how Neve and Egan interact with each other that makes their partnership zing. There's something going on between them that remains tantalizing unexplored. Comby doesn't come right out and say it, she just hints at their deepening relationship and what it could mean. The subtle way they dance around each other says more than if they declared their true feelings for each other. Theirs is an unconventional love story because it's not rooted in fantasy, it's grounded in real life. Their bond developed so naturally that it's quite possible they're not even aware of how close they've grown by working together.

They're able to aid those in dire need of their help because they care about each other. Their expertise is enhanced by combining forces. It's highly unlikely that they'd be as good at what they do, working alone. They each compliment each other to such a degree, that when Neve offers Egan her arm to cross a snow-covered street, it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. They're two very special characters that mystery fans will have no problem figuring out are tailor made for each other, even if they haven't figured it out for themselves yet.

***

Danse Macabre can be purchased at:
Amazon

Prices/Formats: $2.99 ebook, $11.99 paperback
Pages: 254
Genre: New Adult, Detective Mystery
Release: October 2014
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9781502723772
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Cristelle Comby was born and raised in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, in Greater Geneva, where she still resides.

Thanks to her insatiable thirst for American and British action films and television dramas, her English is fluent.

She attributes to her origins her ever-peaceful nature and her undying love for chocolate. She has a passion for art, which also includes an interest in drawing and acting.

Danse Macabre is her third new-adult novel, and she’s hard at work on the next titles in the Neve & Egan series.

Links to connect with Cristelle:
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Michael J. Bowler - And The Children Shall Lead - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

The campaign to save California’s children was only the beginning. Now King Arthur and his Round Table of teenaged knights set their sights on fixing something even bigger – the entire country. How? By targeting America’s most sacred document – The Constitution.

Native American teens Kai and Dakota, despite harboring secrets of their own, join the team, and swear undying loyalty to Lance. They carry the hope of their people that the crusade will better the lives of Indian children, who are the most neglected by government. This new campaign will take the young people to The White House, the halls of Congress, and beyond in their quest to change the prevailing opinion that children are property, rather than human beings in their own right.

But an unseen nemesis stalks Lance and Arthur, and ratchets up the attacks on New Camelot, promising to kill them and destroy all that the king has put in place. Lance, Ricky, Kai, and Dakota become the enemy’s favorite targets, and barely escape with their lives on more than one occasion. Who is this mysterious stalker, and what is the motive for these attacks? Lance has no idea, especially since he’s never intentionally hurt anyone.

“You were right, little boy, death is coming for you, but slowly, and only after it takes out the people you love.” That chilling promise haunts Lance, but also strengthens his determination to protect the people he loves at all costs. Or die trying.

The Knight Cycle Continues…

My Review

Lance goes from "The Boy Who Came Back" to "The Boy Who Came Out." His public declaration of his love for Ricky, sets him up to face a whole new set of challenges as the teenage knights of the Round Table grapple with the idea that their leader is gay. Some are afraid of being cast in the same light. Others think it'll make them look weak. They fear the public backlash from Lance's announcement.

But Lance is finally okay with who he is. For a boy who was sexually abused at the age of six, he has finally found the one person he was meant to give his heart to. It's been a long, hard road for him to travel. His self-acceptance was a painful process, a battle that wasn't easily won, and the repercussions of that seem far easier to have to cope with than the inner hatred he had been dealing with for so long. Now, he's going to embrace his new relationship with Ricky, and to hell with what anyone else thinks.

Now seventeen, the time is drawing near for Lance to take up the mantle and assume the throne. Merlin warns him that King Arthur will not be with them for too much longer, and that Lance will need to step up and keep the crusade going. Lance hates to hear Merlin talk that way, so he pushes the thought aside, refusing to accept the truth behind his dire prediction.

Because Lance doesn't think he'll make it to eighteen. The mysterious stranger with the phone number 000-000-0000 is back, upping the ante with his death threats. First, Lance and his friends are fired upon with rubber bullets, then a window washing platform nearly crushes him. His assailant is playing a cat and mouse game, threatening to take out Arthur and Ricky first, before coming for him, in order to make him suffer. Things escalate when a horde of motorcycle assassins chase him through the streets of downtown Washington DC and into Arlington National Cemetery where a helicopter almost separates Lance and Ricky forever.

Lance feels like he is a character in one of the FINAL DESTINATION movies, knowing that he cheated death once and it's only a matter of time before death comes for him again. He's gets all "emo" about what is going to happen to him, not wanting the ones he loves to fall in harm's way. While everyone is out to label him as "homo" or "gay," he knows his identity reaches far deeper than that. All he wants to be known as is "human." That's it. Because after staring down death time and time again, he knows what's really important in life.

The only thing that can define him is love.

***

And The Children Shall Lead can be purchased at:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Prices/Formats: $4.99 ebook, $14.95 paperback
Pages: 302
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Release: September 25, 2014
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9780990306368
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of seven novels––A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time (Silver Medalist from Reader’s Favorite), and The Knight Cycle, comprised of five books: Children of the Knight (Gold Award Winner in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards), Running Through A Dark Place, There Is No Fear, And The Children Shall Lead, and Once Upon A Time In America.

His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition.

He grew up in San Rafael, California, and majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University. He went on to earn a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to eight different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state.

He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He is currently at work on a horror/suspense novel based on his screenplay, “Healer.”

Links to connect with Michael:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog
Tumblr
Pinterest
Instagram
Blog Tour Site


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DJ Wilson - Ride to Restoration - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

In this second book, D learns that paying it forward is not without costs, toss in Candi Parker, the girl of D’s dreams gone rogue, along with vivacious Victoria Lawson, attorney at law, who willingly steps in to fill Candi’s thong, and D’s hilarious misadventures continue across Canada. Reality sets in and the bullets begin to fly just two days after he returns to the states.

D sends Victoria away to keep her out of harm’s way, before tackling his real life demons, aka A.J. Standford, the Ponzi scheming banker who has a bounty on D’s head, and Candi’s extended family, the Gambinos, who will profit from his demise.

The romantic side of the story poses multiple questions: Will D settle for Victoria after being royally screwed by Candi or will his feelings for Candi propel him back into her life and the crime family’s ongoing chaos? Will Candi take back her sleazy ex-husband Joseph or will she somehow manage to break with her powerful family and come crawling back to D’s loving arms?

With all of this going on, there’s bound to be hell to pay sooner rather than later. Like momma always said, “When you play with fire, you’re gonna get burned.”


My Review

Jon David, the man otherwise known by the capital letter D, is a self-proclaimed masterpiece in the making. His two main goals in life are to do the right thing and to pay it forward, letting the chips fall where they may. In the second book of DJ Wilson's RIDE series, D's still on his motorcycle, running for his life from a Bernie Madoff-style crook whose diamonds he stole and freely distributed to those in need.

But it's not just the packages of bling that have gotten him in trouble, but also a certain part of the female anatomy, he labels a weapon of mass destruction. He thinks he can replace his former riding partner, Candi, with his latest biker babe, Victoria, who's been wanting to get in D's pants since they met. She's game to wear Candi's clothes and mimic her moves in the bedroom, much to D's initial satisfaction. But the buzz soon wears off, and he finds himself thinking more and more of the one who got away, rather than the one currently at his side.

Growing up as an overweight kid, D still struggles with self-confidence issues. Candi's rejection of him stings when he thinks about how she betrayed his trust by going back to her ex-husband. All he sees when he looks in the mirror is grey hair and crow's feet, telling himself that's the reason why she left him. He tries not to dwell on the negatives in his life—how his ex-wife fell out of love with him, how he's estranged from his children, how he's had to give up everything in order to stay alive.

What he's wishing for is Mayberry, a modern day utopia where he can reside among like-minded individuals who will like him for the man he is, not what they can get out of him. He's through with self-absorption and greed. He's through with communicating through voicemails, emails and texts. He wants to live a simple life, concentrating on the people who are most important to him, and not cling to the material things he no longer desires. He even locates possible communities in Hawaii and Newfoundland that might offer just what he's looking for, if he can only get there.

Yet there's another side to D that isn't so nice. Sure, he's a dreamer, an idealist, but he can also be a bit of a jerk. He has a habit of belittling women, calling Victoria, 'Little Miss Priss' and making fun of her with his friend, Greg. He also tends to drink too much whenever he starts feeling sorry for himself. He's not above pleasing the woman he's with, but he usually only wants to fool around when he's in the mood. He even has the nerve to mess around with Victoria while he's talking on the phone to Candi. Sometimes he comes off like a know-it-all, always having the answer to everything, acting like he's the only one who knows what to do in any given situation—the right road to take, the perfect restaurant to dine in, the sure way to handle people—that his egomania can become a bit much at times.

D's a character who's flawed and readily admits it. His self-awareness is not often found in fiction and it's very refreshing. He knows that he's still a work in progress. He's a good man, who wants to be a great man, but he's not there yet. He has issues he needs to work out and internal demons he has to conquer before that can happen. He's not at peace with who he is yet, but he's trying to be. The hope is that one day he'll finally get there.


***

Ride to Restoration can be purchased at:
Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Google Play

Prices/Formats: $4.99 ebook, $11.95 paperback
Pages: 318
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release: July 16, 2014
Publisher: Riscatto Publishing
ISBN: 9781604148022
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About the Author

Raised in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, I graduated from Cumberland University, located in a small town you've never heard just inside Kentucky quite a few years ago. At the present, we're living beside beautiful Dale Hollow Lake.

Blessed to travel, blessed with health, blessed with second chances, too numerous to list here.

As a blogger, featured on many sites, including the Huffington Post, I have been humbled beyond measure, more times than not, by all that life has thrown our way.

Successful, that's me, catastrophic failure, that's me too. We've been there, done that and have the life changing scars to prove it.

Our writings reflect life through the throes of heartache and loss, as well as through the joys redemption brings.

"Life is not waiting for the Storms to Pass, It's Learning to Dance in the Rain."

Links to connect with DJ:
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Richard H. Hardy - The Infinity Program - Author Interview & Giveaway

About the Book

Jon Graeme and Harry Sale are unlikely friends. Harry is a world-class programmer, but his abrasive personality alienates co-workers. In contrast, Jon is a handsome and easy-going technical writer, the low man on the IT totem pole.

Sharing a love of nature, the men set out together, planning to go their separate ways--Jon on a hike and Harry, fly fishing. Three days later, Jon arrives at the rendezvous point, but his friend is nowhere in sight. When Jon finds Harry unconscious on the floor of a cave, Harry claims to have been lying there the entire time. But he is neither cold nor hungry. What Jon doesn't know is that Harry fell into an underground cavern, where he came into contact with an alien quantum computer.

Back at work, Harry jettisons his regular tasks and concentrates exclusively on inventing new operating language to access the alien system. In the process he crashes his office's Super Computer and is fired. Jon convinces the company to give Harry a second chance, arguing that the system he has invented will make them millions.

Jon has no idea what havoc Harry is about to unleash.

Author Interview

1) Who is your favorite character?
My favorite character in The Infinity Program is Harry Sale, the brilliant but quirky programmer. He can be kind and thoughtful, but he can also be an irascible curmudgeon.

2) Why is he/she your favorite?
I like Harry best because he was the biggest challenge to create. I also liked him because as I got deeper into his character, he became a vehicle to express a secret wish of my own—to be as direct and honest as possible at all times at the expense of diplomacy. I could never be like Harry in real life, but for awhile it was a lot of fun to put on a mask and pretend.

3) How did you come to create him/her?
Harry Sale is really a composite of many different programmers I have known. For example, a programmer I knew loved to tinker with old cars. One morning at work, the night after they installed new carpets, he walked into the office with motor oil all over his shoes. That incident found its way into The Infinity Program. Another programmer could be unbelievably cranky. When I started off in technical writing, he would often hand me my head on a platter. But afterwards, he would feel guilty about it and bend over backwards to be helpful. That too found its way into Harry Sale’s character. Yet another programmer I knew would often work around the clock for several days running. This characteristic was added to the mix. Harry also has something of the author’s own personality as a component. Like Harry, I tend to be literal-minded (though not as much as Harry!). I also tend to be overly abstract at times.

4) When did he/she first enter your mind?
Harry appeared relatively late in my conception. I had imagined the characters of Jon Graeme and Lettie Olson, as well as the quantum computer with the nanotechnology module. But somehow I could not pull the ideas together until the character of Harry Sale occurred to me.

5) Where was he/she given life in the creative process?
I tried to give life to Harry as I went along, building his character in stages. His first scene in the book—where he risks his life to save a kitten—was especially important since it shows him to be a very unusual kind of guy. It also establishes him as a man who will risk anything to do what he thinks is right.

6) What do like the most about him/her and what do you dislike the most about him/her?
I like Harry’s compassionate nature. He’s a kind person, a Good Samaritan who will always go the extra mile when someone needs help. Harry’s worst trait, which I don’t like but am sometimes guilty of myself, is his self-absorption. He is so caught up with the events of his own inner life that he misses out on love and friendship.

***

The Infinity Program can be purchased at:
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Barnes and Noble
Smashwords
iBooks
Kobo

Prices/Formats: $5.95 ebook, $13.95 paperback
Pages: 250
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance
Release: April 1, 2014
Publisher: Camel Press
ISBN: 9781603819336
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Richard H. Hardy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, during a week of relentless bombing raids just before the close of World War II. The day he was born an incendiary bomb fell on the church across the street from where he lived, so he is fond of saying that he entered the world with a big adrenaline rush.

His family later moved to England and then on to America.

After college Richard bounced through a series of temporary jobs as he traveled around the country, wanting nothing more than to write fiction. A job driving a library van allowed him free time to write several short stories and work on a novel.

He and his wife moved to New Hampshire, where he took an entry level job at a software company. He was soon promoted to the technical writing department and ended up producing over 500,000 words of online documentation. After a few years he was promoted to the programming department and ended up as the Senior EDI Programmer, creating EDI maps and writing UNIX scripts and troubleshooting on AIX systems throughout the U.S. and Canada.

After he retired, he started writing fiction again. The Infinity Program is his first published novel.

Links to connect with Richard:
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Mia Kerick - The Red Sheet - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different person—helpful, generous, and chivalrous—a person whose new admirable qualities he doesn’t recognize. Stranger still is the urge to tie a red sheet around his neck like a cape. Bryan soon realizes this compulsion to wear a red cape is accompanied by more unusual behavior. He can’t hold back from retrieving kittens from tall trees, helping little old ladies cross busy streets, and defending innocence anywhere he finds it.

Shockingly, at school, he realizes he used to be a bully. He’s attracted to the former victim of his bullying, Scott Beckett, though he has no memory of Scott from before “the change.” Where he’d been lazy in academics, overly aggressive in sports, and socially insecure, he’s a new person. And although he can recall behaving egotistically, he cannot remember his motivations.

Everyone, from his mother to his teachers to his “superjock” former pals, is shocked by his dramatic transformation. However, Scott Beckett is not impressed by Bryan’s newfound virtue. And convincing Scott he’s genuinely changed and improved, hopefully gaining Scott’s trust and maybe even his love, becomes Bryan’s obsession.

With a foreword by Cody Kennedy


My Review

Bryan Dennison does what not many teenage boys take the time to do. Make an examination of conscience. He knows he did something wrong. He just doesn't know what. He wakes up one morning with a clean slate. He can't remember the last few weeks, yet he can't shake this overhanging sense of guilt nagging at him that he needs to make amends for something—something big. So he turns into a Superman of charity, volunteering at a soup kitchen, picking up random pieces of litter, buying a homeless guy a meal, shoveling a neighbor's driveway even if it makes him late for school, but none of these selfless acts bring any sense of clarity. He's as lost as he ever was.

Because what he did, he did to Scott, the boy he can't believe he's fallen in love with.

Bryan is supposed to be Mr. Superjock, star of the high school basketball team. And he was, up until developing a fetish for red capes and sticking his neck out for others. Scott won't speak to him and the group of bullies he used to call friends lead him to believe they caught him making out with Scott at a party in a closet and that he'd better shut up about it before they tell the entire school.

The transformative arc in Bryan's character doesn't come easy. He suffers all of the slights and barbs that come with being on the unpopular side of the cafeteria, but he never wavers. His newfound determination to be a better person is ingrained in him because he knows it's the only way he stands a chance at winning Scott back. He takes it a step at a time as he works his way there. He participates in a flash mob to serenade a teacher on her birthday. He goes roller skating with a group of kids, many consider misfits and outcasts. He spray paints (in washable chalk) inspirational quotes from Gandhi all over school property. But for Scott, it's not enough. He wants more.

Forgiveness is equated with strength throughout the novel, as well as, "Being the change you want to see in the world." When the true scope of what Scott endured is revealed, it's quite shocking. It makes it hard to like Bryan as a character, no matter how much he's changed. But Scott shows that the only way he can save Bryan is to forgive him, or else he'll never be able to forgive himself. It's a generous gift that illustrates just how much Scott loves Bryan if he's able to do that. It's a beautiful message of hope and understanding.

Scott has never been afraid to be himself. Years of bullying and abuse have shaped him into the survivor he is today. It takes Bryan longer to feel more comfortable about his sexuality and sharing it with the world. It's interesting to note that inwardly Bryan doesn't struggle so much with his attraction to Scott. He doesn't resist it in private. There's a flashback scene in Bryan's bedroom where he just wants to watch the look in Scott's eyes when he's touching him. He's not repulsed by his need to satisfy his desire, but he can't bear the thought of other people knowing about it. He's able to give his heart to Scott, even if he won't share a lunch table with him.

Scott's demand for more from Bryan is the wind that unfurls the red cape tied around his neck. Love isn't found in denial. It's found in acceptance. Once Bryan's able to make that leap, it really is like he's flying, no superpowers required. He's a fully actualized person, something not many teen boys in young adult novels get to be. A doting son to his mother. A hero to his little stepbrother. A champion defender of his boyfriend. Yep, Bryan Dennison is a guy worth rooting for to get it right.

***

The Red Sheet can be purchased at:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Dreamspinner Press, All Romance Books

Prices/Formats: $6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback
Pages: 190
Genre: Young Adult
Release: February 20, 2014
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
ISBN: 9781627987219
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

My themes I always write about:
Sweetness. Unconventional love, tortured/damaged heroes- only love can save them

Links to connect with Mia:
Web Site
Facebook
Goodreads
Blog
YouTube
Blog Tour Site


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Michael J. Bowler - There Is No Fear - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

The most famous boy in the world is a prisoner. He’s been charged with a crime he didn’t commit, a crime that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. Languishing within The Compound, the most secure juvenile facility in California, while the district attorney vows to make an example of him because of his celebrity status, Lance must endure the daily indignities of the incarcerated.

New Camelot is fractured without him. Ricky and Chris are bereft, living for the weekly phone call that becomes their only lifeline to the brother they so desperately love, while Arthur and Jenny feel the loss of their son with a sadness that can’t be quelled. And what about Michael, the highly volatile teen who helped write the proposition that will change California forever? Could he really be the monster he says he is? His hatred of Ricky is palpable, and his instability may well threaten the lives of everyone at New Camelot.

As the election looms closer, Proposition 51 takes on an even greater significance in light of the pending trial of the century. The more harshly fifteen-year-old Lance is treated within the broken justice system, the more he contemplates the wisdom of his idea that children need more adult rights. If The Child Voter Act becomes law, won’t it simply allow adults to throw more kids into prison with impunity?

Whichever way the voters decide, his greatest fear remains the same: will he ever again be with the people he loves?

The Knight Cycle Continues…

My Review

The Curse of Camelot descends upon Lance as he goes from hero to criminal in a tragic fall from grace. Accused of a brutal sex/hate crime he did not commit, the media is quick to label him a teenaged Jack the Ripper. Convicted in the court of public opinion long before he even goes to trial, the world thinks he's guilty the moment he's charged, believing the flimsy trail of circumstantial evidence linking him to the scene. How quickly things change. Everyone always knew that Lance was too good to be true, now they think they have the proof to back it up.

There's something contradictory about human nature that likes to place certain individuals up on a pedestal before tilting it over and knocking them off of it. As Michael J. Bowler explains in THERE IS NO FEAR, it's a way of dealing with one's own failings and shortcomings by projecting them on to another person. It's also a means of avoiding blame by hoisting it upon the shoulders of an innocent stranger. But Lance doesn't fall victim to self pity. Instead of giving in to his despair while in prison, he rediscovers his self-worth and is able to redefine himself.

Being separated from the ones he loves really brings into stark relief just how much he cares about them. Unable to sort out his feelings for Ricky while on the outside, Lance comes to realize just how important his adopted brother is to him. He's not only his other half, he's the person he loves the most. Even if at first he's too afraid to say it to Ricky directly during their weekly phone calls, he gradually works it out in his heart.

Lance is still confused about Michael, but Bowler refers to Lance as a "soul whisperer," the kind of person who's able to uncover the good in everyone he meets. He never gives up that there's a boy worth knowing inside the jumbled brain of Michael's tortured psyche. Lance, a fellow child rape victim himself, is mature enough to piece together that life shapes someone into the person they become. No one starts out as a monster, and Michael never wanted to be Frankenstein. He just needs someone to love him.

Lance isn't one to be fooled by bluster and appearances. He knows when people are copping an attitude, even if he doesn't have a handle on his own emotions a lot of the time. Lance is a work in progress, moving step by painful step toward self acceptance. He thinks he might be a mistake. He believes based on the trauma inflicted by his foster father that he harbors the tendency to turn into a child molester, too. He tells himself that in order to be a real boy, he has to have sex with a girl, even if he's not ready, even if he's not sure that's what he wants.

Lance is conflicted, yet that's what makes him such a deep and influential character. He's growing up on the page before readers' eyes. He's figuring things out as he goes along. He's not fully formed because he's not supposed to be. He's a teenager in the flux of transition from boy to man. His heart is pure, it's only when he allows outside forces to penetrate his inner peace that he's thrown off course. Whenever he remains true to himself, he flourishes. Whenever he doesn't, trouble is usually right around the corner.

Gay or straight. Child or adult. Good or bad. Drunk or sober. Innocent or guilty. Lance passes through all of these categories, trying to hone in on who he really is. Some fit a little easier than others, some don't mesh at all, but it's in passing through all of these different stages of development that he's reborn, even more so than when he came back from the dead in book two, RUNNING THROUGH A DARK PLACE. His stint in prison crystallizes things for him that were once unclear. Sometimes going through a difficult period only strengthens a person's spirit, and helps them get to where they need to be. Lance Pendragon, son of King Arthur, is living proof of that.

***

There Is No Fear can be purchased at:
Amazon

Prices/Formats: $4.99 ebook, $13.95 paperback
Pages: 284
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Release: July 17, 2014
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9780990306337
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of five novels––A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time (Silver Medalist from Reader’s Favorite), Children of the Knight (Gold Award Winner in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards), Running Through A Dark Place, and There Is No Fear––who grew up in San Rafael, California. His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition.

He majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University and earned a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to seven different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state.

He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He has already written the two remaining books that complete The Children of the Knight Cycle and both will be released in 2014.

He is currently at work on a horror/suspense novel based on his screenplay, “Healer.”

Links to connect with Michael:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog
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Blog Tour Site


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Cathi Stoler - The Hard Way - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

Private Investigator Helen McCorkendale’s childhood friend, Jimmy Scanlan, has just opened January, the most lavish casino and hotel resort on the Las Vegas Strip. After attending the grand opening, Helen returns to New York and encourages her friend, Laurel Imperiole, Senior Editor at Women Now magazine, to create a get-away contest for readers offering a weekend at the hotel as the grand prize. The winner, Dawn Chapman, a jewelry store employee from Cincinnati, denies entering the contest and initially refuses the trip. Finally persuaded by Laurel to accept, she arrives at the hotel and nearly faints when she passes the hotel’s elite meeting rooms where the International Diamond Dealers Consortium is holding its annual meeting. She insists on returning home immediately.

Suspicious of her behavior, Jimmy visits her suite to encourage her to attend the Saturday afternoon pool party, saying she can leave on his private jet the next day. Later in the afternoon, he finds Chapman’s dead body by the pool. She’s been murdered—an unusual double poisoning by cyanide and diamond dust.

Dawn Chapman was not who she appeared to be, and therein lies a mystery. But to Helen and Laurel, the main task is to take Jimmy Scanlon off the suspect list and clear his name. Will their luck hold? Or will it be a crap shoot, as they roll the dice and do it ‘the hard way,’ going for doubles when the odds are against them. Losing may mean losing their lives.


My Review

Helen McCorkendale is the definition of an independent woman. She wants to do what she wants to do, when she wants to do it. No questions asked. She answers to no one but herself, and she likes it that way. If her job as a private investigator sends her into the dangerous world of international diamond thieves, so be it. She's too smart to be blinded by such baubles. Her eye is fixed on the prize. Nothing can break her concentration. She'll bring the killer to justice, guaranteed.

She certainly doesn't intend for any man to hold her back - not her worrywart of a boyfriend who she keeps purposefully in the dark, not her overprotective guy pal from childhood who still might be harboring an unrequited crush for her, not even the deranged psychopath who held a knife to her throat warning her to give up the chase or die trying. No one's going to stand in her way. From ultra competitive Las Vegas casino owners to the big wigs of the International Diamond Dealers Consortium, Helen finds herself immersed in a male dominated environment, but comes out swinging. She doesn't let anyone intimidate her. She steps right up to the plate, staking out shady motels, packing heat and sniffing out potential traitors in her midst. It's all in a day's work for this ballsy broad.

Yet Helen does have a softer side which she allows those closest to her to see. She has a weakness for gourmet cuisine. On occasion, she likes slipping on a sparkly, sequined dress every now and again. She gets involved in the love lives of her friends without their asking, having no qualms sticking her nose into their problems and ironing out the kinks. She's hands on in every aspect of her life. She's no wallflower, content to being a passive observer. Oh no, she's a fully active participant.

And sometimes that gets her into trouble. When a woman lounging poolside dies after being poisoned with diamond dust in her gin and tonic, it's clear that no one is safe. When murder is made to appear elegant, Helen knows she's playing a ruthless game with society's upper crust, hoping to come out on top. When everyone is after a rare diamond, the color of blood, it's only a matter of how much of it will be shed before the heist of the century is attempted. Helen must watch her back as well as those around her because in Vegas the house usually wins, and not a meddling upstart like her. To win, she's going to have to beat them at their own game, or pay the ultimate price.

***

The Hard Way can be purchased at:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

Prices/Formats: $4.95 ebook, $14.95 paperback
Pages: 280
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Release: April 15, 2014
Publisher: Camel Press
ISBN: 9781603819497
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Cathi Stoler’s mysteries feature PI Helen McCorkendale and magazine editor, Laurel Imperiole. The Hard Way is the third book in the series. The first, Telling Lies, took on the subject of stolen Nazi art. Book 2, Keeping Secrets, delved into the subject of hidden identity. Stoler’s short stories include: “Magda,” in the Criminal Element Anthology Malfeasance Occasional: Girl Trouble, “Out of Luck,” in the Anthology, Murder New York Style: Fresh Slices, “Fatal Flaw,” a finalist for the Derringer for Best Short Story and “Money Never Sleeps” both published at Beat to A Pulp. Cathi is working on a novella, Nick of Time, which features International gambler, Nick Donahue. She is also starting a new series, Bar None, A Murder On The Rocks Mystery, with female bar owner, Jude Dillane. Cathi is a member of the New York/Tri State chapter of Sisters In Crime. She is also a member of Mystery Writers of America.

Links to connect with Cathi:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog
Blog Tour Site


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DJ Wilson - Ride to Redemption - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

Righting another's wrong landed D in WITSEC, the witness protection program and cost him family, friends, and everything of substance in his life.

Loneliness is his constant companion until he meets Candi, the girl of his dreams. He and Candi embark on a three-week ride to redemption where they deal with mind-numbing deceit, perilous treachery, their overpowering lust for each other and their personal demons.

Nevertheless, new opportunities bring a chance to begin again. And, it doesn't hurt that he's got 200 pounds of illicit diamonds to use to ease the pain of those wronged. He will continue the redemption process by way of a well thought out plan involving a 5,000-mile adventure through the Western United States and Canada.

When D meets Candice, aka Candi, she captures his heart, mind and soul the instant she 'inadvertently' almost runs him down in the Starbucks drive-thru. Candi joins him on his three-week, two-wheeled ride to redemption, where they're forced to face their personal demons, while dealing with wanton lust, mind-numbing deceit and perilous treachery.

Spectacular scenery and a cast of unforgettable characters they meet along the way makes the journey memorable, but nothing prepares them for the sacrifices they must eventually make midway in the ride.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same," sadly, does not ring true for Candice and D throughout this first of a two part series. Lust and greed are forever game-changers, even for those who desperately seek redemption.


My Review

D, a simple name for one heck of a guy. Women call him a slut. Men beg him for sexual advice. He's a slave to a part of the female anatomy he affectionally dubs 'woo-hoo.' He's certainly a character who makes an instant, indelible impression.

D is a Robin Hood of sorts, stealing two billion dollars worth of diamonds from a crooked Bernie Madoff-type investor and redistributing them anonymously through the mail to the innocent people he ripped off. How did D get his hands on this sparkly stash? He built the guy's house, so he knew the ins and outs of his security system. Presto, change-o.

But D gets himself into trouble when the mafia decides they want the diamonds too, or at least a list of those he's sharing them with. He gets himself in deeper by falling for the wiles of an irresistible young thing named Candi. D knows next to nothing about her, but he doesn't care, he just wants to have sex with her. Not that he's completely driven by lust, he's also looking for that soul mate type of connection he never had with his ex-wife. He's broken, on the run and looking for someone to believe in him, and he thinks Candi might be the one to heal him and make him complete, or at least get his jollies off.

Yet D is a romantic, of sorts. He tries to live a selfless lifestyle by putting the needs of others ahead of his own. He goes out of his way for people, and he expects the same courtesy in return, even if he doesn't always get it. He has no problem pleasuring Candi sexually, giving her whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. He feels that they're on the page physically, enjoying each other in bed, in the shower, in a lake, on a picnic table - heck, even on the back of his motorcycle - but he just doesn't know if he can trust her.

D is a double-sided character with shades of a sinner interspersed with the aspirations of a saint. He's willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good, even if it's not his wrong to right. He takes the burden of association upon himself, sticking his neck out for the little guy and hoping that those he's helping will pay his generosity forward. He's all about one good turn deserving another.

However, he also has a macho side that some female readers might find off-putting. He brags to ZZ Top, of all people, that he'll get Candi to show them her breasts. He picks a woman up in a casino after inviting Candi to join him on a multi-week motorcycle ride. He shares the vibrator he bought for Candi with another woman on their trip, sterilizing it with mouthwash before passing it on. It's up to the reader to decide what types of behavior fall under the standard of acceptable behavior. Some women will forgive D his transgressions, others likely won't.

Because D is a complicated lover boy. He's not one-dimensional. He's not cookie cutter. He's a leading man of the modern age with a slight hankering for the romance of old. He's a romantic hero with a voracious sexual appetite, but also with a sensitive heart that always seems to be yearning for more. More love. More give and take. More honesty. He's the kind of a guy who wants to give himself to a woman completely, and he'll keep hope alive until he finds her, if he hasn't already.

***

Ride to Redemption can be purchased at:
Amazon, Smashwords

Prices/Formats: $3.99 ebook, $10.95 paperback
Pages: 282
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release: December 2, 2013
Publisher: Fideli Publishing
ISBN: 9781604147773
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Raised in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, I graduated from Cumberland University, located in a small town you've never heard just inside Kentucky quite a few years ago. At the present, we're living beside beautiful Dale Hollow Lake.

Blessed to travel, blessed with health, blessed with second chances, too numerous to list here.

As a blogger, featured on many sites, including the Huffington Post, I have been humbled beyond measure, more times than not, by all that life has thrown our way.

Successful, that's me, catastrophic failure, that's me too. We've been there, done that and have the life changing scars to prove it.

Our writings reflect life through the throes of heartache and loss, as well as through the joys redemption brings.

"Life is not waiting for the Storms to Pass, It's Learning to Dance in the Rain."

Links to connect with DJ:
Web Site
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog Tour Site


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Ken Dalton - Brother, can you spare a dime? - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

Bear’s planned afternoon of beer and baseball is interrupted by a phone call from a man he hardly remembers from their years at Elko High. So begins the tale of a cold-blooded murder and the theft of a dime worth two million dollars!

Faced with bi-coastal murder suspects, Pinky hands Bear, and Flo the sweaty task of tracking down one of the suspects along the hot, humid North Carolina shoreline while he chooses to pursue the other on the Kona coast of Hawaii. But Pinky, after imbibing too many Mai Tai’s with a bevy of sky-goddesses, and a moved-up court date, is forced to return to Carson City, sans suspect.

Bear and Flo hit pay dirt and with the identity of the killer in hand they fly across the Pacific Ocean to the smoggy Beijing airport where they meet Joe, the uncle of Pinky’s Chinese secretary. The enigmatic Joe quotes Confucius and Shakespeare as he purposefully guides the dynamic duo to their final destination— oxygen sparse Lhasa, Tibet.


Cliff hanger contest

Brother, can you spare a dime? ends with a prize winning cliff hanger that defies all logic.

Let Ken know how you would answer the question and he will choose the two answers he likes the best. Both winners will receive a complete paperback set of his Pinky and Bear mystery series.

The Bloody Birthright
The Big Show Stopper
Death is a Cabernet
The Tartan Shroud
Brother, can you spare a dime?

Five books, each one personally inscribed!

Email your cliff hanger answer to ken@kendalton.com and in a couple of months Ken will post the winners' names on his Facebook page.


My Review

Sometimes you read a book that is chock full of memorable characters, ones that make a lasting impression, ones that stay with you. I read a lot - I mean A LOT - and I don't come across characters like that too often. It takes a talented author to make mere words on a page seem just as alive as the person sitting next to you. And Ken Dalton's done it, times three.

I have to start with Bear because he has THE best lines. He's a big lumbering ox of a guy with a low IQ and a raging libido. Dalton's comedic timing is spot on with this small town hustler from Elko, Nevada. He has more brawn than brains as a bumbling private investigator who just about skirts the edge of the law when it comes to doing his job. For him, it's all about boobs, beer and baseball, in that order.

And lucky for Bear, he puts his appreciation for a certain part of the female anatomy at the top of his list because his girlfriend Flo would probably freeze him out of her bed for the next six months if he didn't place her feminine wiles above everything else. Flo's a con artist, plain and simple. She fluffs her hair, sticks out her chest and works any mark to her advantage. Yeah, she's manipulative, but she also looks out for Bear and doesn't let him get swindled by their nefarious employer.

And that's a good thing because their boss man Pinky is a guy small in stature but large in clout. As a defense attorney, he's won twenty-four out of twenty-four murder cases, getting those charged with homicide off every single time. He's good, but he's cocky and a tad on the superficial side, caring more about his Armani suits and fancy Jaguar than even his own safety and well-being. His "favorite ex-wife" Willow works in the district attorney's office and he's dying to get back together with her, even if she keeps giving him the brush off. He's one man who won't be deterred.

What brings Bear, Flo and Pinky together this time around in their continuing caper is a stolen 1894 S dime worth about two million dollars. They have to track it down and convince Willow that Pinky's client didn't shoot his handicapped brother in the head in order to steal it. Money is the driving theme throughout the narrative. Pinky has it and Bear and Flo want it, or at least Flo is cunning enough to try and get it. Pinky's a known cheapskate and he doesn't want to be paying for their business class trips from Hawaii to China, especially since they end up drinking and cavorting with each other rather than working the case.

The tension between the three of them is just as juicy as the drama of tracking down the killer. Even when they're not in each other's presence, their phone exchanges sizzle and pop, beautifully highlighting the ever-shifting dynamic between employer and employee. Pinky doesn't want to give them any more than he has to, as far as he's concerned Bear and Flo fall under the category of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." And Flo intends to milk Pinky for every dime she can get, just not the one they're all looking for.

***

Brother, can you spare a dime? can be purchased at:
Amazon, KenDalton.com (personalized inscription and free shipping)

Prices/Formats: $4.99 ebook, $14.95 paperback
Pages: 310
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Release: April 9, 2014
Publisher: Different Drummer Press
ISBN: 9780578140391
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Ken was born in 1938 at Hollywood Hospital. He grew up in Los Angeles with his parents, his older sister and younger brother.

In a turn of bad luck, the dreaded Polio virus attacked Ken at the age of five. By the age of sixteen, after eleven years of operations, therapy, and braces to mitigate the effects of Polio, Ken’s luck changed when he met the girl of his dreams. A few years later they married, produced three wonderful children, and settled into a happy life in Southern California.

In 1966, Ken and his family moved to the green hills of Sonoma County where they bought a home surrounded with apple trees.

Some time later, Ken, designed, built, and operated a small winery that produced award winning Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Then, in a moment of madness, Ken began writing. His first article was published in Golf Illustrated. Many more golf articles followed in national and regional magazines including Golf Magazine and Fairways and Greens. Eventually Ken felt the urge to write his first novel.

Now, after the publication of The Bloody Birthright, The Big Show Stopper, Death is a Cabernet, and The Tartan Shroud, Ken has published his latest Pinky and Bear mystery, Brother, can you spare a dime?

Links to connect with Ken:
Web Site
Facebook
Goodreads
Blog Tour Site


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Diane Daniels Manning - Almost Perfect - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

An old woman who has given up hope and a boy who believes the impossible wonder if life would be perfect at the Westminster Dog Show.

Seventy-year old Bess Rutledge has dreamed of winning the Westminster Dog Show all her life. Despite her decades-long career as one of America’s top Standard Poodle breeders, she has decided she’s too old to hold on to her foolish dream. She sells off all the dogs in her once famous kennel except for the aging champion McCreery and his mischievous, handsome son Breaker. Part of her senses they might have been the ones to take her to Westminster, if only she’d dared to try.

Bess meets Benny, a teenager with mild autism who attends a therapeutic special school, and learns he has a dream of his own: to impress his self-absorbed mother. Benny is drawn into the world of dog shows and becomes convinced he has found the perfect way to win his mother’s attention. If he can win Westminster with either McCreery or Breaker, he just knows she will finally be proud of him. Getting Bess to go along with his plan, however, is not going to be so easy. . .

Up to 100% of the author’s profits will be donated to charities serving animals and children.


Video Trailer




My Review

Looking at the warm and fuzzy puppy on the cover, I never expected the characters inside to be so heartbreakingly real. They're just like you and me, flawed, prone to mistakes, yearning for love. This isn't a fluffy animal tale. It deals with family issues, societal pressures and genuine emotions within the context of what it means to be a dog lover. Daniels Manning doesn't go about making her characters perfect, instead she lets them be 'almost perfect,' and in so doing makes them a whole lot more relatable.

Bess and Benny don't necessarily start out being exceptionally likable, and they're not supposed to be. In order to show their growth throughout the novel, Daniels Manning has the guts to hold a mirror up to reality. She doesn't try and sugarcoat their bad behavior, instead she shines a spotlight on it.

In the beginning, Bess is a crotchety old lady. She gives up on her dream in a very dramatic way by having her award-winning kennel bulldozed to the ground. She's done with breeding her signature line of Umpawaug poodles. She's calling it quits. Her state of mind isn't good. She's depressed, miserable, heartsick. Even after all she's accomplished in her life, she still feels like a failure because she never won the big one, best in show at Westminster.

Benny is an overweight, prepubescent boy with autism. He has a hard time sticking with any one thing. He can't seem to focus on anything besides eating. His one goal in life is to make his mother proud, and he'll do anything to get her attention. He lacks any form of self-motivation, obtaining her approval is the only thing that matters to him.

The cast also includes those of the four-legged variety and they're as fully developed as their human counterparts even if they don't utter a word of dialogue. McCreery, Bess's championship sire, and Breaker, his prodigal pup, work together, drawing their reclusive owner and her adolescent neighbor into a reluctant, yet beneficial, partnership.

Benny doesn't think poodles are 'real' dogs, while Bess feels that she's the only one capable of showing her dogs in the ring. Yet through the influence of Bess's son, David, the two start to break down each other's barriers and begin to trust each other. Bess lets Benny become Breaker's handler on the dog show circuit and being around Benny forces Bess to reexamine her strained relationship with David.

The hardest thing for characters to admit is when they're wrong. It's a challenging feat for an author to pull off in order to make the transformation authentic and believable, but Daniels Manning does it twice with skill and grace. She nails their humanity, showing what a proficient student she is in watching and observing people and figuring out what makes them tick. The reasons behind her characters' actions make sense because they come from the heart.

Bess and Benny are struggling with the same problem. They're both unknowingly sabotaging their own success. Bess is subconsciously consumed with the guilt of being an absentee mother to David while he was growing up, keeping herself too busy to realize just how much he needed her. While Benny is on the flip side of the equation, deluding himself into thinking that if his mother could just love him, everything would be all right. He doesn't think he's good enough, because his mother doesn't think he's good enough.

It's only when Bess and Benny find the strength within themselves, with a little help from the unconditional love that McCreery and Breaker provide, that they begin to see just how much they were missing out on by not believing in, and ultimately forgiving, themselves.

***

Almost Perfect can be purchased at:
Amazon

Prices/Formats: $3.99 ebook, $8.99 paperback
Pages: 330
Genre: Pet Fiction
Release: January 29, 2014
Publisher: Beltor
ISBN: 9780578136394
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About the Author

Diane Daniels Manning is the co-founder and director of The New School in the Heights, a therapeutic school in Houston, Texas which helps children dealing with social-emotional challenges find success in school and life. She has a Ph.D. in Education and a post-doctoral M.P.H from Harvard and is a practicing child psychoanalyst certified by the American Psychoanalytic Association. Formerly, she was the Director of the Reading and Learning Disabilities Clinic at Tufts University, Lecturer and Research Associate in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Harvard, and Chair of the Department of Education at Tulane University. She learned the inner workings of dog show kennels by writing an authorized oral history of a lifetime President of the Poodle of Club of America. Her writing awards include the Faulkner-Wisdom Novella Prize and the Women in Film and Television Short Script Competition.

Links to connect with Diane:
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Michael J. Bowler - Running Through a Dark Place - Review & Giveaway

About the Book

King Arthur and his extraordinary young Knights used ‘might’ for ‘right’ to create a new Camelot in the City of Angels. They rallied the populace around their cause, while simultaneously putting the detached politicians in check. But now they must move forward to even greater heights, despite what appears to be an insurmountable tragedy.

Their new goal is lofty: give equality to kids fourteen and older who are presently considered adults only when they break the law. Arthur’s crusade seeks to give them real rights such as voting, driving, trading high school for work, and sitting as jurors for their peers charged with criminal behavior.

Understanding that the adults of California will likely be against them, Arthur and his Knights must determine how best to win them over.

However, before the king can even contemplate these matters, he finds himself face to face with an ally from the past, one who proves that everything isn’t always what it seems – even life and death.

The Knight Cycle Continues…

My Review

Lance takes center stage in the second installment of this King Arthur based fantasy series. The large ensemble cast of teenaged knights (and the adults who are for and against them) holds pretty much a supporting role this time around. Why? Because *spoiler alert* Lance comes back from the dead, grabbing the attention of the entire world.

Taking on the Harry Potter-like title of "The Boy Who Came Back," Lance is one confused fifteen year old. He thinks he shouldn't have been resurrected, and he slips into a depressive funk, turning to alcohol and girls to numb the throbbing guilt in his heart.

However, ultimately the story pivots around Lance's quest to explore his sexuality. He's still not sure if he's gay, all he knows is that he doesn't want to be. Yet being what he dubs a "real boy" isn't easy. The abuse he suffered at the hands of his foster father at the tender age of six rears its ugly head. He's still not over it, no matter how much he tries to convince himself that he is.

That's where the narrative's two new characters come into play. Ricky and Michael are polar opposites. Ricky could be Lance's long lost twin. They look alike, sound alike, dress alike, you get the idea. Arthur knights the homeless teen, allowing him to join the group as Lance's bodyguard. Later, he officially becomes Lance's brother when Arthur legally adopts them both, and that's where things start to get murky because despite how much Lance tries to hide it, he's attracted to Ricky and he feels like he shouldn't be.

Michael, on the other hand, has a body builder physique that Lance can't help swooning over. He's forceful and aggressive, seducing a drunken Lance at one of his parties, only to have their transgression recorded and leaked on the internet. To Lance, Michael isn't all bad, somehow he feels a connection to him, believing that beneath his tough guy exterior lies a decent human being.

But Ricky doesn't trust him. He thinks Michael is just out to hurt Lance, and he's not going to sit back and watch it happen because he loves Lance with a pure, devoted kind of love that Lance has a hard time acknowledging. Lance doesn't want to be drawn to either boy, but nevertheless he finds himself caught in a tug of war between them.

The love triangle remains for the most part unresolved at the book's conclusion. Secrets are revealed. Lance is framed. The new Camelot that Arthur had hoped to create seems on the brink of collapse, yet again, with one big difference - Lance wants to live. He's not running through that dark place of despair anymore. He's ready to fight the good fight again, even if he has to dig himself out a major hole in order to do it. He'll always be the destined champion of children's rights and he intends to battle to the end, honoring the memory of the friends he's lost and making sure what happened to him as a child doesn't happen to anyone else.

***

Running Through a Dark Place can be purchased at:
Amazon

Prices/Formats: $4.99 ebook, $15.95 paperback
Pages: 388
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Release: May 12, 2014
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9780990306306
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About the Author

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of three novels - A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time, and Children of the Knight - who grew up in San Rafael, California.

He majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University and earned a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to seven different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state. He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He has already written the four continuations of Children of the Knight that complete The Knight Cycle and all will be released in 2014.

He is currently at work on a new novel.

Links to connect with Michael:
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